For Immediate Release

EMERYVILLE, Calif., March 8, 1999-TechniCon Corp., a leading provider of mass customization commerce technology, announced today it has signed an agreement with Ariba Technologies, Inc., the leader in business-to-business network commerce solutions for Operating Resource Management (ORM), to become a member of Ariba.com Network.

As a member of Ariba.com Network, TechniCon gives millions of corporate buyers in Global 2000 organizations worldwide access to its CustomCommerce online product specification and visualization technology, which helps shorten the sales cycle and reduce procurement costs and product configuration errors. Together, TechniCon and the other members of Ariba.com Network provide these buyers packaged access to more than 10.1 million items from more than 84,700 suppliers.

TechniCon also announced it showcased its CustomCommerce technology at Ariba's recent ORMS User Group and Advisory Council, attended by corporate information, financial, and procurement officers. At this event, TechniCon demonstrated Showroom, its office furniture implementation of CustomCommerce.

"TechniCon's CustomCommerce software supplies important value to Ariba customers," said Dave Rome, Vice President of Marketing from Ariba. "By streamlining the sales process for customizable products like office furniture, this software helps Ariba customers become more efficient and save even more on procurement costs, thus extending the benefits inherent in the Ariba solution. It also provides suppliers with an attractive, interactive way to efficiently present product options to millions of corporate buyers."

Ariba.com Network allows Ariba to easily connect premier suppliers and Global 2000 buying organizations through an open XML-based Internet commerce framework. Ariba.com Network helps supplier partners to streamline the process of conducting business with blue-chip buying organizations throughout the world.

By becoming a member of Ariba.com Network, TechniCon integrates its supplier content with the Ariba solution and gains access to numerous Ariba customers, including Advanced Micro Devices, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Caltex Corporation, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Chevron, Cisco Systems, Citizens Communications, Cypress Semiconductor, FedEx, Octel Messaging Division of Lucent Technologies, Philips Electronics N.V., Sonoco, State of California, US West, Transamerica, and VISA. Ariba's existing customers currently have an annual spend of more than $67 billion in operating resources, the goods and services required to operate their businesses.

Through Ariba.com Network, Ariba and TechniCon work together to make TechniCon content available to Ariba customers via the Commerce XML (cXML) protocol. cXML provides an infrastructure that streamlines the process of digitally exchanging catalog content and transactions in a secure manner over the Internet. cXML will allow TechniCon to provide Ariba customers with selective access to personalized catalog content while maintaining the branding and competitive differentiation of the products presented and the compelling interactive and visualization features of TechniCon's CustomCommerce. In addition, cXML will facilitate transaction integration and will help build open trading communities.

"TechniCon is pleased to join Ariba.com Network and help Global 2000 organizations reap the benefits of a secure, flexible e-commerce system that manages operating resources," said Anthony Mirante, President of TechniCon. "By combining TechniCon's CustomCommerce technology with Ariba.com Network, our two companies can provide improved cost savings and efficiencies to both corporate buyers and suppliers."

TechniCon's CustomCommerce is compelling electronic commerce software that for the first time enables customers and salespeople to interactively select, customize, and visualize products directly over the Internet. CustomCommerce allows users to view and interact with products in real time, instantly creating customized products and seeing various options displayed via detailed 2D or 3D images. For example, at the click of a mouse, customers or salespeople specify and see different finishes, fabrics and configurations for furniture, view different options for an automobile or visualize how floor/window/wall coverings will appear once installed.

CustomCommerce reduces the need for lengthy, back-and-forth product design cycles that often occur between customers and CAD engineers or designers. As a result, the software shortens the sales cycle, reduces sales/procurement costs, and decreases product configuration errors.

Ariba is the leader in network commerce solutions for Operating Resource Management (ORM). The company's eCommerce products deliver a high return on investment by improving the acquisition and management of operating resources, the goods and services required to operate a company. Ariba's comprehensive, standards-based ORM solution leverages the Internet, corporate intranets, and an advanced network application architecture to efficiently connect requestors to approvers, buyers to suppliers, and the Ariba system to enterprise applications. Ariba and its strategic partners offer consulting and implementation services, training, and technical support that enable rapid deployment of scalable, flexible, Internet-based Operating Resource Management solutions. Ariba can be contacted at +1.408.543.3800 or at www.ariba.com.

TechniCon is a leading developer of mass customization software for electronic commerce and sales automation. Using the latest 2D/3D graphics and Internet technologies, TechniCon makes it easy for sales representatives and customers to preview and order products that meet today's build-to-order requirements. By allowing customers to fully visualize and configure products directly over the Internet, TechniCon's software helps companies shorten the sales cycle, reduce costs, decrease product configuration errors and increase customer satisfaction. TechniCon is located in Emeryville, Calif., and can be reached by phone at (510) 653-9163 or via the Internet at www.technicon.com.

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TechniCon is a service mark of TechniCon, Corp. Ariba is a registered trademark of Ariba Technologies Inc. Ariba Operating Resource Management System, Ariba ORMS, Ariba.com Network and Walk-Up User Interface are trademarks of Ariba Technologies Inc. Other products and company names mentioned herein may be the service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.