USA: Water.com takes on expanded B2B role with redesigned web site.

In a development which is expected to radically transform the beverage business, water.com, ( www.water.com ) the consumer marketplace and information centre for everything water, has re-launched as a "full-service" water portal, offering its e-commerce services to bottled water companies large and small. Water.com is the online initiative of Suntory Water Group, the third largest water company in the U.S delivering coolers and bottled water to the home and office. Launched in January 2000, water.com enables consumers to place, track, inquire about and customize their orders for bottled water products and services, and have those products delivered to their home or office anywhere in the United States. In conjunction with the new site design, several partnership agreements with bottled water distributors nationwide have been established that enable water.com to service home and office customers in virtually every state. The distribution partners - previously considered competitors of Suntory Water Group, water.com's parent company - are now able to maintain a robust e-commerce presence without investing in the development of their own retail web capabilities. Water.com's new B2B role will help transform an often in-efficient supply chain into a network of collaborative business and promotional relationships. "Bottled water companies are turning to us for an online solution, and the new water.com offers just that-a single point of contact for both distributors and customers nationwide," said David Krishock, President and Chief Executive Officer of water.com and its parent, Suntory Water Group. "Beyond the sheer convenience of making bottled water available 24 hours a day, seven days a week from any computer desktop in the country and from an array of distributors, our site now also allows us to engage our customers with added interactivity and more sources of health related content."Among the services provided at the redesigned water.com are: