Friday 22nd March, 2013

Over the last year or so Hubwoo, a leader in collaborative business networks has been extending its reach outside of its traditional position within Procurement and spend management to encompass accounts payable and the overall end-to-end P2P space. Now in a partnership that's likely to make some people sit up and take note, Hubwoo has announced a new agreement with Microsoft, replacing the existing Microsoft/Ariba/SAP partnership. The bones of the alliance means that the two companies will integrate and jointly market The Business Network for Microsoft Dynamics. The move means that tens of thousands of Microsoft ERP customers will now benefit from a dramatic change in the way they handle and deal with their spend compliance and accounts payable automation.

The Business Network by Hubwoo is a collaborative B2B network which Hubwoo says has saved companies hundreds of millions as a complement to their procurement and AP systems, which at the same time driving revenue and process efficiency for the over one million businesses that exist on the network. The Business Network merges three of the most pervasive technology drivers of the 21st century; community, search, and ratings, with an enterprise-class B2B commerce platform which, with the help of partners such as Microsoft, quickly scales to significant critical mass. In fact, a recent McKinsey report pointed out that networked enterprises were 50% more likely than their peers to have increased sales, higher profit margins, gain market share, and be a market leader.

“Traditional network models limit collaboration to the sharing of data between trading partners while never exposing, let alone extending, the business logic outside the four walls of an enterprise,” said Gregory A. Mark, Chief Executive Officer, Hubwoo. “The pairing of Microsoft’s agile ERP capabilities with Hubwoo’s collaborative business network enables true multi-enterprise business collaboration across the entire commerce process. The result is incremental value for all network participants whether they are sourcing, buying, paying, marketing, selling, or invoicing."

As part of the strategic alliance, Hubwoo will develop adapters that will allow Microsoft Dynamics AX customers to connect their accounts payable, procurement, customer relationship management, and accounts receivable processes to The Business Network.

“By integrating the powerful capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics AX with the world’s leading collaborative business network, our collaboration with Hubwoo delivers a solution that enables companies of all sizes to interact with their trading partners electronically, helping organizations save more, grow their business with existing customers and discover new opportunities,” said Doug Kennedy, Vice President, Microsoft Dynamics.