E-commerce services player gets $63 million infusion

Global Commerce Systems, a business-to-business software and services company, today said it had secured $63 million in third-round financing.

The company hopes to use the new funds to continue expanding its products and services. The new investors include Red Coat Capital Management, J&W Seligman, Blair Asset Management and Blue Ridge Capital. Global Commerce previously received funding from GE Capital Financial, GE Equity and First Analysis.

Global Commerce said it brings sales, procurement, payments and settlement for e-business transactions under one platform. Most business e-commerce platforms are still trying to find ways to blend the different services and needs of online marketplaces that connect suppliers and buyers. At this time, procurement and payment are not well integrated with online sales; payments often are still processed through tedious offline paperwork.

Last month, American Express formed an alliance with Ariba, which makes software that helps create online marketplaces, to improve payment systems. Visa and MasterCard also have relationships with Ariba and its rival, Commerce One. Several start-ups, like i-Escrow, InPurchase, eCash and others, are trying to find ways fill the payment holes.

The rush to this sector is understandable given the expected size of the market. The leading research firms peg the business-to-business market at between $2.7 trillion and $7.3 trillion by 2004, compared with about $131 billion in 1999.