VERT Verticalnet (MM)

Verticalnet, Inc. (Nasdaq:VERT), a leading provider of supply management solutions, today announced the release of version 5.5 of the Verticalnet XE Supply Management Suite. As of Monday, May 21, 2007, all on-demand customers had been upgraded to this new release. Verticalnet XE 5.5 includes a broad range of functional enhancements and infrastructure improvements across the product suite. Verticalnet�s product investment is focused on both customer based feedback as well as on Verticalnet�s view of emerging trends within the supply management industry. Increasingly, customers seek to manage sourcing projects as part of an integrated work-flow driven process, seek increased flexibility in the manner in which they negotiate with specific suppliers as part of a multi-supplier sourcing event, and require flexible reporting to enable sourcing savings, sourcing activity, compliance data and supplier performance data to be reported to different organizational constituents. Verticalnet XE 5.5 delivers product enhancements addressing each of these evolving trends. "Maintaining and fostering strong supplier relationships is critical to any supply management strategy. The ability to work one-on-one and negotiate collaboratively with individual suppliers gives us additional flexibility to create win-win sourcing agreements," says Christine Miller, Associate Sourcing Director at Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an on-demand user of the Verticalnet XE Supply Management Suite since 2005. �Best of breed sourcing organizations see collaborative supplier negotiation as a way to reach savings, delivery and reliability levels that were previously unattainable. Creating mutually advantageous agreements with suppliers is at the heart of this approach,� stated Nathanael V. Lentz, president and CEO of Verticalnet. �In addition, our customers manage global projects and need the ability to coordinate and document complex projects in a structured manner. Verticalnet XE 5.5 raises the bar for flexibility in negotiation, and offers improved structured program management and enhanced reporting and visibility.� Key enhancements in Verticalnet XE 5.5 include: Enhancing visibility and control: Improved visibility to key auction metrics including level of market competition, bidder comparisons, spend coverage, savings contribution, and award impact; Greater flexibility of organizational security models to facilitate rapid team adoption; Improving buyer efficiency with enhanced usability: Accelerating project navigation and supporting more sophisticated project workflows; Allowing seamless movement between community based negotiations and one to one collaborative negotiations; Increasing depth of online analysis with �one click� side-by-side viewing of quotation responses with automatic preparation of Sensitivity, What-If, and Tabular Summary views; Laying the groundwork for expanded reporting capabilities: Strengthening reporting infrastructure to support growing reporting requirements; Enabling customer-dedicated ad-hoc reporting and analysis environments. �Verticalnet works closely with our customers in setting the enhancement agenda for the XE product suite,� stated Jim Wetekamp, Vice President of Solution Strategy of Verticalnet. �Focusing on emerging market trends while placing a special emphasis on customer driven functionality is what has fueled the impressive growth of the XE Supply Management Suite.� Verticalnet�s primary measure of customer volume, electronic negotiation events in its XE platform, has surged over the past 12 months and realized over 100% growth in the first quarter of 2007 compared to the same period in 2006. During this time frame, suppliers participating in negotiation events increased 600%. The increases in customer volume and supplier penetration reflect the rapid increase in value experienced by Verticalnet customers through their focused programs to drive adoption of Verticalnet�s on demand XE spend analysis and strategic sourcing solutions. Verticalnet�s continued product investment in ease of use for both buyers and suppliers, advanced program management capabilities, and advanced analytics and reporting within the application has contributed greatly to the increased application usage and the willingness of suppliers to participate in on-line negotiations. About Verticalnet Verticalnet is a leading provider of supply management solutions that enable companies to identify and realize sustained value across the supply management lifecycle. Going beyond traditional spend management and sourcing approaches, Verticalnet's solutions provide the visibility, insight and process control required to maximize the sustained value realization from supply management. Large enough to help customers attain supply management success worldwide, yet nimble enough to provide individual attention and remain focused on customer priorities, Verticalnet has helped numerous Global 2000 companies take their supply management efforts to the next level through an optimal blend of software, comprehensive services, and deep category knowledge and domain expertise. To learn more, please visit us at www.verticalnet.com