The Surplus Goods Exchange gets ready for launch this month

After nearly a year of development and testing, the Surplus Goods Exchange, a web-based platform for the secure trading of surplus, excess and closeout consumer packaged goods, is getting ready to launch this month.

The Surplus Goods Exchange was developed by The WorldWide Retail Exchange, a business-to-business exchange for retailers and suppliers, Visagent Corp., a builder of industry operating systems for online procurement and distribution, WWRE members and consumer goods manufacturers. The companies say the exchange is the retail industry`s first web-based platform for trading of surplus goods.

The SGE is an electronic bulletin board that brings suppliers and retailers together by identifying common product matches, facilitating terms and contract negotiation and providing support services to complete transactions.

"This web-based approach is an easy to access, organized and efficient means of dealing with surplus merchandise," said Alan Markert, vice president of e-commerce and data integrity for San Antonio, Texas-based grocer H-E-B, which helped develop the system. "It is much easier and faster to execute a transaction through this web-based service than through non-web-based alternatives. The management of the transaction through Visagent also helps ensure the transaction will be completed as expected by both the seller and buyer."

The Surplus Goods Exchange can be used off the shelf or integrated into back office processes, such as procurement and logistics, where goods are identified for sale or purchase by users` criteria. Sellers post surplus goods or excess goods by UPC and quantity, then choose from a list of potential buying audiences, such as internal divisions, other retailers, dollar stores, exporters, etc.

Buyers choose goods for purchase that are presented complete with all costs, including transport to their loading docks, via service integration with Landstar Logistics.

Safeway also participated in developing the Surplus Goods Excgange. "Safeway realized an opportunity to work with our trading partners to streamline a very inefficient process, and as a result, got involved early in the development of the SGE," said Howard Befort, corporate vice president of marketing operations for Safeway.

On the buy side, the exchange serves as a trusted third party to provide organizations with unparalleled visibility to opportunistic and promotional buys. There is no fee to sell goods on the SGE, and when buying goods, a small, transaction fee is built in, representing a 70-90% reduction in fees compared to traditional disposal channels, the exchange says.

The companies have been developing the Surplus Goods Exchange the early part of 2001. A formal pilot program is now underway, focusing on grocery; health, beauty and cosmetics; and general merchandise, with the official launch set for this month.