ATLANTA - Even as the managers of manufacturers and distributors scramble to create the perception they are leading their companies into the new economy, the firms that capitalize by offering Internet services are broadening their efforts to better compete.

In other words, the game has progressed well beyond slapping pages up in hyperspace.

For example, application services provider (ASP) Eltrax Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:ELTX), will provide extensive training and installation services to hsupply.com, a B2B e-commerce Web site for the hospitality industry.

The Eltrax Customer Care business unit will provide training and education on the hsupply.com procurement solution for purchasing managers at more than 800 hotel properties across the US by the end of third quarter.

"Our job is to enhance the relationship between hsupply.com and its hospitality industry customers by providing on-site training, education and feedback," says James Gandy, vice president of Eltrax Business Development and Sales Support for Customer Care. "We will help hsupply.com's customers deploy their customized marketplaces and teach them how to take advantage of all of the features of this state-of-the-art procurement solution. The training will enable customers to quickly realize the benefits of using the Internet to conduct business."

Eltrax's challenge is to master hsupply.com's highly service-oriented culture to provide customers a seamless transition from training to full deployment. Eltrax will provide this service to hsupply.com as a total turn-key solution, eliminating the need for hsupply.com to coordinate travel or other cumbersome arrangements.

"It is critical that Eltrax become part of the hsupply.com family as they help our customers deploy our marketplaces," says Larry Hall, president/COO of hsupply.com. "Eltrax will make the first impression of what our company is all about, so I think it shows we have a high level of confidence in Eltrax's ability to represent hsupply.com."

The hsupply.com portfolio includes 12 hotel franchisers and management companies totaling more than 1,000 properties, including U.S. Franchise Systems, Inc. (USFS), Buckhead America, and Tharaldson Cos., the top franchisee of Marriott hotels.

Atlanta-based hsupply.com estimates the hospitality supplies industry at $50 billion annually.

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