Launch of B2B e-Commerce Initiative

Unilever PLC/ Unilever NV 3 March 2000 UNILEVER LAUNCHES B2B E-COMMERCE INITIATIVE ON ARIBA PLATFORM Unilever, the global consumer products company, and Ariba, Inc., the leader in business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce solutions, today announced that Unilever will use the Ariba B2B eCommerce platform to create global economies of scale and supply chain efficiencies with its suppliers via the Internet. Unilever, which sells such brands as Pond's, Dove, Lipton and Magnum, will initially use the Ariba platform in the non- inventory and other indirect expense areas. Savings are expected to result from both aggregated company-wide buying power and commerce process efficiencies. Unilever expects to use the Ariba platform to help improve management of its worldwide purchases from thousands of suppliers. According to Rudy Markham, Unilever's strategy and technology director, the Ariba agreement is part of the company's Path to Growth strategy. 'The Ariba solution will be a vital tool in building global buying networks to ensure greater efficiency and effectiveness in our entire supply chain,' he said. 'This is a part of the major purchasing initiative announced by Unilever last September.' 'We are excited to have been chosen by Unilever as a strategic B2B partner as part of the Path to Growth strategy,' said Larry Mueller, president and COO at Ariba. 'Ariba's leadership in all phases of B2B eCommerce, coupled with Unilever's senior management commitment to leverage Ariba's eCommerce solution across multiple divisions, will result in Unilever achieving a significant competitive advantage.' 'To have a world class supply chain we must have a highly efficient and effective system for all our purchasing needs,' said Charles B. Strauss, President, Unilever Home & Personal Care - North America. 'The Ariba solution provides an extremely user friendly commerce environment and can easily be updated to reflect changing market conditions.' According to Strauss, every Unilever employee involved in buying items from office supplies to pumps and motors will be able to select from a catalogue of previously agreed sources at volume- negotiated pricing. They will find this web-enabled system creates clear and timely information for buying, eliminates paperwork, and significantly simplifies the total procurement process. 'Through this alliance with Ariba, we are creating a system that will allow Unilever to consolidate purchasing volume to enhance scale for us and our suppliers. In addition, this new system will enable us to drive out non-value-added costs, guarantee quality merchandise and create automatically the information base to manage these materials. It offers us a fully integrated system,' Strauss said. The Ariba solution will be deployed throughout Unilever's two business groups headquartered in North America: Foods - North America and Home & Personal Care - North America by the end of 2000. The initial implementation is expected by June in a select number of Unilever facilities representing a cross-section of disciplines: headquarters, research and development and manufacturing. A global roll out will start in 2001. The Ariba B2B eCommerce platform, including the Ariba ORMST B2B procurement solution and Ariba Network commerce services, helps companies realize greater economies of scale and commerce process efficiencies, resulting in lower costs and competitive advantage. The Ariba solution provides companies with a B2B eCommerce infrastructure that electronically aggregates corporate purchasing from each employee desktop and directs spending through the Ariba Network to preferred suppliers and B2B marketplaces for higher-volume prices. The intranet-based Ariba ORMS B2B procurement solution provides seamless access to Ariba Network commerce services that can drive cost savings while also speeding time-to-benefit. Ariba Network services provide a single point of integration with business suppliers and efficient trading mechanisms such as reverse auctions, auctions, electronic payments and streamlined transaction services. About Unilever Unilever is one of the world's largest consumer products companies with sales in excess of $45 billion. It produces and markets a wide range of foods, home and personal care products. Unilever operates in 88 countries around the globe and employs 255,000 people. About Ariba, Inc. Ariba, Inc. is the leading provider of B2B services and solutions to leading companies around the world, including more than 15 of the Fortune 100. The company delivers an open, end-to-end, best- of-breed platform of interoperable solutions to build B2B marketplaces, manage corporate purchasing, and electronically enable suppliers on the Internet. Together, Ariba's Internet services and software integrate commerce processes of B2B marketplaces, buyers, suppliers and commerce service providers to create global economies of scale for all participants. Ariba can be contacted in the U.S. at 650-930-6200 or at www.ariba.com. -o0o- 3 March 2000

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