News

New York, N.Y. — September 23, 2008 — ThomasNet, the leading online destination where corporate, government/military, and other purchasers can find every conceivable industrial product or service, today announced that it has expanded its new suite of ThomasNet Purchasing Tools. The enhancements make sourcing even more efficient, and gives buyers additional negotiating power.

ThomasNet’s Purchasing Tools are hosted online and available to the three million monthly users of ThomasNet.com, which provides comprehensive information on more than 607,000 suppliers of parts, products and services. The expanded suite of tools, offered by ThomasNet, now includes:

• ThomasNet’s RFP Manager, which enables buyers to create and manage Requests for Proposals (RFP’s) and Reverse Auctions in a streamlined way, and can increase purchasing efficiency by 30 percent or more, according to Source One Management Services, ThomasNet’s strategic partner and developer of these tools. ThomasNet has just updated RFP Manager with a new Preferred Supplier feature.
• ThomasNet’s Contract Manager, a new tool which helps buyers stay in control of contract renewals to improve their negotiating power and avoid late penalties.
• ThomasNet’s Purchasers Lounge, an online forum for purchasing professionals to ask questions and share information with their peers.

New Preferred Supplier Feature a Hit with Buyers

ThomasNet’s new Preferred Supplier feature greatly reduces both the work and time it takes buyers to find qualified suppliers, while increasing the quantity and diversity of responses from potential vendors.

"We've demonstrated the new Preferred Supplier feature to buyers of industrial products who depend on ThomasNet, and to a person they agree that being able to invite incumbent suppliers as well as ThomasNet Preferred Suppliers is a big win," said Brad Mehl, Vice President, ThomasNet.com.

"Many purchasing professionals spend more than 25 percent of their work week sourcing for products and services over the Internet," said Pat Daloisio, ThomasNet’s Director, Strategic Business Initiatives. "The Preferred Supplier feature reduces the time needed for this research, while helping buyers make more informed supplier decisions."

Rather than going through the tedious process of searching the Internet to find suppliers that may (or may not) be qualified, and then sending separate emails to each of them, buyers can use ThomasNet’s Free RFP Manager to quickly create RFP’s, and then pull up a list of Preferred Suppliers that match the requested product or service. Buyers then simply check-off the names of those they want to invite — all with just a few mouse clicks.

To try ThomasNet’s Free RFP Manager, which includes the new Preferred Supplier feature, go to http://www.thomasnet.com/rfpmanager.

Avoiding the Expired Contract Scramble

ThomasNet’s new Contract Manager tool lets buyers securely store, track and retrieve vendor agreements. Accompanying email alerts let buyers know when supplier contract renewals are approaching, so buyers can build in time for negotiations and avoid costly penalties for lapsed contracts. Contract Manager also stores critical contract details, such as pricing and non-disclosure arrangements, in one safe, secure location.

To try ThomasNet’s Contract Manager tool, go to http://www.thomasnet.com/contractmanager.

"Today’s purchasing professionals are under enormous pressure to work smarter and more efficiently, while not compromising decision making. In conjunction with ThomasNet, we are delighted to provide buyers with new tools that meet these objectives," said Steven Belli, CEO of Source One.

Buyers can immediately use ThomasNet’s free Purchasing Tools at http://www.thomasnet.com/purchasingtools. The intuitive tools are hosted online, without licensing or installing additional software, and they require no training. To access the Purchasers Lounge, buyers can go to http://www.thomasnet.com/purchasingforums.

About ThomasNet^SM

ThomasNet (www.ThomasNet.com) is the leading online destination connecting industrial sellers and buyers worldwide. Buyers from Fortune 500 companies, the government, the military and more depend on ThomasNet to search for and purchase the products and services they need. ThomasNet provides access to over 607,000 industrial companies, indexed by 67,000 product and service categories, and featuring over 20 million CAD drawings that help buyers find products to meet their specifications. Industrial manufacturers and service companies are successfully using ThomasNet to grow their businesses, discover new markets, develop new customers, and uncover new revenue sources. Drawing from the company’s experience in the industrial market and ongoing research on buyers’ and sellers’ needs, ThomasNet has helped thousands of clients create websites that incorporate online catalogs, CAD drawings, and e-commerce capabilities.

About Source One Management Services, LLC

For over 15 years, Source One has been providing on-demand resources to help companies realize rapid and sustainable savings in over 100 categories of procurement. Engagements may include strategic sourcing, spend analysis, spend management, identification of alternate suppliers, market and supply research, RFP management, price and terms negotiations, contract recommendations, project management and implementation. For more information, visit www.SourceOneInc.com or call 215-902-0200.

Contact: Dawn Ringel, Warner Communications
781-449-8456 or dawn@warnerpr.com