Zanzibar Goes Live for U.K. Public Sector
February 15 2006 - 3:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
OGCbuying.solutions and PA Consulting Group Announce Availability
of the U.K. Government's Sponsored eCommerce Platform for
Procurement NORWOOD, Mass., Feb. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Elcom
International, Inc. ("Elcom" or the "Company") (OTC:ELCO) (BULLETIN
BOARD: ELCO) and (AIM: ELC and ELCS), a leading international
provider of remotely-hosted eProcurement and eMarketplace
solutions, is pleased to announce that the U.K.'s Office of
Government Commerce Buying Solutions (OGCbuying.solutions) and PA
Consulting Group, have announced that Zanzibar, a 'Managed Service'
for procurement, is now available to any public sector body in the
United Kingdom. The Zanzibar Managed Service is a new web-enabled
Purchase to Pay (P2P) and eMarketplace system operated by
OGCbuying.solutions and delivered through an agreement with PA
Shared Services Limited, a subsidiary within PA Consulting Group.
Elcom Systems Limited, Elcom International, Inc.'s wholly-owned
subsidiary in the U.K., is a sub-contractor to PA Shared Services
Limited ("PASSL"), and provides the core eProcurement and
eMarketplace technology platform and hosting services required to
support Zanzibar. Bruce Tindale, Chief Executive Officer, PA
Consulting Group, said, "The Zanzibar Managed Service is an
important component of the Government's strategy to deliver the
procurement efficiency savings identified in Sir Peter Gershon's
report 'Releasing Resources to the Front Line'. PA Consulting Group
has long had a strong reputation for working with the public
sector; our work on the Zanzibar Managed Service further underlines
this. Alongside this, we have launched a new PA subsidiary, PA
Shared Services Limited, to deliver the Zanzibar Managed Service."
Veera Johnson, PA's lead consultant on the Zanzibar project and
member of PA's Management Group, added, "The Zanzibar Managed
Service represents a major step towards delivering efficiencies
across the whole UK public sector. It is an exciting project and a
great product, which offers more than just a marketplace. The
Zanzibar Managed Service includes an eProcurement hub and a range
of management information components that will help public sector
organisations make better value for money decisions now and in the
future. Further, it offers the opportunity for public sector bodies
to have easy access to collaborative contracts that offer
attractive pricing arrangements. The consortium team, led by PA, is
looking forward to realising these benefits for all Zanzibar's
customers and suppliers." Hugh Barrett, Chief Executive of
OGCbuying.solutions, said, "The Zanzibar Managed Service
revolutionises the way that the public sector does business. It
saves both procurement process time and cost for the public sector
and suppliers alike. Anyone that has internet access will be able
to use this service. It means that buyers can browse catalogues and
review electronic quotations quickly and easily at the click of a
mouse." Robert J. Crowell, Elcom International, Inc.'s Chairman,
said, "We are very pleased to have the Zanzibar Managed Service in
production, which includes our flagship eProcurement solution,
PECOS, as well as the majority of the shared services encapsulated
in the Zanzibar Hub. The initial reaction to the availability of
the Zanzibar service has been very positive and we are pleased with
the number of public sector bodies who have made commitments to
join the program. I am optimistic that Zanzibar has the potential
to become one of the largest eMarketplaces in the world in very
short order." PA Consulting Group is delivering Zanzibar through
its new wholly-owned subsidiary, PA Shared Services Limited, in a
consortium with Elcom Systems Limited, IMPAQ Business Solutions
Ltd. and @UK PLC. In addition, Serco Group plc will be working in a
strategic alliance with the consortium. The Zanzibar Managed
Service implementation is part of the contract awarded by the
OGCbuying.solutions to PA Shared Service Limited in August 2005 for
the provision of an eProcurement and eMarketplace service capable
of being used by any public sector body in the United Kingdom. The
Zanzibar Managed Service is an innovative system that enables
public sector buyers and suppliers to link up over the internet and
conduct highly interactive eCommerce through a single secure
portal. Elcom is working with OGCbuying.solutions on the adoption
of its vision of highly interactive online commerce between buyers
and suppliers. The OGCbuying.solutions' proposed standard includes
14 XML business documents which are being considered by OASIS
(Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information
Standards) for incorporation in UBL 2.0 and as such is expected to
become a new standard for eCommerce over the Internet. Based on a
hub and spoke architecture, the Zanzibar Managed Service consists
of a range of core commerce services that reside within the
Zanzibar Portal (referred to as the Zanzibar Hub) and an optional
Purchase to Pay (P2P) system. Zanzibar will enable subscribing
public sector organizations to deliver value for money savings,
independent of their existing investments in eProcurement systems,
by leveraging the availability of shared services designed to
address the high costs of managing catalogues, securely processing
transactions or enabling suppliers to conduct business online.
Zanzibar functionality includes a portal framework, supplier
directory, catalogue content management and search engine and a
transaction exchange which will be responsible for processing large
numbers of orders, invoices and other important documents required
to support highly interactive eCommerce. Under the terms of its
contract with PASSL, Elcom provides the hosted eProcurement and
eCommerce platform, and other sub-contractors deliver other
services and PASSL provides systems integration and implementation
services. Additional information regarding the Zanzibar Service can
be found by visiting:
http://www.ogcbuyingsolutions.gov.uk/zanzibar/zanzibar.asp Elcom
Product Offerings For detailed information on Elcom's PECOS(TM)
technology and optional Dynamic Trading functionality, please visit
Elcom's website at: http://www.elcominternational.com/products.htm.
About OGCBuying.solutions OGCbuying.solutions is an Executive
Agency of the Office of Government Commerce in the Treasury.
OGCbuying.solutions' role is to deliver value for money gains for
central civil government and the wider public sector through our
dedicated, professional procurement service. It provides public
sector bodies with access to more than 500,000 products and
services under its portfolio of managed services and framework
agreement. Additional information is available at
http://www.ogcbuyingsolutions.gov.uk/. About PA Shared Service
Limited PA Shared Services Limited (PASSL) is a wholly-owned
subsidiary within PA Consulting Group. PASSL is the delivery
vehicle for Zanzibar and builds on PA's strong track record in
procurement and delivering e-government solutions. PA's experience
ranges from developing guidance and offering advice, to managing
large-scale procurement, sourcing and e-commerce projects on behalf
of clients. As a result, PA has the depth of insight and
understanding of procurement in both the public and private
sectors. In summary, the services provided by PA range from
developing strategies and business cases for eProcurement, through
to delivering highly complex eProcurement solutions, including all
aspects of systems development, organisational change and programme
management. Additional information is available at
http://www.paconsulting.com/sharedservices. About PA Consulting
Group PA Consulting Group is a leading management, systems and
technology consulting firm. Operating worldwide in more than 35
countries, PA draws on the knowledge and experience of 3,000
people, whose skills extend from the initial generation of ideas,
insights, solutions and new technology, all the way through to
detailed implementation. Additional information is available at
http://www.paconsulting.com/. About Elcom International, Inc. Elcom
International, Inc. (OTC:ELCOOTC:andOTC:AIM:OTC:ELCOTC:and ELCS)
(BULLETIN BOARD: ELCO and AIM: ELC and ELCS) , is an international
B2B Commerce Service Provider offering affordable solutions for
buyers, sellers and commerce communities to automate many or all of
their procurement processes and purchase most or all of their goods
and services in a 'private' eMarketplace system. PECOS, Elcom's
remotely-hosted flagship solution, enables enterprises of all sizes
to achieve the many benefits of eProcurement and eMarketplace
functionality, with the system hosted by Elcom at its own data
center, eliminating the burden and cost of in- house programming,
IT infrastructure and ongoing catalog content and system
management. More information is available from Elcom's integrated
web site at: http://www.elcominternational.com/. STATEMENT UNDER
THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT Except for the
historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in
this press release could include forward-looking statements or
information. All statements, other than statements of historical
fact, including, without limitation, those with respect to the
Company's objectives, plans and strategies set forth herein and
those preceded by or that include the words "believes," "expects,"
"targets," "intends," "anticipates," "plans," or similar
expressions, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company
believes that such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it
can give no assurance that the Company's expectations are, or will
be, correct. These forward-looking statements involve a number of
risks and uncertainties which could cause the Company's future
results to differ materially from those anticipated, including: (i)
the possibility that the Company will have to raise additional
working capital to fund operations during 2006 and the availability
of any such funding to the Company; (ii) its history of ongoing
operating losses; (iii) the substantial number of common shares
issued in the Company's recent Regulation S issuance and the
possible impact on the market for the Company's shares; (iv) the
ability of the Company to perform under its contracts with
Capgemini UK plc and PA Shared Services Limited ("PASSL"), a member
of the PA Consulting group of companies; (v) the overall
marketplace and clients' acceptance and usage of eCommerce software
systems, eProcurement and eMarketplace solutions including demand
therefor by both Scottish and U.K. public entities; (vi) the costs
of building the Zanzibar eMarketplace system versus the revenues
derived therefrom; (vii) the impact of competitive technologies,
products and pricing, particularly given the substantially larger
size and scale of certain competitors and potential competitors;
(viii) control of expenses; (ix) the consequent results of
operations given the aforementioned factors; and (x) other risks
detailed from time to time in the Company's Annual Reports on Form
10-KSB, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-QSB and in its other SEC
reports and statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update
any of the information contained or referenced in this press
release. Company Contact: Investor Relations e-mail: First Call
Analyst: FCMN Contact: DATASOURCE: Elcom International, Inc.
CONTACT: Investor Relations of Elcom International, Inc., Web site:
http://www.elcom.com/
Copyright