ATLANTA— VproLogic, essentially a successor to now-defunct e-procurement operation Hsupply.com, appears to be well on its way to changing the purchasing patterns— and streamlining the supply chain— for thousands of hoteliers in Europe as well as in the U.S. Moreover, the nearly year-old organization expects the application of its proprietary e-procurement software platforms to ultimately grow beyond the confines of the lodging and hospitality arena, in accordance with capabilities purportedly suitable to any commercial venture counting on centralized control of sourcing and expenditures. As noted by local hotelier R.C. Patel, chairman of (and lead investor in) VproLogic, the multi-lingual, multi-currency nature of the system allows it to be adapted for most any country around the world. By way of example, Patel noted VproLogic has already made considerable inroads in Europe and the United Kingdom, with a France-based licensee— Hotel Net Business (HNB)— on-line since April and currently hosting a catalog with more than 15,000 SKUs of product-selection being used by more than 700 hotels. A year ago, Patel headed up a group of investors that “bought everything…except the debts and liabilities” of Hsupply.com, an e-procurement company that suffered such financial problems that “venture capitalists walked away from it after putting up between $18 million – $20 million.” Reformulated under the VproLogic banner, the newly acquired software platforms were subsequently expanded and enhanced by Atlanta software architect Parag Amin. Additionally, Patel and his associates— including Satyan Melwani, formerly product manager for Hsupply.com and now president of the new e-procurement entity— are confident VproLogic will not experience the same financial problems that had beset Hsupply.com (and other similar operations), not only because the company’s officers are determined to run a tighter ship, but also because they implemented a veritable paradigm shift in the manner in which they’ve chosen to do business. As Patel and Melwani explained, VproLogic is tied neither to inventory levels nor mandated suppliers; rather, it offers subscribers the option of maintaining their pre-existing purchasing and business relationships. “We will help you with the purchasing process, offering guidance and information about when you should buy, how you should buy and how much you should pay… but you still do the purchasing,” the executives said. Moreover, by relying on a licensing set-up (for overseas operations), Patel and Melwani maintained a substantial degree of risk is further removed from the operations of the Diplomat Cos. operating subsidiary. As for what waits down the road for VproLogic, Patel noted that— in addition to widening the system’s applicability to other commercial venues— the company is also looking to broaden software-platform capabilities to address general-ledger and back-office functions in line with improving property-management performance.
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