World’s Largest Bookseller Chooses Hubspan for Real-time, Business-to-Business Integration with Diverse Fortune 1000 Corporate and Government Clients
SEATTLE, WA – October 13, 2004 – Hubspan, a leading integration service provider, today announced that Barnes & Noble.com, the ecommerce subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, has selected Hubspan to provide real-time, system-to-system integration with a wide variety of key corporate and government customers. A single connection to the Hubspan Business Network (HBN) will enable Barnes & Noble.com`s existing sell-side system to interoperate seamlessly with virtually any customer procurement system, including Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft, Commerce One, Ariba, or proprietary platforms.
“We are committed to responding to our customers’ needs and believe strongly in the strength and growth potential of the business-to-business market,” said Marie Toulantis, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble.com. “The Hubspan Business Network will make it faster, easier, and more efficient for us to address current and future customer requirements to automate the purchase of books and other professional reference materials through their existing procurement systems.”
As a result, Barnes & Noble.com and their corporate and government customers will mutually benefit. Customers will win through increased process efficiencies gained from automated, machine-to-machine procurement and Barnes & Noble.com will benefit through tighter relationships with current customers and the generation of new corporate business.
“After evaluating a number of possible solutions including value-added networks, consultants and business-to-business integration software and tools, we ultimately selected Hubspan, as it best fit our needs for flexible and cost-effective business-to-business integration,” commented David Willen, chief technology officer of Barnes and Noble.com. . “HBN requires minimal IT support, and relieves us from dealing with the complexities of trading community management including on-going maintenance and change management. As a result we’re able to focus on our core business initiatives.”
Barnes & Noble.com will begin using HBN to exchange real-time, long-running transactions such as punch-out and order-to-cash processes such as purchase orders with future plans to support additional transactions such as invoices.
“Hubspan is committed to lowering the barriers to business-to-business integration participation, making it easy and cost-effective for customers like Barnes & Noble.com and their trading partners to exchange business transactions in the manner they each prefer, using their existing systems and technologies,” commented Alan Higginson, Hubspan CEO. “The selection and recognition by such a well-known Fortune 500 company honors Hubspan and validates the incredible value our service can bring to similar organizations.”
About Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world`s largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 840 bookstores in 49 states. For the third year in a row, the company is the nation`s top retail brand for quality, according to the EquiTrend(R) Brand Study by Harris Interactive(R). Barnes & Noble conducts its e-commerce business through Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), which is ranked fifth in traffic among retailers with their own Web site, according to Media Metrix, and the number-one brand among e-commerce companies, according to the latest EquiTrend survey. In addition to its retail operations, Barnes & Noble is one of the largest book publishers in the world. Its subsidiary, Sterling Publishing, publishes over 1,300 new titles a year and has an active list of over 6,000 titles.
General financial information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company`s corporate Web site: http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/financials.
About Hubspan
Hubspan provides managed services for cost-effective, scalable business-to-business integration through the Hubspan Business Network. Combining wide-ranging interoperability with maximum security and world-class reliability, Hubspan enables companies around the world to conduct mission-critical transactions with their partners without having to change technology or business processes. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Hubspan is trusted to deliver by industry-leading customers including The Boeing Company, Graybar, and Tradeplace. Additional information can be found at www.hubspan.com.
About Hubspan Business Network
The Hubspan Business Network (HBN) is an Internet-based network built to enable real-time transactions between trading partners. Hubspan offers managed services through HBN to companies who need rapid, cost-effective, and scalable business-to-business integration. HBN managed services combine the wide-ranging interoperability found in software packages with the secure, reliable delivery of established network providers and the ongoing dedicated care of an expert team.
Safe Harbor
This press release contains “forward-looking statements.” Barnes & Noble is including this statement for the express purpose of availing itself of the protections of the safe harbor provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to all such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on currently available information and represent the beliefs of the management of the company. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks include, but are not limited to, general economic and market conditions, decreased consumer demand for the company’s products, possible disruptions in the company’s computer or telephone systems, possible work stoppages or increases in labor costs, possible increases in shipping rates or interruptions in shipping service, effects of competition, possible disruptions or delays in the opening of new stores or the inability to obtain suitable sites for new stores, higher than anticipated store closing or relocation costs, higher interest rates, the performance of the company’s online and other initiatives, the successful integration of acquired businesses, unanticipated increases in merchandise or occupancy costs, unanticipated adverse litigation results or effects, product shortages, and other factors which may be outside of the company’s control. Please refer to the company’s annual, quarterly and periodic reports on file with the SEC for a more detailed discussion of these and other risks that could cause results to differ materially.
Contacts:
Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Media Contacts
Mary Ellen Keating
Senior Vice President
Corporate Communications
Barnes & Noble, Inc.
(212) 633-3323
Carolyn Brown
Director
Corporate Communications
Barnes & Noble.com
(212) 633-4062
Investor Contacts
Joseph J. Lombardi
Chief Financial Officer
Barnes & Noble, Inc.
(212) 633-3215
Kevin Frain
Chief Financial Officer
Barnes & Noble.com
(212) 414-6093
Hubspan, Inc.
Media Contact
Min Yoo
Tel: 206-838-5409
Fax: 206-838-5449
min.yoo@hubspan.com
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