SAP targets B2B market arena

SAP is to set up a company dedicated to providing Internet marketplaces for the business-to-business market.

The E500m (£308m) move will bring the German ERP vendor into direct competition with market leaders Commerce One and Ariba.

SAP's subsidiary will be called SAPmarkets and will initially use the mySAP.com marketplace product launched last year. The company - which will be based in Palo Alto, California- opens in May and is currently looking for a permanent CEO.

SAP said SAPmarkets will initially target its existing global network of partners and customers.

SAPmarkets will sell products that let companies to automate their procurement and supply chain with the use of an Internet-based marketplace of suppliers. The scheme will let companies take advantage of preferred supplier relationships and automated order processing.