Paper Companies Look to Build B2B Marketplace

Continuing the red-hot trend by businesses to get involved in using the Internet to streamline their operations, International Paper, Weyerhaeuser Co., and Georgia-Pacific Corp. announced plans to jointly develop a marketplace to enable buying and selling of paper and forest products on-line.

The marketplace will operate as an independent entity with its own board of directors and management team. Initially, the three founding companies will each have an equal equity position, but it is expected that more partners will join the initiative. Based on demonstrated success, the companies will consider taking the entity public.

By working together to establish an electronic marketplace, the three leading companies in the industry believe they can benefit customers by simplifying transaction processes, improving information flow and increasing speed of delivery, thereby reducing costs. Providing both procurement and sales functions means the on-line marketplace will also enable participating companies to streamline purchasing operations, reduce inventories, cut internal costs and increase capital efficiency in the industry.