RosettaNet Press Release
RosettaNet Adopts D&B D-U-N-S Numbering System and UN/SPSC as E-Commerce Standards

For Release October 3, 1999

Murray Hill and Santa Ana -- Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB) and RosettaNet today announced that members of the RosettaNet consortium of information technology and electronic components suppliers will implement the UN/SPSC and the D&B D-U-N-S Number to standardize supply chain partner-to-partner electronic business practices.

The UN/SPSC is a free, open, global coding system that allows companies to consistently classify the products and services they buy and sell. The D&B D-U-N-S Number is a unique, globally recognized numbering system that helps identify verifies trading partners. D&B maintains over 57 million companies in its database, including nearly 26 million in Europe. RosettaNet will now incorporate the UN/SPSC and the D&B D-U-N-S Number as standards for analyzing existing suppliers and identifying prospective suppliers and customers for each segment of their supply and demand chains.

"RosettaNet's effort to enable electronic business among supply chain partners in both the IT and electronic components supply chains is greatly enhanced by the emergence of the UN/SPSC coding system and the adoption of the D&B D-U-N-S Number as e-business standards," said Fadi Chehad é , CEO at RosettaNet. "The UN/SPSC effectively diminishes the amount of time spent sourcing products and analyzing product spends. Instead, both industries can now focus on maximizing e-business capabilities in supply chain efficiency within the global market."

Companies using the UN/SPSC code and the D&B D-U-N-S Number, in conjunction with RosettaNet's Partner Interface Process (PIP) Specifications, will be well positioned to align electronic business interfaces between trading partners. In addition, when appended to a company's file of procured products and their suppliers, the UN/SPSC and the D&B D-U-N-S Number assist companies in identifying interrelated suppliers and gauging opportunities for supplier consolidation or leverage.

According to Larry Barth, Vice President of Supply Chain Solutions at D&B, "Adaptation of the UN/SPSC and the D&B D-U-N-S Number as critical electronic business standards enables companies to better manage their supply chains, thus improving overall operating efficiency. Without these global electronic business standards meaningful supplier management and product sourcing is virtually impossible."

The UN/SPSC is an eight-digit, hierarchical classification system resulting from a merger of the United Nations' Common Coding System (UNCCS) and Dun & Bradstreet's Standard Products and Services Classifications (SPSC). Additional information regarding the UN/SPSC is available from www.dnb.com/unspsc/.

The D&B D-U-N-S Number is a globally accepted standard for company identification. D&B maintains over 57 million companies in its database, each with its own D-U-N-S Number. Additional information regarding the D-U-N-S Number is available from www.dnb.com.