American Airlines Forms Strategic Alliance With Diversity eCommerce to Facilitate Electronic Commerce for Its Women and Minority-Owned Suppliers

Business Wire, August 15, 2000

Business Editors

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 15, 2000

American Airlines and Diversity eCommerce jointly announced today the formation of a strategic alliance to assist minority and women-owned business enterprises in their transition to the new environment of eCommerce.

American is the worlds second largest airline with approximately 2,600 strategic minority suppliers. In 1999, American spent over $218 million with minority and women-owned business enterprises.

Diversity eCommerce combines eCommerce workshops with an Internet Exchange that are both exclusively focused on facilitating electronic commerce for women and minority-owned enterprises. The company is certified as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) by both the Dallas and Southern California Regional Purchasing Councils and is currently finalizing the process with the Women Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) to become a certified woman-owned business enterprise (WBE).

American is a founding member of AirNewco, the leading airline Internet B2B marketplace. The nine global airlines of AirNewco represent over $45 billion in annual purchasing. The AirNewco initiative will link the worlds leading airlines and their suppliers in fuel and fuel services; catering and cabin services; parts and mechanical, repair and overhaul services; and airport and general services. It is anticipated that AirNewcos Internet marketplace will include online catalogs, reverse and forward auctions, inventory and supply chain management support, and transaction management support features.

The central focus of the American Airlines/Diversity eCommerce initiative consists of a concerted program to encourage and support minority and women-owned suppliers to begin the process of gearing up for this new way of doing business with American and other companies. A series of workshops conducted by Diversity eCommerce will be executed in the airlines major hubs, beginning in Miami during the fourth quarter of 2000 and continuing in Dallas, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. In addition, all of American Airlines minority and women-owned suppliers will be listed in the Diversity eCommerce Exchange.

In making the announcement, Mr. Fred Kahl, Manager, American Airlines Corporate Purchasing Diversified Supplier Program, stated, "American recognizes that the education of minority and women-owned business enterprises is a critical component for the successful migration to eCommerce. We expect all of our suppliers to do business with us electronically in the near future, but it is our responsibility to assist the minority and women-owned segment of our supply chain in understanding what this business transition entails. Diversity eCommerces exchange experience and training workshop represents a perfect fit to our requirements."

The joint project will be coordinated by Ms. Mary Flowers, Director of Strategic Relations, Diversity eCommerce and Ms. Karen Holman, Manager Processing Systems, American Airlines. Ms. Holman commented that American Airlines fully recognizes that diversity in all aspects of its business is simply good business. "Every cabin of every one of our flights is filled with the diversity that is America, and our procurement policies mirror that reality. As American moves to eCommerce, we want to elevate the visibility and understanding of B2B eCommerce among minority and women-owned business enterprises, to encourage these supplier to develop their eCommerce abilities so that they remain competitive in the new millennium. This joint project is one way of accomplishing that mission."

"The close relationship that is represented by this joint venture," stated Ms. Flowers, "will be evident by our joint marketing efforts at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Exhibit in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 11, and at the National Minority Supplier Development Council conference in New Orleans, on Oct. 28."

Diversity eCommerce is located at 230 Pine Avenue, Suite 300, Long Beach, Calif. 90802. For further information, call 562/436-9191. The Exchange is located on the Web at www.diversityecommerce.com, and is powered by the advanced technology of Netgateways (Nasdaq:NGWY) Internet Commerce Center.