Lisse, the Netherlands - April 9, 2003 - - Swets Blackwell, the leading global subscription and information services company, announced today that it has successfully completed the requirements for Ariba, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ARBAE), Ariba(r) Ready(tm) designation for online transactions with buyers. The company has proven its integration abilities to the Ariba(r) Supplier Network(tm) (Ariba SN) and provides scalable, repeatable processes for transacting with, and providing content to, buyers using the Ariba(r) Buyer(tm) procurement solution. Swets Blackwell is one of the first companies in its industry to achieve Ariba Ready certification.
With this certification, Ariba customers are assured of a direct link to managing all aspects of company-wide subscriptions to professional and business information via SwetsWise(r), Swets Blackwell's web-based, modular service for the procurement, access and management of subscriptions and online information. The service can be linked to eProcurement solutions, such as Ariba Buyer, or accessed directly via the Internet. The heart of the service is the continuously updated SwetsWise catalogue, containing title and pricing information for 250,000 serials available from over 65,000 publishers worldwide.
Swets Blackwell will utilize Ariba(r) PunchOut(tm), allowing customers to "punch out" from the Ariba Buyer solution to its SwetsWise service to gather real-time purchasing information, before returning to the Ariba procurement solution to complete the purchase. Ariba PunchOut provides a seamless interface between the end-user's procurement environment and Swets Blackwell's online subscription management system.
Steven Hartman, Swets Blackwell's Commercial Director, said: "As corporate organizations place high value on their purchasing management systems, Swets Blackwell's recent Ariba Ready designation will satisfy their demands for a proven interface linked to a solid vendor system."
Cindy Elkins, Vice President of Ariba Supplier Programs, added: "By completing Ariba Ready, Swets Blackwell has significantly increased its exposure to a wider market by being more readily accessible to thousands of buyers who are already using Ariba(r) Spend Management(tm) solutions. Additionally, Ariba PunchOut provides customers with seamless online access to SwetsWise while allowing Swets Blackwell to manage and preserve its branding and marketing efforts."
Ariba Ready
Ariba Ready is an Ariba initiative to provide a special designation for suppliers who have demonstrated the ability to effectively transact with and provide content to organizations using Ariba Buyer through Ariba Supplier Network. The program helps suppliers communicate their capabilities by acting as a common standard for integration and enablement that all Ariba SN participants can understand and value. Suppliers can self-test their content and integration abilities through the Ariba Ready portal.
About Swets Blackwell
Swets Blackwell (www.swetsblackwell.com) ensures that company-wide subscriptions to journals, newspapers and magazines are ordered, paid for and delivered. The company provides a wide range of subscription management services for its 60,000 clients worldwide, whose ranks include over 30% of Fortune 500 companies and many of the world's major research libraries. Swets Blackwell is headquartered in Lisse, the Netherlands, and maintains offices in 22 countries on six continents.
SwetsWise
Chief among Swets Blackwell's innovative solutions is SwetsWise (www.swetswise.com) The service offers one platform with two modules: SwetsWise subscriptions and SwetsWise online content. The subscription module gives full control over all steps of the subscription management process, while the online content module enables management and online access to electronic publications. Customers can benefit from either module separately or choose to use the full power of both modules integrated. By handling every aspect from pricing to provision, SwetsWise enables organizations to order and manage subscriptions as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.
About Ariba, Inc.
Ariba, Inc. is the leading Enterprise Spend Management (ESM) solutions provider. Ariba helps companies develop and leverage spend management as a core competency to drive significant bottom line results. Ariba Spend Management software and services allow companies to align their organizations with a spend-centric focus and deploy closed-loop processes for increased efficiencies and sustainable savings. Ariba can be contacted in the U.S. at 1.650.390.1000 or at www.ariba.com