B2eMarkets

Founded in 1999, B2eMarkets, Inc. established itself as a provider of strategic sourcing solutions. The company was headquartered in Rockville, MD. In February 2004, B2eMarkets, then led by President and CEO Orville Bailey, acquired the assets of AdaptiveTrade, a decision optimization software company. This acquisition was aimed at enhancing its strategic sourcing offerings beyond traditional auctions and eRFX tools.

The company's technology addressed complex requests for proposal (RFPs) that often involved thousands of line items from hundreds of suppliers with varied pricing models. The addition of AdaptiveTrade's optimization software empowered buyers to conduct detailed what-if analyses, evaluate supplier bids simultaneously, and incorporate non-price factors like quality and delivery schedules to determine the best award decision. B2eMarkets was eventually acquired by Verticalnet. The strategic sourcing and procurement sector saw significant consolidation during this period, with other major deals including Ariba's acquisition of FreeMarkets in January 2004 and, subsequently, SAP's acquisition of Ariba in 2012.

B2eMarkets secured funding from several investors, including Accenture Technology Ventures, Arlington Asset Investment, and Ascend Venture Group.

Keywords: B2eMarkets, strategic sourcing solutions, procurement software, decision optimization, e-sourcing, spend management, supply chain technology, RFP management, supplier management, eRFX, Verticalnet acquisition, Orville Bailey, AdaptiveTrade, procurement optimization, business-to-business commerce, enterprise software, supply chain management, strategic procurement, sourcing analytics