Company Saves on Wide Range of Goods and Services, Including Corrugated
Packaging, Vitamins and Premixes, Car Hire and Hotel Services
PHILADELPHIA and LONDON, Feb. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- FreeMarkets, Inc.
(Nasdaq: FMKT), the world's leading business-to-business online auction
marketplace, today announced that it has helped SmithKline Beecham
(NYSE: SBH), identify more than $3 million in savings on goods and services
through its online auction marketplace. SB is the first pharmaceutical and
consumer healthcare company to conduct strategic purchasing through
FreeMarkets.
"Electronic commerce is the way of the future and not to embrace it is
just putting off the inevitable," said Willie Deese, Senior Vice President of
Worldwide Purchasing at SB. "FreeMarkets is an important tool in our tool
chest which we are using to set market prices for the products and services we
purchase and we are extremely pleased with the results the company has
delivered for us to date."
Since 1999, SB has bid out more than $38.2 million worth of goods and
services through FreeMarkets and identified average annual savings of nearly
10 percent. FreeMarkets serves SB from its Market Operations Centers in both
Pittsburgh, Pa. and Brussels, Belgium.
"Global companies need global solutions for purchasing that deliver
results," said FreeMarkets Chairman and CEO Glen Meakem. "We are pleased to
be helping SB save on their strategic purchases by providing them with access
to our proprietary online auction technology, market making services and
on-the-ground support in both the United States and Europe."
About SB
SmithKline Beecham -- one of the world's leading healthcare companies --
discovers, develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals, vaccines, over-
the-counter medicines and health-related consumer products. For company
information, visit SmithKline Beecham on the World Wide Web at http://www.sb.com.
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, Eaton Corporation,
Emerson Electric Company, Honeywell International Inc., FirstEnergy Corp.,
SmithKline Beecham plc, Navistar International and Delphi Automotive Systems
Corporation. During the fourth quarter of 1999, FreeMarkets completed an
initial public offering of 4.1 million shares of its common stock, raising
$182.2 million. 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 FreeMarkets'
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.
For further information, contact Catherine McAleese, Communications
Manager of SmithKline Beecham, +44-802-975-2263, or
catherine.m.mcaleese@sb.com; or Kimberly Booth, Manager, Corporate
Communications of FreeMarkets, 412-297-8430, or kbooth@freemarkets.com.
SOURCE FreeMarkets, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.freemarkets.com
CONTACT:
Catherine McAleese, Communications Manager of
SmithKline Beecham, +44-802-975-2263, or
catherine.m.mcaleese@sb.com; or Kimberly Booth, Manager,
Corporate Communications of FreeMarkets, 412-297-8430, or
kbooth@freemarkets.com
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