---

Agreements with Ford & GM add Strength to e-Business Solution

8 May 2000

NexPrise Hopes to Accelerate Their Strategic e-Business Initiatives

 
    SANTA CLARA, Calif. - NexPrise Inc., a provider of B2B exchanges for the 
collaborative value chain, today announced that key divisions of leading 
automotive companies, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, and Magna, 
have selected NexPrise ipTeam(TM) to expand and enhance their e-business 
processes that enable vehicle systems integration and vehicle program management. 
These agreements favorably position NexPrise to extend its offerings out to 
the automotive world's expansive, global community of multi-tier suppliers,
partners, and customers.

    Strategic business initiatives such as globalization, sole sourcing, modular 
design, lean manufacturing, and six-sigma across the value chain are driving 
changes in virtually every business function and process in the automotive 
industry. NexPrise hopes to provides automotive manufacturers and their 
suppliers with a powerful, secure, private B2B exchange to manage and execute 
vehicle programs with unmatched operational efficiency. Entirely web-based and 
designed to help vehicle systems integrators, partners, and suppliers manage 
their program-specific, key e-business processes -- such as the APQP (Advanced
Product Quality Planning) compliance process -- NexPrise harnesses the
creativity, innovation, efficiency and tremendous time-to-market benefits
possible by integrating global vehicle teams seamlessly as part of an extended
community.

    "NexPrise provided a web-based solution that addressed several needs for
the global development issues in one of our cross cultural/cross continent
vehicle programs," said Marc Tate, General Motors Vehicle Line Executive.
"NexPrise ipTeam's user-friendly and web-based capabilities enabled a fast
resolution of issues and provided the team the ability to enhance
communication and collaboration in just a few weeks."

    "In a rapidly changing environment like the automotive industry, you need
the best tools to win. If you are or intend to be a full service integrator of
automotive vehicle systems, then you should be talking to NexPrise," said Ram
Sriram, CEO and co-founder of NexPrise. "We are excited to support our
customers in creating these B2B private exchanges to drive their collaborative
e-business processes across the value chain."

    "Winners of today's automotive race will be those networked enterprises
with the insight, planning and execution capability to integrate and
collaborate across their value chain faster and more profitably than anyone
else," said John Waraniak, Independent Automotive Industry Advisor.  "By
moving from simple hubs to collaborative sites for co-development, program
execution, and strategic sourcing, NexPrise uniquely addresses the emerging
and existing challenges that leading automotive companies face every day.
NexPrise empowers everyone in the globally dispersed value chain -- from
engineering to purchasing to suppliers and partners -- to work in synch to
meet both tactical and strategic goals."

    These successes are bolstering NexPrise's reach in the automotive
industry.  Beyond implementing solutions, NexPrise continues to be active in
the Detroit area, and will hold automotive industry discussions and
demonstrations on various topics such as trends in the auto industry, public
and private exchanges, and vehicle program management and execution across the
extended enterprise. The next event on May 9 at the Detroit Athletic Club is
titled "Collaborative Value Chain Practices in the Automotive 2nd Century,"
with John Waraniak, Independent Industry Advisor, leading the discussion. 

    NOTE:  NexPrise and NexPrise ipTeam are registered trademarks of NexPrise,
Inc.