Ariba Helps SMBs Optimize Profits And Performance

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (BUSINESS WIRE) It doesn't take expensive software, an army of consultants or lengthy implementations to improve business processes. And world-class performance isn't the exclusive domain of large enterprises. At least not with Ariba, Inc, the leading provider of collaborative business commerce solutions. The company today broadly launched a set of solutions that enable small and medium businesses to quickly rein in costs, minimize risk and improve profits.

"As uncertainty in global financial and supply markets persists, companies of all sizes must carefully manage their costs and risk to drive opportunities and growth," said Steve Markle, Senior Director, Solutions Management, Ariba. "Typically, only the largest of companies have been able to afford solutions to help them do this. But with Ariba, even the smallest organizations can access industry-leading offerings that allow them to streamline and enhance key business processes and the results that they deliver."

With the simple click of a button, mid-market companies can purchase Ariba StartSourcing and Ariba StartContracts for as little as $199 a month. Delivered on-demand through the Ariba Commerce Cloud, the offerings can be deployed in days and are uniquely designed for small and medium enterprises. Using the solutions, companies may:
    * More efficiently manage spend and trading relationships
    * Lower costs and improve profits
    * Improve visibility and minimize risk
    * Drive compliance and revenue

Ariba StartSourcing provides mid-market companies with technology they can use to structure and execute sourcing events that increase savings, shore up supply, and improve performance, including tools for:
    * RFX creation and management
    * Auctions, competitive bidding and timing
    * Communications and messaging
    * Sourcing reporting
    * Global and multi-lingual capabilities
    * Web-based buyer and supplier training and online tutorials

"In today's business environment, collaboration is more critical than ever," said Steve Hunt, Chief Executive East North East Homes Leeds. "Ariba StartSourcing provides us with powerful tools we can use to negotiate agreements that allow us to maintain a competitive cost structure while ensuring the success of our trading partners so that we can continue to deliver quality services."Ariba StartSourcing also provides integrated access to Ariba Discovery, the industry's largest online marketplace for accessing profile, performance, and other qualification information on more than 300,000 suppliers, making it easier than ever to connect and do business with the right partners around the world.

"Ariba has knocked down the four walls and enabled us to access a marketplace that had been difficult for us to get into in the past," said Ahmet Hepdogan, Vice President of Sourcing, Fresh Start Bakeries North America. "With Ariba StartSourcing, we can find and do business with reliable trading partners in a completely transparent manner and generate savings and efficiencies that positively impact our operations and bottom line."

With Ariba StartSourcing, companies may:
    * Realize savings of more than 13 percent
    * Discover new, qualified suppliers to improve bid competitiveness
    * Reduce sourcing cycle times by 50 percent and administrative costs by 15 percent

Effective contract management is a critical lever that companies can pull to quickly find contract information, optimize profits and identify risks and opportunities. But it's easier said than done. Many organizations lack a central repository for storing contracts. So agreements are often hard to find, making it difficult if not impossible to assure compliance.

Ariba StartContracts provides small and medium organizations with the technology and processes needed to automate and enhance their contract management functions. With Ariba StartContracts, legal, sales, and procurement professionals may:
    * Create a central, online contract repository for storing all critical agreements
    * Begin managing contracts in as little as one to two days
    * Manage contracts across the organization using robust free-text search and reporting capabilities
    * Report on contracts across the organization
    * Receive notifications about expiring contracts and other key milestones
    * Benefit from global and multi-currency/multi-lingual support"Effectively automating the contract management process can generate significant efficiencies that improve overall business performance," said Andrew Bartolini, managing partner and chief research officer at Ardent Partners. "With the right solution and approach, companies can improve contract renewals, lower the costs associated with managing agreements, bring additional spend into compliance and potentially increase revenue."

With Ariba StartContracts, companies may:
    * Improve contract renewal rates by 25 percent
    * Reduce administrative costs of managing contracts by more than 30 percent
    * Bring more than 50 percent of additional spend into compliance

Ariba StartSourcing and StartContracts are available and in use today.