News Releases - SupplyWorks, Inc.

SupplyWorks Announces CounterPart™ Partner Program for eProcurement Market

Charter Members Include SeraNova and Office Depot

BEDFORD, Mass, 08/22/00 — SupplyWorks, Inc., the leader in supply chain eProcurement solutions and provider of SupplyWorks® MAX™, the industry's first comprehensive solution for managing direct procurement in manufacturing environments, today unveiled the SupplyWorks® CounterPart™ partner program. The CounterPart program is designed to bring proven, high-quality and comprehensive eProcurement solutions to SupplyWorks customers, delivering on the promise of Total Supply Management (TSM) for increased competitive advantage, quicker response to market changes and vastly improved financial performance. TSM is a SupplyWorks pioneered value proposition, which shifts the role of production purchasing from a tactical, event-driven set of tasks to a collaborative, strategic process. TSM goes beyond simple procurement execution, and enables the company to manage its supply chain and supplier relationships collaboratively and strategically.

"As the leader in TSM solutions, SupplyWorks offers high-value-added eProcurement applications to the manufacturing industry," said Jeff Herrmann, SupplyWorks' president and CEO. "Delivering a complete solution requires strong links with other supply chain partners such as complementary product vendors, ERP providers, materials suppliers and system integrators. Our commitment to comprehensive solutions is underscored by the launch of our CounterPart program, which provides the portfolio necessary to quickly and cost effectively deploy applications that maximize our customers' return in the shortest possible time."

The new CounterPart program is designed around four distinct types of partner relationships:

Solution Partners - Solution Partners provide SupplyWorks-certified consulting, implementation and integration resources to customers, to ensure rapid deployment and solid integration with their existing systems. SupplyWorks currently has an established partnership in this area with SeraNova, Inc. (NASDAQ National Market: SERA).
MarketPlace™ Partners - The MarketPlace Partners category is comprised of companies that supply goods to manufacturing organizations, both individually and as part of exchanges and marketplaces. SupplyWorks works closely with partners such as Office Depot and Grainger, the leading North American provider of maintenance, repair and operating supplies and related information to businesses and institutions, to quickly integrate them into the SupplyWorks infrastructure, speeding time to benefit and financial return on customers' investments.
Technology Partners - Technology Partners provide leading-edge technology and tools that are integrated on an OEM basis within the SupplyWorks solution.
Complementary Product Partners - Complementary Product Partners are premier vendors of supply chain applications whose products integrate with SupplyWorks MAX to provide a more complete eProcurement solution. Vendors of strategic sourcing, content management, payment processing and supplier connectivity applications are included in this group.

In addition, any or all of these types of partners are eligible to become SupplyWorks Marketing Alliance Partners. In a Marketing Alliance relationship, SupplyWorks and the CounterPart partner collaboratively establish business development campaigns and joint sales and marketing opportunities.

"We're very excited by the prospect of working with SupplyWorks in the eProcurement space," said Joe Postiglione, vice president of eMarket solutions, SeraNova, Inc., a SupplyWorks Solution Partner. "We have already identified a number of areas in which SupplyWorks' applications, combined with our integration expertise, can pay big dividends for our mutual customers."

Additional information on the CounterPart partner program, including details of current partner participants, can be found at www.supplyworks.com/partners/.

About SupplyWorks

SupplyWorks, Inc. is the leader in direct materials supply management software that helps discrete manufacturers improve procurement execution, optimize the flow of parts and materials into their plants and lower their parts and material costs. SupplyWorks enables manufacturers to communicate and collaborate more tightly with their suppliers, increase throughput, and reduce inventories without reducing manufacturing responsiveness and flexibility. Information about SupplyWorks and its solutions is available on the Web at www.supplyworks.com or by calling 800-626-0220 x1690.

Media Contacts:

Jonathan Rodgers
Schwartz Communications
781-684-0770
jrodgers@schwartz-pr.com