Cephren Partners With ec-Content to Support Cephren MarketNet and Enhance Cephren's E-commerce Capabilities for the Building Industry.

Business Editors & High Tech Writers

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2000

Partnership to Provide the Cephren MarketNet Catalog Service with

Industry-Rich, Transactable Content, Accessible by Specifiers,

Contractors, Distributors and Manufacturers

Cephren, Inc. (www.cephren.com), a leading online workplace for the $3.6 trillion global construction industry offering web-based collaboration and e-commerce services, and ec-Content, Inc., a leading source of product and pricing information for the electrical and mechanical industry, announced today a strategic partnership to support the Cephren MarketNet(TM) catalog service. Cephren MarketNet(TM) is being developed as an online marketplace where buyers and sellers of construction products and services can communicate and transact using a variety of trading tools, including Cephren's bidding and catalog capabilities. In addition to working with ec-Content to develop its catalog, Cephren announced a separate partnership in January 2000 with Commerce One (NASDAQ: CMRC), a leader in global e-commerce solutions for business, to leverage Commerce One's advanced search and catalog aggregation technology.

Cephren's customers will have access to detailed product and pricing information for approximately 2 million individual items (SKUs) from ec-Content's building products database, which includes electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and DataCom products. ec-Content is widely acknowledged to be one of the most complete and accurate databases of electrical and mechanical products in the construction industry, representing approximately 1300 leading manufacturers.

Unlike other online catalogs that are purely information sources, Cephren's "intelligent" catalog will allow actual transactions to take place, eventually leveraging robust searching capabilities across multiple product attributes. Both contractors and distributors will be able to buy directly from Cephren's electronic catalog, thereby replacing the need to search through outdated paper catalogs. Distributors and manufacturers will also be able to provide customized pricing for specific buyers in a secure, confidential, online environment. Ultimately, Cephren MarketNet can be integrated with seller's back-office systems so that actual inventory levels and product availability are reflected in the marketplace. The result will be less time searching for available products and reduced inventory management costs.

With the addition of ec-Content's product database, Cephren will dramatically accelerate the development of its catalog offering and move one step closer to providing a complete suite of e-commerce services to the industry. The MarketNet catalog service will not only act as a standalone transaction service, but will also be used to enhance Cephren's existing MarketNet bidding service, which includes Request-For-Quotation (RFQ) and Invitation-to-Bid (ITB) capabilities.

"Through this partnership, Cephren will be able to deliver content in a searchable and fully-transactable format, helping contractors, distributors and manufacturers save millions of dollars during the procurement process," said ec-Content President Tod Moore. "The combination of the ec-Content database with Cephren MarketNet will revolutionize the way products are purchased during the construction process."

"This kind of flexibility and functionality will set Cephren's catalog apart from the competition," said Cephren President and Chief Executive Officer Robert J. Majteles. "Cephren is committed to changing the way the construction industry builds the world, and this partnership with ec-Content is a major step in accelerating the delivery of our e-commerce services. We will soon have instant access to a large number of distributors and manufacturers from which our customers can purchase. We expect the industry will quickly realize how valuable this resource is compared to traditional methods of procurement."

"Cephren has taken a leadership role in creating a comprehensive vertical marketplace for the building and construction industry," said Chuck Donchess, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of Commerce One. "With the combination of Commerce One's advanced search and catalog aggregation technology and ec-Content's rich product content, Cephren MarketNet is taking another step to address the needs of this global industry."

About ec-Content

ec-Content is the only provider of comprehensive MRO content with management and maintenance solutions for B2B Net marketplaces. Established in July of 1999 and funded by Boston Ventures, ec-Content draws from the 80-year content publishing history of its founder, and content partner, Trade Service Corporation, and is completely focused on providing high quality content with ongoing management and maintenance. ec-Content efficiently manages, maintains and adds value to the detailed product and pricing information for millions of individual items from thousands of suppliers and manufacturers with the most efficient and effective content aggregation process available. ec-Content offers rapid on-boarding of supplier catalog information and sourcing, development, and frequent updating of the most extensive maintenance, repair, and operation (MRO) product content available. ec-Content's comprehensive MRO content includes office products, office furniture, office machines, computer supplies, janitorial supplies, building supplies essentials (including electrical, plumbing, HVACR, and DataCom products) and automotive aftermarket parts. For more information on ec-Content call 800-978-6641 or visit www.eccontent.com.

About Commerce One

Commerce One is the leader in global e-commerce solutions for business. Through its products, portals, and services, Commerce One creates access to worldwide markets, allowing anyone to buy from anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world. The Commerce One Global Trading Web is the world's largest business-to-business trading community. Comprised of many interoperating portals, the Global Trading Web provides unprecedented economies of scale for buying organizations, suppliers, and service providers worldwide. Commerce One is located in Walnut Creek, Calif., and can be reached by phone at [phone] or [phone] or via the Internet at http://www.commerceone.com.

About Cephren

Cephren, Inc, (www.cephren.com) is a leading online workplace for the $3.2 trillion global construction industry. Cephren is helping the industry change the way it builds the world with its leading framework of web-based collaboration and e-commerce services, including ProjectNet(R), Cephren's award-winning project collaboration and project management service, MarketNet(TM) Cephren's fast-growing, online marketplace for buyers and sellers of construction products and services, and PrintNet(TM), Cephren's online reprographics and print services marketplace. With more than 1,300 active company locations using its online services for projects with construction value that exceeds $40 billion, Cephren is the industry pioneer serving this market. Cephren's services are currently being used at internationally known firms including The Bechtel Group, Morrison Knudsen, Webcor Builders, Gensler, HOK, 3Com, Odebrecht, and BSW International. Companies participating in Cephren's e-commerce services include Mass Electric Construction Company, E-J Electric Co., J. A. Penney Co., Liberty-Wesco, Fischbach & Moore Electric, Inc., DualStar Technologies, Forest Electric (EMCOR), Midwest Mechanical of New Jersey, and Watsco. Cephren has approximately 190 employees and is based in Palo Alto, California with offices in New York, Michigan, London, Hong Kong, Bangalore & Tokyo. Cephren also works through resellers and partners in other parts of Asia and Latin America.

(c) Copyright 2000 Cephren, Inc. All rights reserved. ProjectNet is a registered trademark and Cephren, the Cephren logo, Cephren MarketNet, Cephren PrintNet and Change The Way You Build The World are trademarks of Cephren, Inc. in the USA and other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.