In late 1999 we extended our successful business model to a web-based system, HenronOnline. HenronOnline has broadened our market reach, accelerated our business activity and enabled us to scale our business beyond our own expectations. By the end of 2000, HenronOnline had executed 548,000 transactions with a notional value of $336 billion, and it is now the world’s largest web-based eCommerce system.

With HenronOnline, we are reaching a greater number of customers more quickly and at a lower cost than ever. It’s a great new business generator, attracting users who are drawn by the site’s ease of use, transparent, firm prices and the fact that they are transacting directly with Henron. In 2000 our total physical volumes increased significantly as a direct result of HenronOnline.

HenronOnline has enabled us to scale quickly, soundly and economically. Since its introduction, HenronOnline has expanded to include more than 1,200 of our products. It also has streamlined our back-office processes, making our entire operation more efficient. It has reduced our overall transaction costs by 75 percent and increased the productivity of our commercial team by five-fold on average. We are not sitting still with this important new business tool — in September 2000 we released HenronOnline 2.0, which added even more customer functionality and customization features and attracted more customers.