D&B and ARI introduce standard ID for electronic commerce alliance will enhance D&B's D-U-N-S Number for use in online directories.

MURRAY HILL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 9, 1996--Dun & Bradstreet Information Services (D&B) and ARI Network Services, Inc. (NASDAQ/NMS:ARIS) announced today that they have developed and will begin marketing immediately a standard electronic commerce identification number that will allow companies to precisely identify each business location involved in an electronic commerce transaction.

The identification number called the, EC-ID(TM), will be based on D&B's D-U-N-S(R) Number, a unique nine-digit ID code that D&B assigns to each business establishment in its worldwide database of more than 40 million businesses. ARI, which develops and operates electronic commerce directories for several industries, including agrichemicals and freight transportation, will generate the EC-ID by enhancing the D-U-N-S Number with a two-digit electronic data interchange (EDI) code and a four-digit suffix identifying a business location within a company.

The resulting 15-digit EC-ID is assigned to each business location of a company in an industry or a community of trading partners in that industry. The collection of trading partners with an EC-ID is maintained by ARI in an online or Internet accessible database or electronic commerce directory. Trading partners use the electronic commerce directories to identify and confirm the precise location to which they are referring in their electronic commerce documents.

"To do business electronically, all companies in key industries will need online access to a common industry database of trading partners with a standard identification system," says Frank Fitzsimmons, vice president of Electronic Commerce at D&B. "The D-U-N-S Number has become the universally accepted way of identifying businesses. And through this alliance, we expect the EC-ID to set the standard for business and location identification in business-to-business electronic commerce. ARI's services will also allow more companies to incorporate D&B's comprehensive data into their business processes and reduce the cost of maintaining their trading partner databases," adds Fitzsimmons.

"Real computer-to-computer electronic commerce among businesses requires standards and a level of accuracy in trading partner files that is difficult and expensive to achieve," says Brian Dearing, president and CEO of ARI. "By combining ARI's strengths in electronic commerce services and directory management with D&B's comprehensive business data, we can virtually eliminate a difficult barrier for businesses that increasingly need to conduct business electronically."

The EC-ID will initially be focused on the agrichemical industry, where ARI has been providing location directory services for seven years. The allied and specialty chemical industries have already formally endorsed the use of the D-U-N-S Number as the basis for an industry-common location directory. ARI and D&B expect to offer EC-ID to a wider audience over the next six-to-twelve months.

"Without a common ID that unambiguously identifies products and participants, it is almost impossible for an industry to effectively conduct electronic commerce," observed Torrey Byles, director of Electronic Commerce for Giga Information Group, a leading global information technology research and consulting firm. "In short, the EC-ID is the secret ingredient in any successful electronic commerce initiative . This alliance between ARI's data management capabilities and D&B's numbering system and business information is a giant step forward for electronic commerce both on the Internet and on legacy networks."

"Unique or proprietary numbering systems used by each trading partner are cumbersome and meaningless," says Donald Rudie, Ph.D., vice president of the EDI Group at D&B. "If each trading partner uses a different numbering system, the potential for error increases and it diminishes the usefulness of EDI. The solution is a common numbering system used by all trading partners."

ARI is a provider of standards-based, Internet-enabled electronic commerce services for selected commercial communities and distribution channels. ARI currently serves agribusiness, freight transportation and newspaper publishing with software and services that help streamline channels of distribution by automating the flow of commercial information among trading partners. ARI builds and manages electronic commerce databases, including directories of products, companies and locations. ARI also provides data management services for individual companies.

Dun & Bradstreet Information Services, North America, is a company of The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, the world's leading marketer of information, software and services for business decision making, with 1995 revenues of $5.4 billion. The American National Standards Institute, the United Nations, the International Standards Organization and over 50 industry and trade associations, as well as the U.S. federal government have all recognized the D-U-N-S Number as a standard for electronic commerce and company identification. -0-

Note to Editors: D&B press releases are available on the Interment via the Dun & Bradstreet Information Services World Wide Web home page (http://www.dbisna.com). ARI press releases are also available on the Internet via the ARI World Wide Web home page (http://www.arinet.com).

CONTACT: Dun & Bradstreet Information Services, Murray Hill

Pamela Spiridon, 908/665-5105, [e-mail]

or

ARI Network Services Inc.

Nancy Krajcir, 414/283-4380