Partner Press Release
Need2Buy.com Joins RosettaNet Consortium To Advance Supply Chain Collaboration Standards

For Release April 4, 2000

WESTLAKE VILLAGE

Need2Buy.com,the premier business-to-business (B2B)online marketplace for the $200 billionglobal electronic components industry,today announced that it has joined theRosettaNet consortium as a Supply ChainPartner.

RosettaNet is a globalconsortium dedicated to the developmentand deployment of open e-businessstandards and interfaces, enablingcompanies in the electronics andinformation technology industries toconduct electronic business moreefficiently. The RosettaNet standardswill align the processes andvocabularies of businesses buying andselling electronic components, resultingin reduced costs and increased servicelevels. RosettaNet's business interfacerules are designed to work with existinginformation systems.

Need2Buywill work to develop these globalstandards and interfaces for the entireelectronic components supply chain,enabling system-to-system electroniccommerce. Need2Buy will also implementthese global standards as part of itsfully integrated supply chain solution,the Need2Buy Trade Partnerª program,which equips OEM buyers, franchiseddistributors, and componentmanufacturers with tools whichsignificantly improve their existingproduction planning, channel allocationand order and inventory managementprocesses.

"We are very pleasedto join RosettaNet," said Andrew R.Wilson, President and Chief OperatingOfficer of Need2Buy. "Need2Buyrecognizes that the development andimplementation of universal andconsistent standards will enable ourentire industry to leverage the Internetas a business-to-business commercetool."

"The recent launch ofRosettaNet Japan reaffirms theconsortium's commitment to implementinge-business standards on a global basis,"said Wilson. "Need2Buy-Asia, our jointventure with Mitsubishi Corporation,will be fully compatible withRosettaNet's global standards."

"We are pleased to welcomeNeed2Buy to RosettaNet as our newestSupply Chain Partner," said JenniferHamilton, CEO of RosettaNet. "Need2Buybrings industry knowledge and technicalexpertise to our initiative and we lookforward to their active participation inRosettaNet standards development andimplementation activities."

About Need2Buy.com
Westlake Village,California-based Need2Buy.com (www.Need2Buy.com) is a leading Internet-based marketplace for the $200 billion electronic components industry that provides OEM buyers, distributors and component manufacturers with a comprehensive online solution for their sourcing and distribution needs. Its e-commerce solution leverages the company's patent-pending "Expert System" technology and extensive industry expertise to streamline the traditionally inefficient electronic components supply chain. Its distributor-neutral approach creates an open and scalable marketplace that is highly attractive to both buyers and sellers. Since its launch in May 1999, the Need2Buy Marketplace has enabled thousands of users to conduct transactions more efficiently than ever before. Need2Buy plans to gradually expand its range of vertical offerings to serve a wide spectrum of business-to-business e-commerce needs.

The company was founded inJanuary 1999 and currently has 60employees. In December 1999, Need2Buyreceived its first round of financingfrom a premier cadre of strategic andfinancial investors, includingMitsubishi Corporation, ShelterVentures, JUMP Investors, Trust Companyof the West and Eli Broad, the CEO ofSunAmerica Inc.

AboutRosettaNet
RosettaNet is an independent, self-funded, non-profit consortium dedicated to the development and deployment of standard electronic business interfaces to align the processes between supply chain partners on a global basis. Launched in June 1998, RosettaNet is currently in the pilot phase of its implementation cycle.

More than 200 companiesrepresenting $1 trillion in annualinformation technology and electroniccomponents revenues currentlyparticipate in RosettaNet's standardsdevelopment, strategy and implementationactivities. A complete list of membercompanies and more information onRosettaNet can be found at www.rosettanet.org.