Commonfind is an e-procurement marketplace for education. Designed as a comprehensive solution for educational institutions and their suppliers, Commonfind intends to offer a wider product selection than other e-procurement solutions - and lower cost through aggregated buying and process automation throughout the entire procurement chain.

Commonfind is also unique in its flexible systems design, which enables buyers and sellers of any size and level of sophistication to join the marketplace and conduct business electronically with no capital commitment.

How else is Commonfind different from other e-procurement marketplaces?

• It is a partnership of established leaders in education and electronic commerce dedicated to meeting the unique needs of educational institutions
• Buyers have the ability to migrate easily to more sophisticated functionality as their needs change
• Fast-track implementation enables participants to realize marketplace benefits in 60-90 days
• Commonfind is a true community where benefits are shared by buyers and sellers alike and where best practices can be shared, adopted and implemented quickly
  

Specific Commonfind benefits include:

• Aggregated purchasing - expected 10 to 15% hard dollar savings even for large buying cooperatives and large institutions
• Streamlined workflow -- additional savings from reduced paperwork, automated routing of authorizations and simplified reconciliation
• Enhanced control -- reduction of "rogue" buying; ease of integration with ERP and other systems
• Improved supplier access -- especially to such targeted suppliers as women-owned and minority-owned businesses and small, local suppliers

Commonfind is the result of a strategic alliance of three partners:



Founded in 1971, Commonfund is the largest independent manager of endowment assets and operating cash for education, managing in excess of $26 billion on behalf of more than 1,300 institutions, ranging in size from the largest state school systems to small independent schools. Commonfund, through its Commonfund Treasury subsidiary, was the first financial institution to bring Web-based solutions to treasury management in the education market, with the introduction of Treasury Access in 1997. Commonfind e-procurement is a core element of the Commonfund Treasury strategy to bring solutions to education along a continuum from receivables to payables, and the management of working capital funds with the goal of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of treasury operations.




CampusFirst is a subsidiary organization of SCUUL, the leading insurance underwriter for educational institutions since 1987, and was created to provide an Internet information resource company for education. CampusFirst is owned by SCUUL and a number of premier colleges and universities throughout the U.S. Through its affiliation with SCUUL, CampusFirst has relationships with more than 2,000 colleges, universities, independent schools and K-12 public school districts. In addition to its e-procurement activities, CampusFirst will deliver a broad range of Internet business services to clients.




Formed in 1996, Intelisys Electronic Commerce, Inc. is a leader in business-to-business purchasing and marketplace exchanges and in providing Internet-based applications for organizations of all sizes. Intelisys is applying its Internet procurement expertise and hallmark ease-of-use to meet the e-commerce needs of both buyers and suppliers. ConnectTrade™, Intelisys' suite of products based on open standards and supplier managed content, provides private and public entities with the easiest and fastest way to use the Internet to dramatically reduce the high cost of procuring goods and services while generating new revenue streams.