eBreviate Re-integrated into A.T. Kearney

Plano, TX  December 5, 2001  The chicks are coming home to roost at management consultancy A.T. Kearney.

The EDS subsidiary announced today that it is combining its four technology-based procurement services, including e-sourcing pioneer eBreviate, into a new unit to be called A.T. Kearney Procurement Solutions.

eBreviate, which a group of A.T. Kearney veterans founded in 1998, had operated as a wholly-owned EDS subsidiary since January 2000, but EDS is now re-integrating the company back into A.T. Kearney.

A.T. Kearney vice president Joe Raudabaugh will head the new unit. Tom Slaight, who had been serving as eBreviate interim president, is assuming that post on a permanent basis as part of the new organization, while continuing as vice president within A.T. Kearney.

In an interview, Slaight said that eBreviate will continue to operate as A.T. Kearney's technology brand. "That doesn't disappear, and we don't think it should," Slaight said, citing what he said is eBreviate's number two position in the e-sourcing market after FreeMarkets.

Other A.T. Kearney services joining eBreviate in the new unit include: Leveraged Sourcing Networks, consortia created by A.T. Kearney to combine the buying power of various companies; Supply Market Solutions, packaged procurement solutions designed to help large companies track common categories of indirect materials and services; and Data Management Group, teams of category management specialists and technical staff that analyze data for more than 3,000 purchased categories to help A.T. Kearney clients target categories for sourcing that can generate the greatest savings and other benefits.

In a statement, A.T. Kearney said that creating the new unit will allow the consultancy to focus its strategic sourcing capabilities on more-complex client situations and categories. At the same time, A.T. Kearney Procurement Solutions will serve the procurement services and solutions market, which the consultancy views as a high-growth area.

eBreviate began its life as a tool for computer-aided strategic sourcing within A.T. Kearney. Slaight said that EDS eventually set eBreviate up as a separate subsidiary in order to give the sourcing software company access to a broader client base than it would have had under the A.T. Kearney umbrella, and also to prepare the company to go public. But the downturn in the tech sector that began in the second quarter of 2000 chilled the investment environment and quashed any thought of taking the company public.

Slaight asserted that bringing eBreviate back under A.T. Kearney's wing not only would bolster both companies' offerings but in fact had already resulted in cost savings - through some layoffs at eBreviate and other organizational consolidation - that made eBreviate a profitable operation as of October.

The current leadership structure for eBreviate will remain in place under the new Procurement Solutions organization, with Luke Saban as chief operating officer and Carrie Ericson as vice president of global operations.

In other eBreviate developments:

The company launched version 3.0 of its Supply Market Solutions software, adding request for proposal templates, an "RFX" evaluation toolkit and category analysis tools, among other new features in this supply market analysis suite.

 Transora, the industry-sponsored e-marketplace for consumer packaged goods companies, extended its contract to use eBreviate's suite of e-sourcing solutions through mid-2002. The extended contract enables Transora to begin offering its participants all of eBreviate's e-sourcing tools, including electronic surveys for requests for proposal, information or quotes, as well as the spend management, deal management and other tools. To date, Transora customers reportedly have put $126 million in spend through the eBreviate system.