Dabur ties-up with FreeMarkets for global sourcing

Company press release, January 7, 2003

New Delhi

Dabur India, the fourth largest FMCG Company in the country, has signed as agreement FreeMarkets Inc (Nasdaq: FMKT), the leading provider of global supply management solutions, for using leading edge technologies to execute online markets for its procurement needs.

Dabur, with this tie-up, joins the league of leading FMCG Companies in the world who have adopted high-end technologies for reducing costs, providing greater transparencies and optimizing procurement efficiencies. According to Gartner report*, E-sourcing can reduce procurement costs upto 20 per cent and this practice imposes stringent discipline on purchasing process. Some of the benefits of adopting E-sourcing include access to growing pool of certified suppliers, greater market knowledge and increased price transparency, added the report.

With this tie-up, Dabur will move from need-based procurement process, followed over the years with its strong supplier base, towards an Intelligent Procurement System. This will give us a phenomenal edge over competitors by enhancing reach, response time and transparency. This practice not only helps the buyer but also provides new opportunities to efficient suppliers for winning more business on merit said Jude Magima, Head Procurement, Dabur India Limited. As per the agreement, Dabur will use FreeMarkets FullSource(tm) a comprehensive set of services, which combines the most advanced supply management technology available with expert services in hundreds of spend categories to accelerate savings and reduce supply risk. Additionally, Dabur will use FreeMarkets QuickSource solution, a comprehensive, full-featured sourcing application designed for automating, streamlining, and providing visibility into sourcing projects.

Dabur India and FreeMarkets would work together for a period of two years initially to successfully launch and implement the technology enabled procurement process. Though the entire procurement function of Dabur India, including pharmaceuticals and subsidiaries, would be exposed to the process, the company has plans to make purchases of over Rs 150 crore using FreeMarkets Solutions in the first phase that ends in April-May this year.

We will be fully online and conducting the first few set of events next month ie February. Our association with Free-Markets would give us a head start in terms of market making and creating effective online markets as they have over 1,50,000 suppliers in their database that we can leverage. added Mr. Magima.

We are very pleased that Dabur is choosing to use our sourcing software and services for their operations around the world. We look forward to bring them our global reach and experience to create next-generation sourcing organization at Dabur. said Amit Bhatia, Country Manager, FreeMarkets India.

Dabur, with over 300 products in the FMCG, Healthcare and Ayurveda has an annual procurement bill in excess of Rs 500 crore with sourcing done from across the globe for raw and packaging material FreeMarkets is the leading provider of global supply management solutions. FreeMarkets solutions help companies lower costs and reduce risks by improving their supply management processes and expanding the reach and capabilities of their supply management organization.

About FreeMarkets

FreeMarkets is the leading global provider of enterprise sourcing software and services. Through a unique combination of industry-leading software, expert sourcing services, global commodity expertise, and operations support, FreeMarkets helps companies to achieve and sustain improved financial performance through next-generation sourcing. FreeMarkets' solutions support the entire sourcing process, from spend visibility and supply base rationalization to competitive negotiations and savings implementation. FreeMarkets can be found on the Web at www.freemarkets.com.

FreeMarkets India: FreeMarkets is India's leading enterprise sourcing company. In India, FreeMarkets began its operations in the year 2000. The company is headquartered in Gurgaon and operates from its offices located in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Jamshedpur. FreeMarkets is associated with some of the important players and leaders in the industry. These include players like Reliance Industries, JK Corp ltd, Tata Engineering, TVS, Bayer, Du Pont, Johnson & Johnson amongst others.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts, including those statements that refer to FreeMarkets plans, prospects, expectations, financial projections, strategies, intentions, and beliefs, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to FreeMarkets today, and FreeMarkets assumes no obligation to update these statements as circumstances change. There are risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, market acceptance of FreeMarkets products and services, the competitive nature of the market for e-commerce products and services, FreeMarkets' ability to predict its revenues and earnings, FreeMarkets' ability to develop competitive new products and services on a timely basis, introduction of new products and services by competitors, declining or uncertain economic and industry conditions, FreeMarkets' ability to attract and retain personnel and other risk factors that are described in more detail in FreeMarkets most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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