Centric Software And Thomas Publishing Partner To Optimize Collaborative Product Innovation

Business Wire, March 5, 2002

Business & Technology Editors

SAN JOSE, Calif. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 5, 2002

Thomas Publishing Company

Thomas Publishing's Online Supply Side Information And Centric

Software Product Innovation Solutions Combine To Accelerate Product

Development Between Manufacturers And Suppliers

Centric Software, Inc., the leading provider of Collaborative Product Innovation (CPI) solutions for the globally distributed design chain, and Thomas Publishing, the world's leading provider of online industrial supplier, product and service information, today announced a strategic alliance to enable closer collaboration between product manufacturers and suppliers.

Centric Innovation(TM) empowers manufacturers to optimize product innovation by leveraging the collective competencies of their supplier network, pulling together disparate product data from the extended enterprise to digitally innovate, validate, and develop new products within critical windows of opportunity. Thomas will enable users to identify appropriate suppliers and quickly locate parts and components using Thomas' parametric search capability, dramatically reducing the time needed to complete concept bills-of-material (cBOM's).

Centric Software will enable a new network of users to automatically link to, search, and significantly accelerate the utilization of purchasing (source, specify, and buy) information available in the Thomas Register of American Manufacturers(R) and Thomas Regional Directories(R). The online availability of detailed product information, including Computer Aided Design (CAD) data and key product attributes, creates opportunities for productivity gains early in the design process when crucial decisions are being made and 80 percent of the product's lifecycle costs are determined. This enables OEMs and suppliers to work together to optimize product innovation with a common understanding of the target concept product definition.

"With its leadership in Collaborative Product Innovation, Centric Software is a natural partner for us, empowering buyers to not only locate optimal suppliers, but to access sophisticated sourcing and specifying content in the Thomas universe," said Erik Mikisch, vice president of Thomas Publishing Company's integrated marketing division. "In addition to making Thomas Publishing information available to a wider audience of innovators and to ease the publication process, Centric Innovation enables users to collaborate and bring in content at the crucial product ideation phase, significantly accelerating concept development. The ability to discover suppliers' product information and subsequently transfer CAD or functionality based product information very early in the design process creates enormous cost savings for the OEM manufacturer."

According to Pierre Mitchell and Kevin O'Marah in The AMR Research "First Thing Monday" Alert on March 4, 2002, "The relationship relies on the mutual benefit of Thomas pushing more volume for suppliers and Centric offering better functionality for its users. The intent is to have desktop access to Thomas content and discovery capabilities embedded directly into Centric Innovation." The Alert continues, "The partnership with Centric is also strategic for Thomas Publishing not just to provide value-added services, similar to its mfgquote.com sourcing site, but also to move upstream from the buyer to the engineer's desktop - guaranteeing the visibility that Thomas's supplier community has come to expect."

"Thomas Publishing has been the premier information source for the manufacturing community for over a century, and the new partnership will prove invaluable for Centric Innovation users," said Neil M. Mitchell, vice president of marketing and strategic alliances for Centric Software, Inc. "This partnership enables manufacturers and suppliers in the Centric Innovation environment to leverage the massive supplier and product information available in the Thomas directories, focusing on concept designs and validation in a true partnership that moves beyond the traditional procurement relationship."

About Thomas Publishing Company

Headquartered in New York City, Thomas Publishing Company is the world's leading provider of industrial supplier, product and service information through both print and electronic media. The pioneer of buying guides for virtually every industry category in North America, Thomas Publishing Company has been bringing buyers and sellers together for more than 100 years. The company publishes 24 major buying guides, 29 product-news magazines, two product-information exchange services, three guides on selecting software, a magazine on advanced manufacturing technology, and a publication to assist buyers in selecting the most cost-efficient transportation models. For additional information, please visit www.thomaspublishing.com, www.thomasregister.com, and www.thomasregional.com.

About Centric Software

Centric Software, Inc. generates innovation by empowering manufacturers to create and dominate new markets with their design chain partners through Internet-enabled Collaborative Product Innovation (CPI). The company is driving the collaborative-commerce (c-commerce) market with Centric Innovation(TM) - the only solution that unites disparate knowledge so that domain experts can define, synthesize, and validate product concepts collaboratively in record time. Centric Software is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., and provides sales and support services to its customers through its offices worldwide. For additional information, please visit the web site at www.centricsoftware.com.