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Sorcity.com Helps Buyers Cut Purchasing Costs Up to 80 Percent

DALLAS -- September 28, 1999... Every company is looking to increase profits, so the most obvious thing to do is cut costs. Sounds easy enough, but all the extra time it takes to track down potential suppliers, collect multiple bids and find the lowest price can wreak major havoc on the bottom-line.

But now, double-digit cost savings can be as pain-free as a click of the mouse. Pier 1 Imports is among the first of several major companies to realize a more profitable way to purchase non-merchandise supplies. Recently, the home furnishings retailer began sourcing various supply products through Sorcity.com -- a broad-based, business-to-business reverse-auction Web site that cuts down on the time and expense of the request-for-bid and purchasing process. This self-service model works two ways. First, it allows a company's purchasing agent to request and receive bids in a fraction of the time on practically any product, service or commodity. Second, it allows suppliers the opportunity to bid for business without the cost to find and market to new customers.

Pier 1 Imports' buyer Cheryl Alexander says this new purchasing method can cut her sourcing costs considerably. "Sorcity can reduce my sourcing effort from as much as two days to as little as one hour," she says. "And, we get the best possible price because of the competitive nature of the bidding process among the large base of qualified suppliers. In fact, with the experience we've had with Sorcity.com so far, we expect Internet purchasing to enable us to lower some of our supply costs by as much as 20 percent, which will certainly make us more profitable."

Up until a few months ago, companies had to implement expensive e-Business solutions to source and purchase over the Internet. Wes Guillemaud, founder and CEO of Sorcity.com, describes Sorcity's service as a much smarter, more cost-effective, alternative. "The trend now is on the self-service side of purchasing because it allows buyers to save even more money by handling the transaction themselves," he says. "Sorcity.com was created to do the work and give the purchasing agent all the glory -- it's a phenomenal service."

Randy Jobe, print production manager at LMS/MARC Advertising in Dallas, says one of the most attractive aspects of Sorcity.com is how objective it allows the buying process to be. "This makes it easier for us to take existing vendor relationships out of the mix and keep our selection very bottom-line," he says. "It's also no longer necessary for us to spend the incessant time we use talking to multiple suppliers vying for our business, which is a huge time saver."

While buyers discover the value of Sorcity.com, Guillemaud says the beauty of the system is that it closes the gap between the buyer and seller. "While the buyer gets the lowest possible price, the seller still makes a good profit. It's a win-win for everybody."

As an Internet hosted, business-to-business reverse-auction service, Sorcity.com is a powerful business tool that matches the complex needs of serious buyers to the capabilities of serious sellers quickly, consistently and electronically. The purpose of the service is to improve supply chain efficiency between the buyer and seller within all business segments and all industries.