PNC Financial Services Group Inc., (NYSE: PNC), one of the largest diversified financial services organizations in the nation, and Ariba, Inc., (NASDAQ: ARBA), the leading business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce platform and network services provider, today announced that PNC will use the Ariba® B2B Commerce Platform™ to augment its robust set of eCommerce initiatives.
Under the terms of the agreement, PNC will use Ariba® Buyer™, Ariba® Marketplace™ Network Edition and Ariba® Dynamic Trade™ applications in a multi-phased implementation designed to streamline purchasing processes, reduce costs, create new business models and improve trading partner relationships.
PNC will first use Ariba Buyer to improve management of goods and services procurement for its regional and corporate operations nationwide. Ariba Buyer will enable PNC to electronically aggregate purchasing from employee desktops and direct purchase orders to preferred suppliers and B2B marketplaces.
In addition to the Ariba Buyer implementation -- which is targeted for pilot deployment by the end of the first quarter 2001 -- PNC will build a private, online marketplace powered by Ariba Marketplace and Ariba Dynamic Trade. Through this initiative, PNC will extend the benefits of eCommerce to its Corporate Banking clients. As part of this private marketplace, PNC clients -- including buyers, sellers and information providers -- can locate each other, exchange information and transact electronically in a streamlined, secure environment. PNC clients will also have the opportunity to use the electronic bill presentment and payment service provided by BillingZone.com, a joint venture of PNC and Perot Systems Corporation. BillingZone.com and Ariba are in discussion about integrating BillingZone.com's service with the Ariba® Commerce Services Network™ (Ariba CSN).
"We are aggressively pursuing our objective to create procurement efficiencies, trim costs and provide additional value to our clients, and the Ariba eCommerce solutions are an ideal enhancement to PNC's eCommerce initiatives," said Tim Shack, chief information officer, PNC. "With the Ariba B2B Commerce Platform, we not only have a tremendous opportunity to save time and money within our own purchasing process, but we also have an opportunity to extend these benefits to our corporate clients."
The Ariba solution is part of an integrated relationship platform that PNC is developing to help link multiple web-based financial service offerings for its corporate clients. "Our relationship with Ariba reflects PNC's commitment to delivering exceptional digital marketplace solutions to meet the needs of our business clients," said Ralph S. Michael III, CEO, PNC Corporate Banking.
"PNC clearly understands the importance of technology to enhance its world-class financial services and products and ensure it is a leader in the digital economy," said John Magner, vice president, North American operations for Ariba, Inc. "Ariba's expertise in and knowledge of the financial industry will assist in allowing fast implementations of PNC's eCommerce solutions, providing a rapid return on investment for PNC and earlier benefits for its clients."
All Ariba B2B Commerce Platform customers have instant access to thousands of suppliers worldwide through the Ariba CSN, allowing for transparent collaboration between buyers and suppliers. Ariba CSN is Ariba's network infrastructure for delivering commerce services to companies in the B2B ecosystem. These open services extend and redefine interaction and collaboration between B2B trading partners globally, and include directory and registration services, transaction management, catalog services, content delivery and discovery services, financial services, sourcing services, along with logistics and supply chain management.
About The PNC Financial Services Group
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., headquartered in Pittsburgh, is one of the nation's largest diversified financial services organizations, providing regional banking, corporate banking, real estate finance, asset-based lending, wealth management, asset management and global fund processing services. Visit PNC on the Web at http://www.pnc.com/.
About Ariba, Inc.
Ariba, Inc. is the leading business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce platform and network services provider. Through the Ariba B2B Commerce Platform -- an open, end-to-end infrastructure of interoperable software solutions and hosted Web-based commerce services -- the company enables efficient online trade, integration and collaboration between B2B marketplaces, buyers, suppliers and commerce service providers. The global reach and best-of-breed functionality of the Ariba B2B Commerce Platform create Internet-driven economies of scale and process efficiencies for leading companies around the world. Ariba can be contacted in the U.S. at 650-930-6200 or at http://www.ariba.com/.
NOTE: Ariba and the Ariba logo are registered trademarks of Ariba, Inc. in the United States and in other countries. Ariba B2B Commerce Platform, Ariba Buyer, Ariba Sourcing, Ariba Marketplace Network Edition, Ariba Dynamic Trade and Ariba Commerce Services Network are trademarks of Ariba, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act 1995:
Information and announcements in this release involve Ariba's expectations, beliefs, hopes, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future and are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available to Ariba as of the date of the release, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: delays in development or shipment of new versions of our Ariba B2B Commerce Platform; lack of market acceptance of the Ariba B2B Commerce Platform or other new products or services; inability to continue to develop competitive new products and services on a timely basis; introduction of new products or services by major competitors; our ability to attract and retain qualified employees; difficulties in assimilating companies recently acquired, including Tradex, Trading Dynamics, and SupplierMarket.com; inability to expand our operations to support increased growth; the recognition of an increasing portion of revenues at the end of the quarter; declining economic conditions, including a slowdown or recession; inability to control costs; changes in our pricing or compensation policies; and significant fluctuations in our stock price. These and other factors and risks associated with our business are discussed in the Company's Form 10-K filed December 29, 2000.
CONTACT: Louise Runkle of Ariba Inc., 650-930-8354, of lrunkle@ariba.com; or Kathleen Detwiler of PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., 412-768-7487, or kathleen.detwiler@pnc.com.
Web site: http://www.pnc.com
Web site: http://www.ariba.com
SOURCE: Ariba, Inc.
Contact: Louise Runkle of Ariba Inc., 650-930-8354, of
lrunkle@ariba.com; or Kathleen Detwiler of PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.,
412-768-7487, or kathleen.detwiler@pnc.com
