"The time factor was one major reason. Speed allows us to quote 24 hours aday, seven days a week. For 12 hours, we work in Boston and we get theadvantage over our competitors because we have people working in India forthe other 12 hours," Paul Baier, CEO, purchasingcenter.com, told IndiaAbroad News Service. However, it was not geography alone that mattered."Availability of talent was the other reason. There are 10,000 unfilled jobsin Boston. We are able to work with engineering talent in Bangalore. That'show badly we need partners like LG Soft India," says Baier. The portal,which has two other US-based competitors, provides all the information withpricing on engineering, plumbing and other equipment for mid-sizedcompanies. All that a purchaser needs to do is to register itself, selectits purchase and order it online. The suppliers would deliver the goods.

By providing a consolidated service, from multi-supplier sourcing and buyingto summary billing and reporting, purchasingcenter.com saves the buyerssignificant time and money. "By having a facility here, they cut by half thetime taken to service purchases," says Shubho Kundu, group manager, Indiaengineering centre, LG Soft India. The aim is to capture 10 per cent of the$180 billion market in the US that is expected to be online in the nextthree years. "We are specifically targeting the medium and large industrieswho don't have sophisticated systems but use only browsers in theiroffices," says Baier. LG Soft India, a global IT consulting and services armof the LG group, will be hiring 40 engineers for the engineering facilityunder the extended offshore services agreement with purchasingcenter.com.

"We expect substantial revenues to start with. But, as we go forward, therevenues are bound to grow exponentially. So, will be the employmentpotential," says Kundu, to engage in a number of independent contractoractivities, including product engineering and generation of Web content.

-- India Abroad News Service