Companies Offer Comprehensive eBusiness Solutions to Global 1000 Organizations
In Service Industries
PITTSBURGH, and ROCHESTER, N.Y., June 8 /PRNewswire/ --
FreeMarkets, Inc. (Nasdaq: FMKT), the original and world's leading B2B
eMarketplace, and Xelus, Inc. (formerly LPA, Inc.), the leading provider of
inventory planning, forecasting, optimization and e-commerce solutions for
service industries, announced today that they have formed a strategic alliance
to deliver web-based B2B e-trading communities and decision support solutions
to Global 1000 organizations.
Under the terms of the alliance, FreeMarkets and Xelus will provide Global
1000 organizations in industries including aerospace, telecommunications, high
technology and utilities with access to the FreeMarkets(R) B2B eMarketplace
and Xelus's money-saving supply chain optimization and planning for service
inventory.
The FreeMarkets B2B eMarketplace has driven over $5.4 billion in commerce
to date and includes industry-leading online auction technology, technical
operations, industrial market making services, access to a global database of
suppliers and supplier research, and call center support to buyers and
suppliers in over 30 languages. Xelus's offerings combine sophisticated
planning and forecasting capabilities with e-Business functionality to create
multi-tiered e-trading communities that facilitate collaborative commerce in
selected verticals.
Through the alliance, customers can enhance the efficiency of the
procurement process and increase potential savings by combining the
FreeMarkets and Xelus solutions. Customers using the FreeMarkets B2B
eMarketplace, for example, will be able to use the FreeMarkets Desktop, the
industry's only web-based technology sourcing platform for industrial buyers,
to prepare for bidding events and integrate Xelus's decision support solutions
for materials purchasing and re-order.
"Xelus has a leading optimization solution for the service industry, with
applications controlling over $50 billion worth of yearly service parts
purchases at Fortune 500 companies worldwide and FreeMarkets' customers have
conducted over $5.4 billion worth of purchases through our B2B eMarketplace,"
said Scott Grimes, vice president of business development for FreeMarkets.
"Together, we can provide additional value to Global 1000 organizations by
offering a combined solution that increases sourcing efficiency and saves
money."
"Our partnership with FreeMarkets will enable Xelus to implement online
sourcing solutions that will have immediate and long-term impact on our
clients," said Rudy George, vice president of alliances. "Our distinctive
expertise in aviation, telecommunications, high-tech and utilities complement
the FreeMarkets B2B eMarketplace, providing one-of-a-kind optimized supply
chain solutions for the service industry."
About Xelus
Xelus, Inc., a privately held company headquartered in Rochester, NY, is
the market leader in providing inventory planning, forecasting, optimization
and e-commerce solutions for service, maintenance, repair and overhaul
operations to Global 1000 organizations in the aviation, telecommunications,
high-tech, rail, and utilities industries. Xelus' software solutions combine
sophisticated planning and forecasting capabilities with e-Business
functionality to create multi-tiered e-trading communities that facilitate
collaborative commerce in selected verticals. Xelus offers unsurpassed
service optimization that helps enterprises achieve dramatic new levels of
efficiency, improved ROI, increased customer satisfaction, enlarged market
share, and enhanced global market opportunities. Xelus maintains offices
throughout the United States and Europe. For more information visit
http://www.xelus.com.
About FreeMarkets
FreeMarkets is the original and world's leading B2B eMarketplace, with
online markets for industrial parts, raw materials, commodities and services.
The Company has executed online auctions for over $5.4 billion of purchase
orders to date, and created potential estimated savings of more than
$1 billion for its customers. Since 1995, FreeMarkets has created online
auctions for products in more than 100 supply verticals, including injection
molded plastic parts, commercial machinings, metal fabrications, chemicals,
printed circuit boards, corrugated packaging and coal. More than
4,000 suppliers from over 50 countries have participated in the FreeMarkets
B2B eMarketplace. FreeMarkets is the only B2B eMarketplace that includes
industry-leading 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 customers include Visteon
Corporation, 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'
B2B eMarketplace, the competitive nature of the market for
business-to-business online auction services, FreeMarkets' ability to retain
and increase revenue from existing customers and to attract new customers,
FreeMarkets' ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, the size of
the market for used equipment and surplus inventory, the demand for online
auction and other asset recovery services by buyers and suppliers, and
FreeMarkets' ability to integrate acquisitions. Risk factors are described in
more detail in FreeMarkets' filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
For further information, contact Karen Kovatch, Senior Manager, Corporate
Communications, FreeMarkets, 412-297-8767, or kkovatch@freemarkets.com; or
Lisa Schaertl of Xelus, 716-419-3317, or lisa_schaertl@xelus.com; or David
Lord of Socket PR, 512-335-8771, or dlord@socketpr.com
SOURCE FreeMarkets, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.freemarkets.com
CONTACT:
Karen Kovatch, Senior Manager, Corporate
Communications, FreeMarkets, 412-297-8767, or
kkovatch@freemarkets.com; or Lisa Schaertl of Xelus,
716-419-3317, or lisa_schaertl@xelus.com; or David Lord of Socket
PR, 512-335-8771, or dlord@socketpr.com
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