Company bids nearly $575 million in goods and services to date including
packaging materials, ocean freight, electricity, rental car rates, tax
preparation, security guard, and telecommunications services; identifies
average savings of close to 13% for Global 1000 clients
PITTSBURGH, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- FreeMarkets, Inc. (Nasdaq: FMKT), the
world's leading online auction marketplace, today announced that nearly $575
million worth of indirect materials have been bid through its online auction
marketplace to date, generating savings of close to 13% for its Global 1000
clients. Indirect materials are purchases made by corporations to support
their operations, as opposed to direct materials, which are incorporated into
end products.
To date, 21 clients have used the FreeMarkets online auction marketplace
to source indirect materials in more than 46 different product and service
categories. These categories include: tax preparation services, electricity;
corrugated packaging; pallets; rental car rates; hotel room rates;
telecommunications wiring and installation services; promotional items; ocean
freight; truckload and less-than-truckload motor freight; office furniture;
refractory materials; maintenance repair and operating (MRO) items; lift truck
leasing; long distance minutes; U.S. customs broker services; employee
relocation services; security guard services; temporary labor services; and
construction site preparation services.
"The increasing demand among our Global 1000 clients for a broader range
of goods and services -- including indirect as well as direct materials -- is
a testament to the strength of our business model and our expertise in online
market making," said FreeMarkets Chairman and CEO Glen Meakem. "We see
indirect materials as a tremendous growth opportunity that naturally leverages
our industry-leading platform for direct materials. Buyers always need to
negotiate the exact prices and terms that meet their needs for these types of
purchases, and that's where we excel. Our clients are using our auctions to
set the price terms for purchases they load into the procurement catalogs
provided by companies like Commerce One, Ariba and Sun/Netscape."
Among the successful online markets for indirect materials and services
FreeMarkets has created to date:
-- Tax preparation services. FreeMarkets helped a Global 1000 client
identify savings of close to 50% on a contract for tax preparation
services.
-- Packaging materials. FreeMarkets' buyers have purchased more than
$123 million of packaging materials, including custom and standard
pallets, corrugated packaging and folding cartons, and identified
savings of more than 7%.
-- Telecommunications services. More than $4 million worth of
telecommunications services -- including fixed and mobile service in
Italy, wiring and hardware installation -- have been bid through the
FreeMarkets online auction marketplace, saving over 30%.
-- Electricity. FreeMarkets bid out a contract for electricity worth more
than $33 million on behalf of a state government and identified savings
of nearly 5%.
-- Security Guard Services. FreeMarkets helped a Global 1000 client save
more than 14% on a contract for security guard services.
-- Transportation. Contracts for more than $31 million worth of
transportation, including less-than-truckload transportation and ocean
freight, have been bid through the FreeMarkets online auction
marketplace.
-- Relocation Services. FreeMarkets has bid out over $93 million worth of
relocation services and identified annual savings of more than 20%.
-- Maintenance repair and operating (MRO) items. FreeMarkets' clients
have purchased more than $41 million worth of maintenance, repair and
operating items, including material handling tools and supplies,
through the FreeMarkets online auction marketplace and identified
average savings of 15%.
-- Hotel Services. FreeMarkets helped a Global 1000 client save more than
20% off contract hotel room rates.
-- Office Furniture and Installation. Nearly $9 million worth of office
furniture and installation services have been purchased through the
FreeMarkets online auction marketplace. Average savings on these
purchases have exceeded 31%.
"Indirect materials present their own unique challenges because of the
peculiarities of local and regional markets," Meakem said. "Our accumulated
experience and results demonstrate our continued leadership in creating a
managed marketplace that really works."
About FreeMarkets
FreeMarkets is the world's leading online auction marketplace for
industrial parts, raw materials, commodities and services. The Company
created online auctions for over $2.7 billion worth of purchase orders in 1999
and nearly $1.0 billion worth of purchase orders in 1998. Since 1995,
FreeMarkets has created online auctions for products in more than 70 supply
verticals, including injection molded plastic parts, commercial machinings,
metal fabrications, chemicals, printed circuit boards, corrugated packaging
and coal. More than 3,000 suppliers from over 45 countries have participated
in FreeMarkets auctions. FreeMarkets provides access to its online auction
marketplace to industrial buyers and suppliers. The FreeMarkets marketplace
includes proprietary online auction technology, technical operations,
industrial market making services, access to a global database of suppliers
and supplier research, call center support to buyers and suppliers in over 30
languages, and marketplace rules. The Company's current clients include
United Technologies Corporation, The Quaker Oats Company, Owens Corning, Eaton
Corporation, Emerson Electric Company, FirstEnergy Corp., SmithKline Beecham
plc, Navistar International and Delphi Automotive Systems Corporation.
FreeMarkets can be found on the Web at http://www.freemarkets.com .
FreeMarkets is a registered trademark of FreeMarkets, Inc.
Forward-looking statements
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts, including
those statements that refer to FreeMarkets' plans, prospects, expectations,
strategies, intentions, hopes and beliefs, are forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements are based on information available to
FreeMarkets today, and FreeMarkets assumes no obligation to update these
statements as circumstances change. There are risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking
statements, including, without limitation, market acceptance of our online
auction marketplace, the competitive nature of the market for
business-to- business online auction services, FreeMarkets' ability to retain
and increase revenue from existing clients and to execute agreements with new
clients, and FreeMarkets' ability to attract and retain qualified personnel.
These and other risk factors are described in detail in FreeMarkets'
prospectus dated December 9, 1999, which is included as part of its
Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Contact: Kim Booth
FreeMarkets
412-297-8430
kbooth@freemarkets.com
SOURCE FreeMarkets, Inc.
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.freemarkets.com
CONTACT:
Kim Booth of FreeMarkets, 412-297-8430, or
kbooth@freemarkets.com
|
