Cordiem exchange kicks off

A major, public, business-to-business trading exchange for the airline industry promised via the combined efforts of AirNewco and MyAircraft has come to fruition with the formation of Cordiem, officials announced Wednesday.

Cordiem, which will serve as an exchange and an ASP (application services provider), will be based in Washington. Nine global airlines and three aerospace manufacturers have thrown their support to the exchange, which will be owned by buyers and sellers.

Committed to streamlining the $500 billion supply chain of the airline/aerospace industry, Cordiem has as founding members Air France, American Airlines, BFGoodrich, British Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Honeywell International, Iberia Airlines, SAirGroup, United Airlines, United Parcel Service, and United Technologies Corp.

The independently managed effort will offer online catalogs, reverse and forward auctions, inventory, and transaction support features. The revenue model will be based on subscription and transaction fees. Cordiem is the result of the previous efforts of AirNewco, an airline-led b-to-b project, and MyAircraft, a manufacturer-led exchange.

For the IT infrastructure, Cordiem will be using the services and software of the widely publicized triumvirate of i2 Technologies, Ariba, and IBM.

As reported previously in Computerworld, Ariba and i2 have been tapped as the technology providers for the effort, and are expected to yield basic e-procurement and supply-chain management tools, starting this quarter. IBM will serve as the hosting provider for Cordiem.

Cordiem officials said there will be a phased rollout during the second quarter. There will be a suite of supply-chain management and e-procurement tools targeted for time and cost savings in five operational areas: maintenance and engineering, fuel and fuel services, catering and cabin services, airport services, and general procurement.

The new exchange also formed an Airline Advisory Council and Supplier Advisory Council to focus on the needs of its diverse customer base. The airline council counts as members Aer Lingus, Airborne Express, Asiana, Aeromexico, Britannia, Finnair, LanChile, and South African Airways, a grouping that represents annual revenue of more than $25 billion, Cordiem officials said.

Cordiem, which has more than 120 full-time interim employees from the founding members and other business partners, is building an executive team.

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