Cambridge, Mass. --March 20, 2006 -- Broadlane, the procurement services company for healthcare, has selected Frictionless Commerce, a leading developer of supplier relationship management (SRM) software, to provide electronic sourcing and contracting capabilities that will serve as a key component of Broadlane's e-Sourcing and Procurement Platform. With development of this platform, Broadlane is transforming the concept of group purchasing to enable comprehensive electronic sourcing and procurement management through a suite of electronic, Web-based services that enable robust, real-time group and custom contracting, spend analysis, supplier relationship management, procurement management and e-commerce.

Using the Frictionless SRM tools, Broadlane expects to dramatically improve the speed and efficiency by which hospitals and other healthcare providers source supplies and equipment, enabling on-line collaboration with medical staffs to develop product requirements, and engaging suppliers through iterative electronic request for information and proposals (e-RFx), reverse auctions and other innovative and dynamic sourcing approaches.

"Rising healthcare costs are forcing the industry to invent new ways of collaborating to reduce cost and increase efficiency," said Charles E. Saunders, M.D., Broadlane's chief executive officer. "We believe that Frictionless' state-of-the-art e-sourcing software, when integrated with Broadlane's industry-leading contract portfolio, on-line purchasing system and e-commerce exchange, will result in the most comprehensive total procurement solution available in the market, and ultimately, a huge impact on the cost of healthcare." Broadlane is the only procurement services company to offer its own e-commerce exchange - BroadLink.

With Broadlane's e-Sourcing and Procurement Platform healthcare providers will have on-line access to contracts and pricing, including Broadlane's extensive portfolio of national contracts with industry-leading prices, and will be able to execute custom contracts to support local strategic sourcing initiatives, leveraging a common infrastructure and tool set, provided by Broadlane. The result will be lower prices and greater speed and efficiency in obtaining goods and services.

The Frictionless software will give Broadlane far greater ability to conduct detailed analysis of disparate data - both hospital data as well as supplier data - which will provide hospitals with greater insights into their spend and the ability to pinpoint opportunities to reduce cost or maximize contract compliance. In addition, Broadlane's sourcing and contracting experts will now have access to modular contracts supported by predefined templates and contract clause libraries as well as standardized sourcing projects that leverage historical knowledge.

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