Suppliermarket.com

About Suppliermarket.com

Suppliermarket.com operated as a business-to-business online marketplace established to connect buyers and sellers of manufactured direct materials. The company was founded in 1998 by CEO Jonathan Burgstone, along with brothers Reza and Asif Satchu. Asif Satchu served as the company's Chairman and President. One of the key figures, Reza Satchu, brought a strong financial and entrepreneurial background to the venture; after earning an economics degree from McGill University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, he worked as a managing director at a private equity firm before co-founding Suppliermarket.com.

The platform functioned as a centralized digital venue for sourcing industrial goods such as nuts, bolts, rubber, glass, and corrugated packaging products. Its business model was centered on facilitating transactions between primarily small to midsized manufacturers, who were both buyers and sellers on the site. A core feature of the service was its use of reverse auctions, allowing suppliers to bid competitively for contracts to supply materials. This approach was designed to create a more efficient procurement process and offer tangible cost savings for buyers.

By mid-2000, the company had attracted a substantial user base, with over 7,700 registered buyers and more than 12,000 suppliers. The platform demonstrated significant growth, expanding from 13 employees in July 1999 to 155 by June of the following year. In August 2000, in a strategic move that highlighted the value of its sourcing technology and market position, Suppliermarket.com was acquired by SAP Ariba for approximately $581 million in a stock deal. This acquisition integrated Suppliermarket's sourcing capabilities and its extensive network of buyers and suppliers into Ariba's broader e-commerce platform.