OB10 B2B E-Invoicing and Payments Network Renamed Tungsten Network
OB10 is now known as the Tungsten Network, a net-based business-to-business (B2B) trade services, electronic e-invoicing and payment network. Operated by the London-based Tungsten Corp, the firm’s key offering has been rebranded after its acquisition late last year for US$167m.
The acquisition of 122 buying organisations and a ready-made customer base for its B2B network technology means that Tungsten Network’s absorption of OB10 is now complete and the founding brothers Edmund and Danny Truell still have US$221m left from its initial public offering (IPO) last autumn on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). It is unclear at this stage if they intend to target further supply chain, e-invoicing trade services networks or payment processors used by finance professionals or take time out to ensure a thorough integration.
Last year OB10 processed electronic e-invoices on a third-party outsourced basis with a total value of more than £109.8bn (US$185bn). Clients include Deutsche Lufthansa AG, General Motors, IBM, Kellogg’s, Whirlpool and agencies of the UK and US governments.
The tricky bit post-acquisition will be to retain and add new clients as the ‘newco’ emerges and its strategy is slowly defined. High value-add analytics is expected to be a key part of the rebranded global e-invoicing network, enabling clients to scrutinize their spending for each invoice on the Tungsten Network in the search for value.
According to Edmund Truell, Group CEO of the over-arching Tungsten Corp, the reorganisation is bearing fruit, with the first customers now agreeing to be serviced globally on an enormous global scale, which should bring efficiencies and economies-of-scale savings. The rebranding will take longer to embed in the public mind.