Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and IQXpert Form Strategic Alliance to Deliver Sourcing and Product Design Management Solutions to B2B Market

Business Wire, August 1, 2000

Business/Technology Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 2000

Alliance Addresses Strong Demand from Large Manufacturers

and Supplier Exchanges for Faster Decision-Making and

Lower Production Costs

Consulting powerhouse Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (CGEY) today announced a strategic alliance with IQXpert, one of the leading providers of collaborative sourcing and design solutions for direct materials in the B2B market. The companies are responding to strong demand from large manufacturers and supplier exchanges for faster decision-making and lower costs in the design, production and reuse of materials purchased for use in manufacturing.

The alliance brings together IQXpert's leading technology - including IQSource(TM) and IQDesign(TM) - with CGEY's global experience developing and implementing next-generate supply chain and e-procurement solutions. Customers of IQXpert and CGEY will benefit by having a common, highly detailed view of all materials purchased while providing their design engineers with the capability to more effectively reuse their revolving inventory of parts and components.

Recently, CGEY and IQXpert have combined on a number of global manufacturing engagements, and these customers have already benefited from significant savings in production costs - through more strategic sourcing - and a marked reduction in the introduction of new parts, another major cost savings. According to one of these customers, Seagate Technologies, "IQXpert and CGEY have played key roles in Seagate's successful implementation of best-in-class technology and processes to manage production parts design reuse and cost. This alliance will ensure that other clients can experience the complementary resources and expertise that were able to deliver significant results for us," said Dan Whitney, senior director of purchasing at Seagate Technologies.

CGEY, and its global network of consulting professionals, will serve as the preferred global consulting and implementation choice for IQXpert's future customers. According to Kevin Poole, a vice president at CGEY and leader of its eProcurement team, "Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is committed to helping clients get closer to their customers, collaborate in new and innovative ways with suppliers, change existing cost models, and increase the value of the information that exists within their companies. Our alliance with IQXpert means CGEY clients now have access to best-in-class technology that will make sure this transformation happens faster and more effectively."

"We expect rapid adoption of our combined solution for three reasons. First, it is designed exclusively for collaborative design and sourcing of direct materials. Second, it is focused on analysis as opposed to transactions. Finally, it was developed to deliver significant and sustainable hard dollar and time-to-market benefits," said Mark Simmons, president of IQXpert.

About Cap Gemini Ernst & Young

Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is one of the largest management and IT consulting firms in the world and is publicly traded on the Paris Bourse. The company offers management and IT consulting services, systems integration, and technology development, design and outsourcing capabilities on a global scale to help traditional businesses and "dot companies" continue to explore growth strategies in the new economy. The newly formed organization employs more than 57,000 people worldwide and reports global revenues of 7.7 billion euros (1999). More information about individual service lines, offices and research is available at www.capgemini.com.

About IQXPERT

IQXpert is a leading provider of B2B sourcing and design solutions to manufacturing enterprises and exchanges. IQXpert's Collaborative Sourcing and Design Management (CSDM) solutions, IQSource and IQDesign, focus on delivering significant and sustainable results through optimizing the selection and management of direct materials, components and the suppliers.

IQXpert's customers include TRW, Seagate Technology, Lord Corporation, Smith Industries Aerospace, Solectron, SONY, LG-Electronics and Space Systems/Loral. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company also has operations in Denver, Cleveland and the UK. IQXpert is a wholly owned subsidiary of PartMiner, Inc. (www.partminer.com) For more information; please visit IQXpert's Web Site at www.iqxpert.com.