[Sydney, AUSTRALIA] Australian Stock Exchange listed e-commerce software developer m2m Corporation and e-commerce market provider Omnemart have joined forces to create an online market for large suppliers within the hardware industry.

The site, which went into soft launch on December 1 but was officially announced this week, aims to provide a mechanism through which suppliers can provide retailers with a catalogue of their products they can access and use, irrespective of the retailer's procurement software system. The overall goal of the venture is to allow the industry to trade more effectively, by incorporating online transactions into regular business routine.

Under the agreement, m2m will provide the technology and services for Omnemart to rollout its supplier trading system to marketplace participants. Omnemart formats the supplier's online catalogue into a standard setup so that it can be accessed by any retailer's procurement system. It's a system that m2m chief executive officer Greg Bound maintained should, in principle, "lead to more sales and lower distribution costs - and ultimately, lower prices to consumers."

Bound said that the marketplace would be funded by suppliers, as a strategy to attract retailers by imposing no fees on their involvement. m2m expects to earn its revenues from licence and transaction fees charged to suppliers.

Electrical product manufacturer and distributor Arlec Australia has been among the first hardware industry suppliers to join the venture, and has trialled the system for the past six months with the processing of online transactions.

Arlec has used the marketplace as part of its move toward e-commerce, which managing director Phil Tranchitella said would become a key component of Arlec's business strategy and part of its product range expansions.