Online auction volumes at web marketplace GNX broke through the £1bn barrier in December as buyers ramped up their usage of the procurement tool.
Since its launch in 2000, GNX, whose members include Sainsbury and Carrefour, has hosted more than 9,500 auctions valued at over $7.5bn. More than 6,600 of these were conducted over the last 12 months, said GNX boss Joe Laughlin. "In 2002, we saw tremendous growth in our auction business. GNX customers conducted more auctions in the fourth quarter alone than in all of 2001."
Joint sourcing, whereby several exchange members team up to buy items not for resale, is also gathering pace, said Laughlin. "This is an area where GNX can add significant value by aggregating demand to drive more competitive negotiations for the commodity items that many of our retailers purchase."
Carrefour director of B2B strategy Jeremy Hollows said online auctions were now being integrated into the Carrefour culture as a standard procurement tool: "In 2003 we will continue to drive the tool deeper into our business."
Separately, more than 450 suppliers are now developing new own label products for Sainsbury through GNX's online collaborative product development tool.
Sainsbury claims the tool can slash the time to market by a third.

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