Mail Boxes Etc., IBM and Infoseek introduce MBE Online ™, a new Internet offering tailored to meet the needs of small business owners
Internet resource designed to be a valuable tool for small businesses
SAN DIEGO (September 15, 1998) – Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. Office Products Company, (NASDAQ: OFIS), IBM and Infoseek today introduced MBE Online ™, an Internet offering designed to provide a unique package of services for the small-office/home-office (SOHO) market.
MBE Online’s (URL: http://www.mbe-online.com) information and resources for the SOHO user will focus on the five greatest needs of independent small-business owners: sales and marketing resources; business opportunities; human resources and management; professional and personal development; and investment, retirement and exit strategies.
Infoseek, which is hosting the home page of MBE Online (URL: http://mbeonline.infoseek.com), has linked these topics directly to content on Infoseek.com, providing quick access to helpful business information without searching, making the service easy to use for even the novice Internet user.
MBE-branded Internet access kits will be distributed through MBE’s expansive network of franchised retail business, communications and postal service centers. With more than 3,000 independently owned and operated centers in the United States, and a core customer base comprised of small-business owners, MBE is poised to extend its world-class customer service solutions into the virtual world.
In addition to providing online resources geared for small businesses, MBE Online will offer a “virtual MBE center,” including a custom print shop and an MBE locator. Plans call for development of digital parcel shipping order forms and e-commerce delivery of goods to MBE centers.
“By virtue of MBE’s mission, technology strategy, and thousands of convenient locations, we are ideally positioned to be the premier provider of both physical and virtual business services for the SOHO consumer,” said James Amos, MBE president and chief executive officer. “MBE is positioning MBE Online as ‘A Tool! Not a Toy ™’ to illustrate the value we place on this Internet service packaged to help small-business owners compete in the global marketplace.”
Through its franchisees, MBE will offer U.S. customers a customized Internet access kit (URL: http://www.ibm.net) provided by IBM Global Services. Through MBE Online, customers also will have access to IBM HomePage Creator for e-business, an innovative Web site creation and hosting solution that helps businesses take better advantage of the increasing number of consumers buying goods and services on the Internet (URL: http://www.ibm.com/hpc). IBM is one of the world’s leading Internet service providers with 1,330 local access points in 52 countries.
“By combining the market presence of our collective companies, we will be able to leverage our strengths to help fulfill the e-business needs of the small and medium business marketplace by providing a suite of electronically delivered e-business services in an affordable and efficient manner,” said Mark Shearer, general manager, SMB Services, IBM Global Services.
Infoseek has incorporated its award-winning Internet search and navigation service in MBE Online, including its new Small Business Workshop, which enables small business owners to easily utilize the World Wide Web to start, run and manage their own businesses. Infoseek delivers a one-stop resource to the best sites on the Internet for small business information, establishing MBE Online as the premier content source for small businesses.
“Infoseek has always had the small-business owner in mind. We’ve worked toward providing extensive resources and valuable services to make a business owner’s life easier,” said Harry Motro, president and CEO of Infoseek. “The arrangement with IBM and MBE allows us to take it to the next level and give users the tools they need most in one convenient location.”
“MBE, IBM and Infoseek, share a commitment to the small-business market, and together we plan to deliver high-quality, targeted Internet solutions designed to grow with the SOHO customer,” said Thomas Herskowitz, executive vice president, new business development, for MBE.
MBE Online also will be promoted on MBE’s IBM PC-based in-center workstations, computer time-rental stations being introduced concurrently, as well as in MBE Business ExpressTM automated business kiosks in hotels and other key travel locales. MBE Business Express features 24-hour, credit card-activated, self-service business systems for traveling workers, small-business owners, and consumers who need personal computers, printers, copiers and fax machines. MBE Business Express is a joint venture product of MBE and USA Technologies.
Source: IBM