ORACLE, SEARS, AND the French retailer Carrefour on Monday announced the formation of a business-to-business online purchasing exchange that they said will be the largest of its kind in the retail industry.

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Called the GlobalNetXchange, the online marketplace initially will serve Sears' and Carrefour's $80 billion supply-chain purchases from 50,000 suppliers, partners, and distributors, the companies said Monday in a statement.

Other retailers will be invited to join the online marketplace, which is based on Oracle Exchange, the company's e-business marketplace platform, the companies said.

The new exchange, deploying standard Web browsers, will allow members to buy, sell, trade, or auction goods and services over the Internet, the companies said in the statement. GlobalNetXchange will start operations within 30 days with its own management, employees, and capitalization.

Both Sears and Carrefour already are utilizing sophisticated purchasing techniques and are positioned to take advantage of the features of the exchange, Larry Ellison, chief executive officer of Oracle, said in the statement.

Sears and Carrefour will share a majority interest in GlobalNetXchange while Oracle will hold a minority interest and provide software, implementation, and support.

The exchange will provide supply-chain management features that include collaborative demand and capacity planning, order-promising, transportation scheduling, global inventory, and eventually the full automation of the purchase process.

GlobalNetXchange will support a variety of retail merchandising, including apparel, soft goods, hard goods, food, and other consumer products.

Oracle launched its online marketplace platform in July 1999. The company announced a large-scale collaboration in November 1999 with Ford Motor called AutoXchange.

AutoXchange has sold more than $300 million worth of goods thus far, Mary Lou Smulders, vice president of Oracle product industries, said Monday in a telephone interview. More announcements are expected this year, she said.

"We will be setting up the same kind of joint venture alliances with major players in several industries to create a global and open exchange for their entire industry," Smulders said.

Oracle Corp., in Redwood Shores, Calif., is at www.oracle.com. Sears, Roebuck & Co., in Hoffman Estates, Ill., is at www.sears.com. Carrefour SA, in Paris, is at www.carrefour.com.