Companies Team to Deliver Best-of-Breed Online
Auction and Market Making Solutions for Public Sector
PITTSBURGH, and FAIRFAX, Va., March 9 /PRNewswire/ --
FreeMarkets, Inc., (Nasdaq: FMKT) the world's leading online auction
marketplace, and American Management Systems, Inc., (Nasdaq: AMSY), one of the
largest international business and technology consulting firms, today
announced that they have formed a strategic alliance. Under the terms of
their agreement, FreeMarkets and AMS will partner to deliver best-of-breed
online auction and market making solutions that will enable public sector
procurement professionals to make market-based buying decisions for
commodities and services.
AMS is the leading provider of financial and procurement solutions to the
public sector through work with the Department of Defense, 65 federal civilian
agencies, bureaus and departments, and more than 300 state and local
governments. More than $100 billion of funds budgeted to federal agencies are
managed by AMS's federal financial management systems.
"We are excited to be part of AMS's eProcurement solutions for public
sector professionals," said Dave McCormick, vice president for public sector
business at FreeMarkets. "FreeMarkets' track record of creating successful
online auction markets and AMS's proven success in providing integrated
solutions to government clients is a powerful combination. Together, we will
help transform government procurement by bringing the efficiency, transparency
and savings of the FreeMarkets(R) online auction marketplace to purchasing
professionals in federal, state and municipal governments."
"AMS offers public sector organizations the only comprehensive set of
government-to-business eProcurement products and services. Together with
FreeMarkets, our solutions help public sector organizations reduce both the
cost of the procurement process and the price of what is purchased," said Paul
Brands AMS CEO. "FreeMarkets' online auction and market making offering is a
proven best-of-breed solution for professional buyers in the private sector.
We believe that FreeMarkets' offerings will be extremely attractive throughout
the public sector."
Under the agreement, AMS will combine the FreeMarkets online auction
marketplace into its existing eProcurement solutions for government clients.
The FreeMarkets online auction marketplace includes industry-leading online
auction technology, technical operations, market making services, access to
the world's deepest global database of suppliers and supplier research, call
center support to buyers and suppliers in over 30 languages, and marketplace
rules.
Joint Marketing and Collaborative Selling of FreeMarkets' and AMS
eProcurement Solutions for Public Sector
FreeMarkets and AMS will jointly market and sell eProcurement solutions.
FreeMarkets' industry-leading auction technology and market making services
will be combined with AMS's financial and procurement solutions specifically
designed for public sector professionals. AMS and FreeMarkets will jointly
train and deploy experts in FreeMarkets' online auction and market making
solutions to help existing and prospective clients integrate the FreeMarkets
offering into their purchasing processes.
About AMS
AMS is an international business and information technology consulting
firm -- one of the 20 largest such firms worldwide. The firm's intent is to
be the premier provider of Next-Generation Enterprise business and technology
solutions -- solutions which dramatically improve business performance and
create value for clients. AMS's suite of eBusiness strategy and Next-
Generation Enterprise management and technology services make business
reinvention possible in Internet time for large organizations. Founded in
1970, AMS is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. The firm has more than 8,000
employees and 57 offices worldwide. AMS's 1999 revenues were $1.24 billion,
with eBusiness-related revenues representing 40%, an increase of more than
100% over 1998. Forbes magazine ranked AMS among its best-performing big
companies in the U.S. in their "Best of the Biggest," and Fortune magazine
placed AMS on its list of the "100 Best Companies to Work for in America" in
1999. AMS is traded in the Nasdaq over-the-counter market under the symbol
AMSY. Additional information on the firm can be found on the Web at:
http://www.amsinc.com.
About FreeMarkets
FreeMarkets is the world's leading B2B eMarketplace, with online auction
markets 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 the FreeMarkets B2B eMarketplace. FreeMarkets provides access to its
eMarketplace to industrial buyers and suppliers. The FreeMarkets eMarketplace
includes industry-leading online auction technology, technical operations,
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 The Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, 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 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.
SOURCE FreeMarkets, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.freemarkets.com
CONTACT:
Karen Kovatch of FreeMarkets, 412-297-8767,
or kkovatch@freemarkets.com, or Jane Kaplan of American
Management Systems, 703-267-8174, or Jane_Kaplan@amsinc.com
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