FreeMarkets Announces Agreement With Valeo to Conduct More Than $300 Million in Online Bids in 2001
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--Feb. 15, 2001--FreeMarkets, Inc. , the leading B2B Global Marketplace and eSourcing solutions provider, today announced at its eMarkets 2001 conference that it has signed a two-year agreement with Valeo. Under the terms of the agreement, FreeMarkets will provide Valeo with access to its B2B Global Marketplace, which Valeo will use as a platform for the reverse auctioning of more than $300 million in goods and services in 2001.Christine Benard, Vice President Purchasing of the Valeo Group, declared, "I firmly believe that reverse auctioning will help us streamline our supply base. FreeMarkets demonstrated to us during the first stage the efficiency of their technology and their in-depth knowledge of the supply markets. Their global presence and the professionalism of their teams working in close cooperation with ours are major added benefits."
"Valeo is a world-class automotive supplier, and we are very pleased to be helping the company source goods and services for its global operations through our B2B Global Marketplace," said Kent Parker, vice president and general manager of the automotive sector at FreeMarkets. "FreeMarkets has a proven track record of delivering results through its eSourcing technologies, information, services and sourcing expertise, and we look forward to working with Valeo to create the same cost savings, reductions in sourcing process time and efficiencies that we have been creating for other companies -- including a significant number in the automotive industry -- since 1995."
About Valeo
Valeo is an independent industrial Group fully focused on the design, production and sale of components, integrated systems and modules for cars and trucks, and ranks among the world's top automotive suppliers.
About FreeMarkets
FreeMarkets is the leading B2B Global Marketplace and eSourcing solutions provider. FreeMarkets combines its industry-leading technology platform with unparalleled sourcing information, commodity-specific domain knowledge, world-class services and purchasing scale to deliver fast, measurable savings to customers. FreeMarkets has created over 9,200 online markets for more than $14 billion worth of goods and services and created estimated savings of over $2.7 billion for its customers. The FreeMarkets B2B Global Marketplace enables buying organizations to source products from more than 165 supply verticals. More than 9,300 suppliers from over 55 countries have participated in the FreeMarkets B2B Global Marketplace. The Company also operates FreeMarkets Asset Exchange, the leading B2B Global Marketplace for surplus assets and inventory. FreeMarkets can be found on the Web at 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, 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 Global Marketplace and new products and services that FreeMarkets introduces, the competitive nature of the market for business-to-business online auction and e-commerce services, FreeMarkets' ability to attract new customers, through its own efforts and through partnerships and alliances, 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 and manage growth. You should carefully review these and other risk factors that are described in more detail in FreeMarkets' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Note to Editors: There should be an accent over the "e" in the name "Benard" above. The accent was omitted for transmission purposes only.