Press Releases

Ariba Network Poised for Growth

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – January 17, 2012 - The world’s business commerce network is about to get bigger. Ariba, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARBA) today announced that it is joining forces with Thomas Industrial Network to connect more buyers and sellers around more commerce in the fast-growing category of industrial MRO. Under the terms of a newly-formed partnership, Thomas Industrial Network (ThomasNet.com), an online division of Thomas Publishing Company that provides procurement professionals, engineers, and plant and facilities management with ac-cess to the detailed information needed to make purchasing or specifying decisions, will offer services to enable the more than 650,000 suppliers that it currently supports to do business on the Ariba® Network. Ariba, in turn, will automatically match the capabilities of Thomas’ suppliers to the requirements of Ariba buyers and provide a common platform through which they can connect and transact business.

“Companies today are looking beyond the four walls of the enterprise to connect and collaborate more efficiently with their customers, suppliers and trading partners across the street and around the world. And, increasingly, they are finding that business commerce networks are the fastest, most efficient way to do this,” said Jason Kurtz, vice president, Ariba Network.

Where the World Comes to do Business

Companies around the world use the Ariba Network to transact more than $200 billion in com-merce each year. By joining forces with ThomasNet, Ariba can expand this community and the value it delivers.

In addition to Thomas’ suppliers, buying organizations on the Ariba Network will have access to ThomasNet’s comprehensive, attribute-rich private catalogs which they can integrate with their procurement solutions, including ERP systems, to enhance and accelerate the results that they deliver. “Finding and qualifying leads for new business requires significant time and effort,” said George Short, vice president, Thomas Industrial Network. “Connecting ThomasNet suppliers to a network through which they can automatically receive and respond to RFPs from buyers in active purchasing cycles allows for increased speed and better business opportunities.”

Ariba will distribute leads to ThomasNet’s suppliers through Ariba Discovery, the premier service for matching business buyers and sellers globally delivered through the Ariba Network. In the past 12 months, more than $3 billion in new business opportunities have been offered through Ariba Discovery, over 15 million leads distributed and more than 15,000 matches between buyers and sellers made.

This, says Kurtz, is what the ThomasNet alliance is all about. “The Ariba Network is fast becom-ing the defacto standard for sourcing industrial MRO and direct materials. By offering services to enable its suppliers to participate in this unique community, Thomas is providing them with ready access to an expanded set of opportunities with buyers around the world which they can leverage to grow their businesses.”

About Thomas Industrial Network

Thomas Industrial Network is an innovative information and technology company that helps in-dustrial businesses connect, collaborate and grow. We help companies develop a complete web strategy, enabling them to share product data through all of their sales channels. As a result, we help industrial companies increase sales, improve customer relationships and expand into new markets.

One of our key offerings is ThomasNet.com, the premier website for product sourcing and sup-plier discovery and selection. We also provide strategic website development, tools and tech-nology for industrial businesses to manage and share product and service data internally and externally. They include WebCAD publishing, and syndication of detailed product data to channel partners. Custom SPEC was designed for the unique needs of customer manufacturers. Additionally, we offer social media programs and search engine optimization services to help these businesses build brand awareness and generate leads. Our Navigator Platform is the hub through which we help our customers to manage their information.

About Ariba, Inc.

Ariba, Inc. is the world’s business commerce network. Ariba combines industry-leading cloud-based applications with the world's largest web-based trading community to help companies discover and collaborate with a global network of partners. Using the Ariba® Network, businesses of all sizes can connect to their trading partners anywhere, at any time from any application or device to buy, sell and manage their cash more efficiently and effectively than ever before. Companies around the world use the Ariba Network to simplify inter-enterprise commerce and enhance the results that they deliver. Join them at: www.ariba.com