Ricardo.de AG and IMPRESS SOFTWARE AG Announce Strategic Alliance in B2B Online Auctions; Link Between SAP R/3 and ricardoBIZ Established

Business Wire, March 7, 2000

Business & e-Commerce Editors

HANOVER/HAMBURG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 7, 2000

ricardo.de AG (Hamburg) and IMPRESS SOFTWARE AG (Hanover) finalized the terms of a strategic alliance in the area of business-to-business online auctions. The objective of this alliance is to integrate existing ERP customer systems within the ricardoBIZ.com(R) virtual auction platform. A key element of this integration is the standard business software solution, SAP R/3(R). Finalizing this agreement means that IMPRESS SOFTWARE AG - the market leader in the area of SAP(R) internet integration -- and ricardo.de AG are pooling their expertise to create a powerful new alliance.

"Internet retail at flexible prices is the market of the future," explained Dr Jan-Henrik Andersson, director of ricardoBIZ.com. "And our goal is to be the best and most efficient in that market."

The ricardoBIZ.com(R) platform is a new business operation from ricardo.de AG, Germany's market-leading auction house. Supported by IMPRESS/OIS (Online Information System), this platform is set to open up a new dimension in trade between companies. ricardo.de AG is positioning ricardoBIZ.com(R) as an entirely new kind of internet trading platform -- exclusively for the professional, corporate e-commerce sector. The market research institute Forrester Research has forecast a thirty-fold increase in market volume from $4 billion in 1998 to $128 billion in 2002. Together with IMPRESS SOFTWARE AG, ricardo.de AG is giving SAP(R) customers the opportunity to be fully involved in this sector's enormous potential for growth by providing them with efficient access to global trading via the ricardoBIZ.com(R) B2B auction platform.

For ricardo.de AG, the cooperation with IMPRESS SOFTWARE AG means a significant optimisation of its service range and the efficient integration of its hassle-free business-to-business trade portal, combined with the expanded core customer base this entails. As a result, the ricardoBIZ.com(R) trading platform represents the absolute state of the art in global B2B trading. Meanwhile, IMPRESS/OIS customers will benefit from this strategic cooperation in the area of business-to-business online auctions through the enlargement of the IMPRESS/OIS product portfolio. IMPRESS and ricardo.de -- one step closer to customers, one step further ahead of the competition.

ricardo.de AG (stock index number 702070) is listed on the Neuer Market in Frankfurt since July 21, 1999, the symbol is ricardo.