MarkMaster Transforms Business with Ariba

Minority-Owned Manufacturer Leverages Ariba Commerce Cloud to Drive Sales Growth of 20 Percent Annually

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Finding new business is hard. Closing it quickly is even harder. But for an increasing number of companies, Ariba, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARBA), the leading provider of collaborative business commerce solutions, is making things a lot easier. Among them? MarkMaster, a Tampa-based company that provides name badges, nameplates, rubber stamps, signs, banners and decals to Fortune 500 companies in banking, insurance, retail, entertainment, and other industries. The company today announced that on an annual basis, it is driving annual sales growth of 20 percent through the Ariba^® Commerce Cloud.

“Ariba has helped us to transform our business,” said Kevin Govin, CEO, MarkMaster. “Through Ariba, we have created a robust online sales channel that has allowed us to expand our base of new customers by 65 percent and grow our overall business 20 percent year-over-year.”

The Ariba Commerce Cloud is the most efficient, effective, and universally adopted platform for collaborative global commerce between businesses and gives sales and marketing teams everything that’s needed to sell more to more customers in a single location, including:

• Technology to optimize the complete commerce lifecycle from source-to-settle and market to receipt
• The world’s largest global network of global trading partners
• Qualified business opportunities of every scope and size
• Tools to discover, connect and collaborate with trading partners

MarkMaster has successfully leveraged the tools within the Ariba Commerce Cloud to optimize its performance and profits. Through the Ariba Network, the company has access to a large network of potential customers - many of whom were previously unreachable. MarkMaster attributes 65 percent of its new customer growth directly to this channel.

As a result of its complete electronic procure-to-pay solution, MarkMaster is able to offer its customers on the network, the company has seen its electronic orders rise from two percent in 2000 to 95 percent today.

And as a member of the Ariba Ready Silver program, MarkMaster is leveraging tools that enable it to:

• Extend their online commerce investments
• Strengthen relationships with existing customers
• Maximize exposure to the Ariba Global 2000 customer base
• Gain exclusive access to decision-makers
• Obtain third-party validation of their online capabilities

“To be successful in today’s uncertain business environment, companies must simplify the ways in which they connect and do business with their customers,” said Jason Kurtz, Vice President, Ariba Network. “MarkMaster is a highly innovative organization that recognized this early on and embraced the tools within the Ariba Commerce Cloud to drive faster revenue growth, improved service levels, stronger customer relationships, and optimal performance.”

For more information on the Ariba Commerce Cloud and the value it can deliver to your commercial organization, visit www.ariba.com/commercecloud. For additional details on the Ariba Ready Silver program, visit www.ariba.com or call 1-866-583-5988.

About MarkMaster:

MarkMaster is a minority-owned manufacturer of marking and identification products. Founded in 1933, the Tampa-based company provides name badges, nameplates, rubber stamps, signs, banners, and decals to many Fortune 500 companies in banking, insurance, retail, entertainment, and other industries.

About Ariba, Inc.

Ariba, Inc. is the leading provider of collaborative business commerce solutions. Ariba combines industry-leading technology to optimize the complete commerce lifecycle with the world's largest web-based community to discover, connect and collaborate with a global network of trading partners, delivering everything needed to control costs, minimize risk, improve profits and enhance cash flow and operations – all in a cloud-based environment. Whether you’re buying, selling or managing cash, you can do it more efficiently and effectively in the Ariba® Commerce Cloud. Over 325,000 companies, including more than 90 percent of the Fortune 100, use Ariba’s solutions to drive more efficient inter-enterprise commerce. Why not join them? For more information on Ariba commerce solutions and the results they deliver, visit www.ariba.com

Copyright © 1996 – 2010 Ariba, Inc.

Ariba, the Ariba logo, AribaLIVE, SupplyWatch, Ariba.com, Ariba.com Network, Ariba Spend Management. Find it. Get it. Keep it. and PO-Flip are registered trademarks of Ariba, Inc. Ariba Procure-to-Pay, Ariba Buyer, Ariba eForms, Ariba PunchOut, Ariba Services Procurement, Ariba Travel and Expense, Ariba Procure-to-Order, Ariba Procurement Content, Ariba Sourcing, Ariba Savings and Pipeline Tracking, Ariba Category Management, Ariba Category Playbooks, Ariba StartSourcing, Ariba Spend Visibility, Ariba Analysis, Ariba Data Enrichment, Ariba Contract Management, Ariba Contract Compliance, Ariba Electronic Signatures, Ariba StartContracts, Ariba Invoice Management, Ariba Payment Management, Ariba Working Capital Management, Ariba Settlement, Ariba Supplier Information and Performance Management, Ariba Supplier Information Management, Ariba Discovery, Ariba Invoice Automation, Ariba PO Automation, Ariba Express Content, Ariba Ready, and Ariba LIVE are trademarks or service marks of Ariba, Inc. All other brand or product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or organizations in the United States and/or other countries.

Ariba Safe Harbor

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act 1995: Information and announcements in this release involve Ariba's expectations, beliefs, hopes, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future and are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available to Ariba as of the date of the release, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to Ariba's operating and financial results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: the impact of the credit crises on Ariba’s results of operations and financial condition; delays in development or shipment of new versions of Ariba's products and services; lack of market acceptance of Ariba's existing or future products or services; inability to continue to develop competitive new products and services on a timely basis; introduction of new products or services by major competitors; the impact of any acquisitions or dispositions; the ability to attract and retain qualified employees; difficulties in assimilating acquired companies, long and unpredictable sales cycles and the deferrals of anticipated orders; declining economic conditions, including the impact of a recession; inability to control costs; changes in the company's pricing or compensation policies; significant fluctuations in our stock price; the outcome of and costs associated with pending or potential future regulatory or legal proceedings; the impact of our acquisitions and dispositions, including the disruption or loss of customer, business partner, supplier or employee relationships; and the level of costs and expenses incurred by Ariba as a result of such transactions. Factors and risks associated with its business, including a number of the factors and risks described above, are discussed in Ariba's Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 5, 2010.

Ariba, Inc.Karen Master, 412-297-8177
[email protected]

Source: Ariba, Inc.