Fishy Business

Marex's E-Procurement Orders Surpass $6 Million

March 30, 2001

Miami March 30, 2001 Marex.com, Inc., a marine industry B2B e-commerce company, announced today that since the June 2000 launch of the company's MarExpress! and MarexPO!, more than $6 million worth of orders have passed through the Marex system in e-procurement transactions linking boat builders and suppliers more than 40 percent of which occurred in the past two months alone. The company said that orders during the first quarter of 2001 will surpass the amount reported for all of 2000, reflecting increased use of its products by current members and the implementation into the Marex system of new builders and suppliers. Due to the fact that Marex recognizes revenue from transactions fees from both the builder and the supplier on the day the product is shipped to the buyer, the company's first-quarter revenue will reflect a portion of these fees. To date, 120 leading marine suppliers and 39 internationally recognized boat builders have signed contracts to use MarExpress! and MarexPO!

The company also reported a record day for e-procurement transactions on March 22, due in large part to the recent implementations of major new suppliers including Inland Plywood and Cook Composites and Polymers.

"As promised, transaction volume through the Marex system continues to grow at a steady clip. We are very pleased to have passed the $6 million milestone before the end of the first quarter of 2001 and anticipate a significant ramp-up in transaction volume later in the year as current users purchase ever greater amounts of materials and as we continue to bring new members online," commented David Schwedel, Marex's CEO.

MarExpress! is an e-procurement capability for buyers on Marex marine B2B markets, which includes the ability to review, compare and sort supplier product data, to pull from favorites lists, and to configure, save and utilize custom kits and bills of material. Also supported are approved vendor lists, routing of order approvals, and contract pricing. Additionally, MarExpress! provides order management functionality including the ability to preview, execute and track orders at every stage of the process through logistics. These solutions have been integrated and customized to meet the specific needs of buyers working in marine B2B markets.

MarexPO! offers suppliers a set of sell-side solutions that have been built upon a "best-of-breed" foundation and are customized to meet the unique needs of suppliers to the marine business markets. By offering electronic product information management tools, suppliers have the ability to control all aspects of their product information and data including tiered price levels, territory protection and contract pricing. The system is built upon a thorough and secure registration process that recognizes the unique identity of each buyer and seller, and passes the appropriate information based upon business rules established by the trading partners. Additionally, MarexPO! supports all aspects of sell-side work-flow, from the initial presentation of product data through order management and logistics.