Established in 1944, EBSCO is the world’s leading information agent providing consultative services and cutting-edge technology for managing and accessing quality content, including print and e-journals, e-packages, research databases, eBooks, and more. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, EBSCO services libraries, corporations, and research organizations in more than 200 countries.
Challenges
EBSCO’s corporate customers wanted new ways to procure and manage the company’s products, which include a global title repository of over 300,000 listings from more than 81,000 publishers and access to 50,000 e-journals, 300 research databases, and nearly 300,000 eBooks and audiobooks.
By centralizing procurement and leveraging eProcurement, EBSCO’s customers hoped to lower costs, gain greater visibility into spend, reduce administrative workloads, and enjoy better service.
In order to accommodate its customers’ wishes, EBSCO needed a site that would support multiple spend management platforms and purchasing options.
Solutions
EBSCO teamed with Ariba to develop an electronic commerce site that would enable them to get ahead of slower-moving competitors through getting closer to key accounts, delivering better service, and increasing its footprint.
The site – called the EBSCO Information Marketplace – is a Web-based order and management service that enables customers to procure thousands of documents through their preferred spend management systems, including the Ariba Network.
EBSCO harnessed Ariba Sales Acceleration Solutions to help its customers already using the Ariba Network to gain full visibility into spend, reduce administrative workloads, and improve customer service.
Results
By integrating the EBSCO Information Marketplace with the Ariba Network, EBSCO has expanded its total footprint in existing Ariba accounts by 30 percent. The increased “stickiness” has occurred in part because the Marketplace—and by default, the Ariba Network—is now a seamless part of each buyer’s desktop and everyday workflow.
EBSCO’s customers use a customized Ariba PunchOut catalog to place orders – resulting in a 100 percent increase in electronic ordering. The company has also achieved an industry-leading 99 percent retention rate for customers ordering through its Ariba Network channel. As a member of the Ariba Ready™ Silver program, EBSCO has also leveraged Ariba sales and marketing resources to find new customers and grow its business.
“The Ariba Network has proven to be an effective source for new sales and customer retention within the corporate market. We have enjoyed a 99 percent retention rate and a 30 percent increase in our eProcurement customer base over the past eight years,” said Chip Graham, Marketing Director, EBSCO Information Services.
The strides that EBSCO has taken to meet its customers’ needs have not gone unnoticed. Last year, EBSCO received an Ariba Excellence Award in recognition of its innovative use of technology to drive effective business commerce and enhance customer services.
