diCarta Retained by NBC West Coast for Enterprise Contract Management; Entertainment Industry Leader Implements Contract Standardization Program as a Key Enabler of Six Sigma Initiative

Business Wire, July 23, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

NCMA World Congress

LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 23, 2002

diCarta(R) a leading provider of enterprise contract management solutions, today announced that NBC West Coast, the entertainment-related business arm of the National Broadcasting Company, which produces hundreds of hours of television programming each year, is deploying diCarta Contracts to manage the lifecycle of its strategic agreements with entertainment professionals. NBC West Coast will use diCarta Contracts as the foundation for the Contract Standardization and Process Improvement effort focused on increasing productivity and overall operating efficiencies using the Six Sigma methodology.

This success demonstrates diCarta's increased momentum in the Fortune 1000 market, where the challenges and risks associated with managing complex contracts make the process extremely costly, resource-intensive and error-prone. NBC West Coast considers contract automation the next logical focus for accelerating business process improvement.

NBC West Coast is convinced the returns from effective contract management are significant. Enforcing contract standards will reduce their risk of errors, allowing NBC West Coast to proactively manage by exception. Automating contract construction will reduce costly redundant manual processes, and will enable NBC West Coast to consummate talent agreements more rapidly, reducing the risk of losing talent during a prolonged process. This level of focused visibility and control will ultimately result in improved quality, productivity and overall operating efficiency -- all tenants of Six Sigma, which yield greater profitability and competitive advantage.

NBC West Coast is implementing diCarta Contracts to streamline the contractual processes related to the acquisition of both on-screen and off-screen talent associated with the production of television programming. They initially looked at using various ERP systems for contract management, but realized those solutions didn't provide the best practices and collaboration capabilities NBC West Coast wanted. They needed a solution that supported contract creation, negotiation and approval processes and that could provide management constant visibility into contract terms and conditions. diCarta Contracts was the only solution NBC West Coast found that could do all of those things.

NBC West Coast's Contract Standardization and Process Initiative is designed to enforce consistency in contract legal terms, increase visibility into negotiations in process as well as executed contracts, and improve the overall negotiation process. diCarta accomplishes this by streamlining and standardizing the content and movement of proposed deals through the enterprise using well-defined and fully automated workflow. Once proposed terms are reviewed and approved, the system populates the contract, making it available for execution. Once executed, contracts are available in a central repository where the actual business terms of the contract automatically trigger other related downstream business processes, like the timely renewal of contract options.

"NBC West Coast's implementation of diCarta Contracts represents a significant accomplishment for us as we drive toward increasing our foothold in the Fortune 1000 and Global 2000 markets," said Mike Kaul, president and CEO, diCarta. "Being deployed by one of the nation's largest entertainment companies demonstrates our cross-industry appeal to companies of all sizes. We believe the benefits we're able to provide NBC West Coast will be a model for all companies who want to reduce the inefficiencies of managing enterprise contracts, in order to drive greater profitability to their bottom line."

About diCarta, Inc.

diCarta(R) is a leading provider of enterprise contract management solutions that automate and manage the entire contract lifecycle -- across the enterprise, across all contracts, and among all trading partners. Using diCarta Contracts, companies gain control over their contract management procedures, increase visibility into contractual obligations, manage the business terms of their agreements, and integrate contract processes and data with all other enterprise systems. The results are reduced legal and financial risks, decreased operational costs, and optimized business relationships. Built for collaboration across organizational boundaries, diCarta Contracts allows multiple parties within, as well as outside the enterprise, to transact within a secure framework leveraging the efficiency of role-based workflow. Contract management best practices can be achieved through enforceable standards and defined business processes.

diCarta's customers include leading Global 2000, and high growth companies. Founded in October of 1998, diCarta is headquartered in Redwood City, California.

For more information about diCarta solutions visit http://www.dicarta.com, send email to info@dicarta.com, or call 888-496-2600.

diCarta is a registered trademark of diCarta, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other company and product names mentioned are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.