Ariba Inc., provider of a network for global commerce, is teaming up with Thomas Industrial Network to focus on the category of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO). Thomas Industrial Network (ThomasNet.com) is an online division of Thomas Publishing Co., providing information on more than 650,000 suppliers to professionals, engineers and plant and facilities managers. Under the new deal, ThomasNet will enable suppliers to do business on the Ariba Network. Ariba will automatically match the capabilities of ThomasNet's suppliers to the requirements of Ariba buyers, providing a common platform through which they can do business. Buying organizations on the Ariba Network will also have access to ThomasNet's private catalogs, which they can integrate with their procurement systems, including enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications. Ariba will distribute leads to ThomasNet's suppliers through Ariba Discovery, the vendor's service for matching business buyers and sellers, delivered globally through the Ariba Network.
