SOUTHFIELD, MICH. (Oct. 6, 9:30 a.m. EDT) — The first contract awarded on the new Covisint automotive purchasing portal is going to an unidentified injection molder.
Exactly who made the parts purchased by ArvinMeritor Inc. on Oct. 3 has not been released, but officials with the new e-business company confirmed the first auction over the system was for injection molded plastic components.
"It´s part of a series of activities ArvinMeritor is involved in," said Covisint spokesman Dan Jankowski.
Southfield-based Covisint won final government approval for operations late last month. The company combines the purchasing power of Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., DaimlerChrysler AG, Renault SA and some of those companies´ participating suppliers.
ArvinMeritor produces a variety of modules for automakers, ranging from suspension systems to the plastic roof on DaimlerChrysler´s Smart Car. ArvinMeritor officials said they could not comment on the purchase.
The plastic parts were just the first of a series of purchases ArvinMeritor was to make through Covisint over the course of about a week, destined for an unspecified carmaker, Jankowski said.
The companies may disclose more information later this month, he said.
Picking the Troy, Mich.-based supplier as the first to do business does not imply it was any more prepared for Covisint than any other company, he said. ArvinMeritor was ready to go with a purchase when the exchange was ready to open for business.
"It was just a matter of timing," Jankowski said.