Enporion Announces New Service Offerings; New Offerings Enhance Already Strong Product Suite, Expand Scope of Service to Members.

Energy Editors/Business Editors

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 22, 2003

Enporion, a leading provider of strategic sourcing services for both buyers and suppliers in the energy utility industry, has introduced two new service offerings to its product suite, Dynamic Buyer Agreements and Negotiated Buyer Agreements. These additions strengthen an already impressive group of services to provide each member company with the top eProcurement solutions available.

"Enporion has demonstrated over the past three years the considerable savings available through eProcurement and Group Contracts," said Chairman and CEO George Gordon. "The addition of Dynamic Buyer Agreements and Negotiated Buyer Agreements addresses the needs of member companies with a large number of blanket and specialty contracts, expands the opportunities for member savings, and broadens the scope of eProcurement solutions for our members."

Dynamic Buyer Agreements are used specifically to competitively bid a single company's existing term or blanket contract. Frequently, existing term or blanket contracts are simply renewed and not bid out due to the time and effort required. Dynamic Buyer Agreements alleviate the time burden associated with the process and result in competitive pricing and process savings.

Negotiated Buyer Agreements are used to negotiate contracts between multiple members and a single existing supplier. Companies often have multiple contracts with the same supplier, all with different terms and conditions. Negotiated Buyer Agreements aggregate these contracts with other members' contracts using the same supplier to standardize the buying process and provide like terms and conditions. The primary benefits of Negotiated Buyer Agreements are process savings (automated, standardized buying process), catalog buying and spend tracking.

These offerings provide new savings opportunities for Enporion member companies. Pilot implementations of Dynamic Buyer Agreements, for example, have already yielded average savings of 15 percent to Enporion members.

"Enporion has continually displayed its ability to be a customer-driven organization", said Tom Burnham, Manager of Purchasing at CMS Energy. "These new offerings evolved as members' experiences indicated a need for more sourcing and eProcurement solutions. CMS Energy will be working with Enporion to use reverse auctions for term and blanket agreements and expects to realize significant procurement savings as a result."

In addition to these two new service offerings, Enporion's members can choose an individual sourcing approach from an already solid suite of services:

-- Group Contracts are appropriate when multiple members wish to

aggregate and leverage spend, believe some degree of

standardization is possible, and have multiple competitive

suppliers for the commodity.

-- Supplier Participation Agreements are for member companies

that intend to remain with a given supplier's contract but

wish to implement the buying experience via Enporion's

eMarketplace and electronic catalog. Supplier Participation

Agreements allow a member to achieve a common electronic

interface and buying process consistent with the member's

other buying practices.

-- Dynamic Commerce is used for spot-buys, perhaps for large

capital or other one-time projects. It is usually performed

for a single member, although on some occasions Enporion

recognizes that multiple members have common requirements and

have aggregated these into a single Dynamic Commerce event.

"Enporion recognizes the need to serve as many different sourcing activities in an energy company's buying department as possible," said Gordon. "Our current suite of services addresses virtually every area of the supply chain, thus not only strengthening our position as a leading eProcurement provider, but also providing cost savings that translate directly to the bottom lines of our member companies."

According to Terry Ray, Vice President, Energy Information Strategies at META Group Inc., "Cost pressures in utility companies continue to be a top priority. Since procurement represents a significant component of utility expenses, companies are constantly looking for ways to reduce this cost. eProcurerment exchanges have already produced significant savings for their members, and enhanced services in this domain will allow utility companies to address additional areas of spend and will lead to further savings. All of this is very good news for an industry striving to restore financial credibility."

This complete suite of services is available to Enporion member companies immediately.

About Enporion

Enporion provides strategic sourcing services to the gas and electric energy industry to complement supply chain activities and deliver bottom-line value. Enporion's goal is to simplify the buying process and to drive operational excellence through supply chain improvement. By reducing cycle times, lowering inventories, and reducing transaction costs, buyers and suppliers will realize enhanced profitability. Enporion buyers access new suppliers, and experience supply chain process improvements, thus lowering overall operating costs. Suppliers reap the benefit of a smoother interface and exposure to new customers, while having their voices heard through a permanent Enporion Supplier Council. The company's Web address is www.enporion.com.