SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As president and chief operating officer of M&R Distribution Services, a small, minority-owned firm based in the Midwest, Quentin McCorvey, Sr. used to find it hard to get a foot in the door with major companies. Then he signed on to the Ariba Network. Now, he’s not only cracking doors open, he’s kicking them down. Using Ariba® Discovery™, the premier service for matching business buyers and sellers offered by Ariba, an SAP Company, McCorvey has been able to form relationships with significant new trading partners and earn opportunities to compete for – and in many cases win – their business.
“There is often a stigma associated with awarding large contracts to small, minority-owned firms,” McCorvey says. “But I am not looking for a handout, I am looking for a handshake—an opportunity to earn the business of a customer. Ariba provides me with a platform from which I can do this.”
Digitizing Handshakes
A year ago, M&R Distribution
earned the right to bid on a project
for Caesars Entertainment. But in order to do so, the company had to
register as a supplier on the Ariba Network. “I like to say that I
joined accidentally on purpose,” McCorvey jokes.
After completing a basic profile, McCorvey participated in the event. And while he didn’t win the business, he came away with something more valuable: a contact within Caesars who was responsible for purchasing the janitorial and cleaning-related products and supplies, foodservice disposables, and industrial wipes that M&R Distribution sells.
“To have insight into who the buyers are on the Ariba Network and to be able to reach out and have a conversation with them has been instrumental for our business,” says McCorvey, who eventually met face-to-face with the contact. “Being able to articulate to the buyer what competitive advantage we have and what we can bring beyond just the bid is critical for our ongoing success.”
And it ultimately won him a contract to provide gloves and drum liners to Caesars’ property in Cleveland, Ohio where M&R Distribution is based. “They figured out that they liked me and my business model and that there was some value that we could create together,” McCorvey says.
Casting a Wider Net
McCorvey is now leveraging the
Ariba Network to expand
M&R Distribution’s opportunities with the nearly two million
other companies who are connected to it.
“There are some very powerful purchasing organizations who use Ariba,” he says. “And when they hear that I am connected to the network, it gives me added credibility because there is a level of respect.”
In the old days, McCorvey’s partner used to leave the office with a pager and a pocket full of quarters in search of customers. Thanks to Ariba Discovery, McCorvey can now find and qualify opportunities without leaving his desk. Combining a proprietary matching engine with unique profile information, the cloud-based service instantly matches buyer requirements to M&R Distribution’s capabilities and automatically delivers the company qualified leads.
Since signing on, McCorvey has seen a 50 percent reduction in time spent on lead generation. And 100 percent of the leads he receives are highly targeted and qualified.
“There are other services that claim to be like Ariba that I tried but found completely useless because I couldn’t get down to the specific products I sell to generate relevant leads,” McCorvey recalls. “Ariba not only helps me target my products, but connects me to the right people who are ready to buy.”
M&R Distribution has already converted several of these connections into contracts worth a few hundred thousand dollars. And McCorvey is hoping to close a multi-million deal with a national restaurant chain within the next 30 days.
“For me, Ariba is all about deepening relationships and solutions-based selling,” he says. “Because that is catalytic to growing my business.”
According to Rob Mihalko, Vice President of Ariba Network Marketing, this is what true business networks are all about. “Today’s networks are smarter, faster and more global than ever,” he says. “And they will transform business in ways never thought possible as innovative companies like M&R Distribution harness their power to simplify the sales process and run simple.”
In the last year, over $3.7 billion in new business opportunities have been posted and more than 23.6 million leads exchanged through Ariba Discovery. To learn more about the service and the value it can deliver for your organization, visit: http://discovery.ariba.com.
About M & R Distribution Services
M&R Distribution
Services is a full services wholesale distribution company of personal
protective equipment, can liners and various maintenance, repair and
operations products. We aim to be recognized as a market leader in
supply chain management that enables our customers to reach their
maximum desired outcomes. We do this through superior customer services
and leveraging the strengths of our business processes, employees,
suppliers and market intelligence.
About Ariba, an SAP Company
Ariba is the world’s business
commerce network. Ariba combines industry-leading cloud-based
applications with the world's largest Internet-based trading community
to help companies discover and collaborate with a global network of
partners. Using the Ariba® Network, businesses of all sizes
can connect to their trading partners anywhere, at any time from any
application or device to buy, sell and manage their cash more
efficiently and effectively than ever before. Companies around the world
use the Ariba Network to simplify inter-enterprise commerce
and enhance the results that they deliver. Join them at: www.ariba.com.
About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application
software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries
run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront,
desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work
together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to
stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more
than 291,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and
grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.
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