Commerce One debuts SAP-oriented tools

Commerce One is finally delivering products to go along with the recent investment by German software giant SAP.

Commerce One, based in Walnut Creek, California, today announced general availability of its Commerce One Multi-Supplier Catalog (MSC) version 3.1, which is designed to be integrated with SAP's popular R/3 business process automation system.

SAP bought a stake in Commerce One late last year. At the time of the undisclosed equity investment, SAP and Commerce One announced plans to jointly develop a means of integrating Commerce One's procurement products into R/3.

Today's announcement is the first fruit of that partnership.

Commerce One's catalog will link to R/3 through the materials management module. Plans are also in the works to tie it to SAP's new procurement module announced earlier this week.

SAP customers also can take advantage of Commerce One's Electronic Commerce Network (ECN), which links buyers and sellers in a sort of online shopping mall. The catalog and ECN give SAP customers access to 5 million items and 5,000 suppliers.

"SAP users have an impressive tool for simplifying the purchase of indirect goods and maximizing their existing investments," said Richard Pitts, director of SAP's complementary software program.

But it isn't coming without a cost. The catalog starts at $350,000 for an enterprise license plus a $100 per user license fee.