living systems and Open Ratings Announce Alliance To Deliver Supplier Performance Ratings Through Living Markets Platforms Leading Vendor Decision Support Tools Co-Developed By Open Ratings and Dun & Bradstreet to Be Integrated Into living systems' Agents-Driven Platform for B2B eMarketplaces BOSTON and NEWTON, Mass., Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -- Open Ratings, the global standard for supplier performance ratings, and living systems AG, a leading provider of agents-driven trading technologies, today announced an alliance to integrate Open Ratings' supplier performance ratings into living systems' living markets platform for B2B eMarketplaces. The alliance will be managed by living systems' North American subsidiary living systems, inc. It will enable buyers in eMarketplaces running on the living markets platform to evaluate potential but unknown suppliers and monitor existing suppliers in real time, creating a more trusted, safer environment. Through its strategic alliance with Dun & Bradstreet, Open Ratings offers the only single-point solution for businesses to obtain and evaluate B2B supplier performance information combined with D&B's global database of 60 million businesses, the world's largest and most valuable database of its kind. living systems' living markets software helps Net market makers in vertical and horizontal eMarketplaces create B2B ecosystems for bidding, trading, logistics, and clearing and settlement. The supplier performance ratings that will be offered through the living markets platform combine Open Ratings' patent-pending predictive scoring of the likely performance of a vendor, based on criteria including timeliness, responsiveness and customer satisfaction, with D&B's unparalleled information about a company's financial strength and operating history. "Open Ratings developed its supplier performance ratings to simulate and improve the processes B2B buyers use when deciding with whom to do business," says Stan Smith, CEO, president and co-founder of Open Ratings. "By partnering with living systems, whose commitment to community-based technologies is complementary to our own, we are building truly dynamic and fluid environments in which businesses can transact with confidence." "Through agents-based technology, we help create marketplaces in which buyers and sellers can bid, trade, execute, and settle transactions at the best conditions," notes Klaus Schottenhamel, CEO and president of living systems, inc. "Partnering with Open Ratings, a pioneer in agents-based technology, will give buyers on living markets platforms a world-class level of trading, security, and confidence. Agents-based technology is the keystone of products and services that are the next wave of B2B marketplace infrastructure and we're ready to move forward with Open Ratings." About living systems, inc. living systems, inc. is the wholly-owned subsidiary of living systems AG, a global provider of agents-driven trading technologies. Founded in 1996, the Company is employee-owned, has been profitable from day one, and in 2000 enjoys a 300 per cent growth rate. It is ranked as Germany's top Internet technology provider by the e25 Index. The Company's flagship product -- living markets -- supports both sell- and buy-side market and pricing mechanisms. living systems' worldwide customer base, which includes BMW, http://www.ebay.de , and http://www.tradenetone.com , is in vertical and horizontal B2B initiatives where dynamic pricing mechanisms are being applied for competitive advantage. Operational since May 2000, living systems, inc. is headquartered at 275 Grove Street, Bldg. 2, 4th Floor, Newton, MA 02466. Tel: +1 617.663.5735; Fax: +1 617.663.5368; Email: [email protected]. living systems AG, the Company's worldwide headquarters, is located in Donaueschingen, Germany. A growing network of international subsidiaries are in Brazil, Romania, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. URLs: http://www.living-systems.com ; http://www.living-systems.de . About Open Ratings Open Ratings is the global standard for supplier performance ratings across all business-to-business eMarketplaces. Open Ratings offers a sophisticated, unbiased supplier performance ratings service that is designed to help businesses make informed and confident online transaction decisions. Based in Boston, Mass., Open Ratings was founded in May 1999 by Pattie Maes, MIT Media Lab e-commerce expert, Giorgos Zacharia, co-founder of the MIT Media Lab's Agent-mediated Electronic Commerce (AmEC) Initiative, and Stan Smith, former vice president and general manager of Agile Software. Open Ratings' investors include Ampersand Ventures, Atlas Venture and Dun & Bradstreet. More information about Open Ratings can be found at http://www.openratings.com or by calling +1-617-354-1232. Notes: living systems is a registered trademark of living systems AG. Open Ratings is a trademark of Open Ratings, Incorporated. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. SOURCE: living systems AG CONTACT: Jacquelyn Thrasivoulos of living systems, 508-881-3109, or [email protected]; or Caroline Locke of Open Ratings, 617-354-1232, ext. 140, or [email protected] Web site: http://www.living-systems.com http://www.living-systems.de http://www.openratings.com http://www.tradenetone.com http://www.ebay.de-END-