Herrliberg, 1st March 2019 – Mercateo has been represented in Switzerland by its own national subsidiary, Mercateo Schweiz GmbH, since 4th January 2019. The B2B procurement platform was available to some Swiss customers via a direct connection back in 2016, but is now opening up to the Swiss market at www.mercateo.ch with 2 million items initially. The current location of the new company is Herrliberg in the Canton of Zurich.
Business customers throughout Europe use the Mercateo procurement platform to standardise and digitise the procurement of indirect needs and network with their business partners. The providers on the platform are local Swiss companies that offer, for instance, office and IT supplies, operating and warehouse equipment, as well as products from the construction, trade, electrical engineering and agricultural sectors. Mercateo is also strengthening its local presence in terms of personnel, appointing Thomas Dinkel as the Mercateo Country Manager in Switzerland. “We have big goals for Mercateo in Switzerland as the market is an important part of Mercateo’s internationalisation strategy,” he says. “The product range will become much larger because we can now address Swiss suppliers personally on site,” says Dinkel. The founding of Mercateo Schweiz GmbH offers a key advantage for customers: They get a personal contact who knows the local conditions and creates the trust that is necessary when establishing innovative solutions in networked procurement.
As Mercateo CEO Peter Ledermann explains, the national company is also an important driver of networking among Swiss companies: “The founding of the national company is a clear commitment to the Swiss market. For us, this step is of particular importance because it brings us a good deal closer to our goal: With our platform, we want to be a common denominator in the European procurement environment, establish standards, and thus create added value for all our customers and suppliers.” Mercateo pursues the goal of both making B2B trading more effective and economical and networking market players with each other. To this end, Mercateo is a member of Procure Swiss, the professional association for purchasing and supply management, and VSV, the Swiss mail-order association.