CombineNet Awarded U.S. Patent for Method to Determine Optimal Award Allocations in Advanced Sourcing Events

Company’s third patent validates advanced sourcing technology leadership position

PITTSBURGH, PA — December 11, 2007

CombineNet, the leading provider of advanced sourcing and optimization technologies, announced today that it was awarded a patent for its methodology to determine winning bids in combinatorial auctions, reverse auctions and exchanges. Awarded by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Patent No. 7,305,363, "Method for Optimal Winner Determination in Combinatorial Auctions" is CombineNet’s third awarded patent related to the identification of optimal awards in combinatorial auctions, providing additional intellectual property protection for the company’s advanced sourcing technologies.

Being awarded a third patent for our advanced sourcing optimization methodologies demonstrates CombineNet's unparalleled thought leadership in driving innovative strategies and technologies into the strategic sourcing process," said Tony Bonidy, CEO of CombineNet. "It is the analytical superiority at the core of our Advanced Sourcing Application Platform that has consistently enabled our clients to achieve the next level of savings and supply chain efficiency."

CombineNet's industry—leading sourcing optimization technology facilitates Expressive Commerce™, an innovative approach to strategic sourcing that combines the interaction and expressiveness of traditional face-to-face negotiations with the speed and scale of internet technologies. The methods covered in this patent help determine which combination of supplier bids in a combinatorial sourcing event provides the most value to the buying organization.

The inventors of the patent are Dr. Tuomas Sandholm and Dr. Subhash Suri, both of whom are members of CombineNet's Management team. Dr. Sandholm is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Scientist of CombineNet as well as a Professor in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University and a recipient of several prestigious awards including the Sloan Research Fellowship, presented by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Dr. Suri is the Co—founder and Chief Algorithms Architect at CombineNet as well as a Professor of Computer Science at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

About CombineNet

CombineNet, the advanced sourcing technology company, helps companies achieve the absolute best value and lowest total cost of ownership for goods and services. CombineNet's Advanced Sourcing Application Platform enables companies to engage in Expressive Commerce™, the strategic sourcing initiative that allows buyers and sellers to communicate supply and demand more expressively, collaboratively and strategically. The result is a win-win for both buyer and supplier, where greater innovation and efficiency are driven into the supply chain. CombineNet's ASAP consistently produces 10, 15, even 20 percent greater actual cost savings than other e-sourcing solutions, and has delivered more than 45x ROI for the largest businesses in the world including General Mills, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Siemens and others. For more information, visit www.combinenet.com.

Media Contacts:

Greg Holt
CombineNet Inc.
Director of Marketing
Phone: 412.471.8200
gholt@combinenet.com