CarParts Technologies Inc., a leading provider of open, e-commerce software solutions for the automotive aftermarket, has bought Pittsburgh, Pa.-based OpenWebs Corp., the e-commerce company that created the Intelligent Trading Network peer-to-peer trading technology for the tire industry.
A majority of OpenWeb's staff has joined the CarParts Technologies team and will continue to operate from the Pittsburgh R&D center, the company reports. CarParts Technologies is based in El Segundo, Calif.
OpenWebs was founded in 2000. Its Intelligent Trading Network software platform "provides a complete, integrated Internet-ready application suite used to build peer-to-peer trading networks of retailers, distributors and manufacturers to let them locate, buy and sell products with each other," CarParts Technologies says.
Through this acquisition, CarParts Technologies has also entered into a technology supplier relationship with Michelin North America Inc., CarParts Technologies says. It "will deliver the Intelligent Trading Network software as part of Michelin's larger e-commerce strategy in North America."
The OpenWebs transaction is the third acquisition in 24 months for CarParts Technologies. It was founded in 1997 and provides a wide range of e-commerce solutions "that allow automotive products to move efficiently from suppliers to customers throughout the aftermarket," the company reports. It has more than 3,000 installations.
