The eBuilder story in a nutshell: Visionary people creating innovative solutions.

The 80s: Frontec lays the foundation

Frontec (FRONTiers of TEChnology), an IT-consultant and technology company, was founded in 1981 by core people at Teleplan (a defense company) via an MBO. Frontec’s founders, its success in harnessing technology to streamline business operations (Frontec’s motto was “We Save Time), and its integration innovations form the foundation on which eBuilder stands.

One of the significant developments at the end of the 80s was the delivery of the integration broker AMTrix, developed by Frontec AMT, Frontec’s development organization. 80% of all A-list Swedish companies used the integration broker’s application messaging technology to collaborate electronically via, for example, EDI messages.

1995 - 1999: Frontec changes its name; grows and moves

In 1995, Frontec was one of the first IT companies to be listed on the Swedish stock exchange. Frontec’s integration technology in Frontec AMT expanded rapidly and internationally, with offices established worldwide.

In 1999, Frontec AMT took in Battery Ventures as an investment company, changed its name to Viewlocity, moved its headquarters to Atlanta, and hired more than 500 people in less than two years. Viewlocity filed for S1 status in NASDAQ in the spring of 2000.

2000 - 2001: The IT downturn

The worldwide IT downturn thwarted Viewlocity’s public offering and put the kibosh on investor interest in IT. Axway, a French company, purchased Viewlocity’s valuable integration broker, which eBuilder uses today.

2003 - 2007: The rise of Marakanda

By the early 2000s, many of the core people from Viewlocity had joined a company called Marakanda Marknadsplats AB. Marakanda was formed in 1996 as Telia Electronic Commerce. Its name changed to Marakanda when Föreningssparbanken took 50% ownership in 2000. Marakanda was acquired from TeliaSonera and Föreningssparbanken by two Marakanda executives and the former CEO of Frontec as an MBO in 2003.

Marakanda contributed travel and purchasing solutions, as well as the common platform on which eBuilder solutions are built. Marakanda’s solutions consisted of:

• Telia eCommerce, a purchasing solution
• Tur & Retur, a public sector travel solution acquired from Frontec
• Resax, a private sector travel solution acquired from WM Data

Marakanda merged the two travel solutions and developed a platform on which to operate electronic business processes. This platform later became the eBuilder Accelerator. Marakanda opened an R&D center in Sri Lanka, which is today the eBuilder Technology Centre.

2006: Key people and technology come together

Meanwhile, the former CEO of Frontec became a part-owner of Parcelhouse, which develops information and tracking solutions for the supply chain. Parcelhouse developed the Integrated Information Gateway (IIG), an innovative supply chain/logistics information management system. In 2006, Parcelhouse merged with Marakanda, bringing together the key people and technologies from Frontec/Viewlocity, Marakanda, and Parcelhouse.

2007 - 2008: Enter eBuilder

The new company resulting from the merger received a new name in the spring of 2007: eBuilder. eBuilder took its first steps on four sturdy legs: the travel solution (from Frontec and WM Data); the procurement solution (from Marakanda); the reverse logistics solution (from Parcelhouse); and customized solutions. In 2008, the four business solutions converged on a common platform (eBuilder Accelerator).

2009 - 2012: eBuilder goes global

eBuilder instituted a three-year global expansion plan to make its solutions, called eBuilder Cloud Processes for the value network, available to multinational companies and organizations around the world. In 2009, eBuilder received an SEK 40 million investment from venture capital firms Eqvitec Technology Fund III and Industrifonden to accelerate its expansion. Today eBuilder serves users in more than 60 countries in 10 languages and handles millions of business-critical transactions every month.