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ADMINISTAFF AND ACCOMPANY FORM STRATEGIC ALLIANCE
- Alliance will provide networked buying opportunities to Administaff
clients and worksite employees
HOUSTON – Feb. 16, 2000 – Administaff,
Inc. (NYSE: ASF), a leading Professional Employer Organization (PEO),
and Accompany, Inc., a leader in group buying on the Internet, today
announced an eCommerce agreement to provide Administaff clients
and worksite employees with Accompany’s networked buying service
for purchasing business and personal products.
The agreement calls for Administaff to promote
and provide access to Accompany’s Get It Together NetworkSM
on Administaff’s recently announced eCommerce portal. Accompany
will promote key features of Administaff’s personnel management
services on its web site.
Accompany’s Get it Together Network creates
group buying power through Buy-CycleSM, which draws together communities
of buyers to purchase products of common interest. The bigger the
group, the better the price on products that include consumer electronics,
home office supplies and equipment, entertainment, and sports gear.
"Accompany’s innovative service is
a perfect fit for our growing base of small and medium-sized businesses
and worksite employees," commented Paul J. Sarvadi, Administaff’s
president and chief executive officer. "Our clients and employees
comprise a sizeable group of buyers who can easily work together
to purchase the products they need at discounted prices. Our alliance
with Accompany will provide an easy-to-use service that can also
help our clients save money."
"Networked group buying is a business concept
that benefits all participants," said Jim Rose, Accompany’s
chief executive officer and co-founder. "Administaff’s
community of business owners and employees can now receive the value
of volume pricing in categories such as electronics, computer hardware
and software, and sports and fitness. We’re excited about this
new relationship with Administaff and what it can mean to our respective
companies and clients."
Administaff eCommerce Portal
Administaff’s new business-to-business eCommerce portal,
represents a major element in the company’s comprehensive eBusiness
strategy. Designed for exclusive use by Administaff’s clients
and worksite employees, the portal will leverage Administaff’s
buying power and business relationships to bring a broad range of
value-added products and services from best-of-class providers to
the premium small business community represented by Administaff’s
client base. Additionally, the portal is expected to enhance the
company’s attractiveness to prospective clients, further strengthen
client-retention rates, and produce incremental revenue streams.
Administaff expects to unveil the new portal near the end of the
first quarter of 2000. In addition to Accompany, Inc., Administaff
has strategic alliances with leading companies such as American
Express, Dell, IBM, Aon Enterprise Insurance Services and Forrester
Research.
Administaff Background
With 1999 revenues of $2.3 billion, Administaff is a leading
provider of personnel management services for small and medium-sized
businesses throughout the United States. The company’s comprehensive
Personnel Management System includes employment administration,
benefits management, government compliance, recruiting and selection,
employer liability management, training and development, performance
management and owner support. Administaff ranks number 765 on the
Fortune 1000 list and is included on Fortune magazine's list of
"America's Most Admired Companies''. The company also ranks
number 83 on the InformationWeek 500 list of leading information
technology innovators. Administaff currently has 25 sales offices
in 15 major markets. For additional information, visit the company's
web site at www.administaff.com.
Accompany Background
Founded in 1998, Accompany, Inc. created
the Get It Together Network, the Web’s first group buying network
that aggregates demand for products and services in real-time. Using
its unique patent-pending Demand CoordinationSM technology to empower
communities and suppliers with private-branded group buying, the
Get It Together Network pools buyers from across the Web into real-time
Buy-CyclesSM, where prices drop as more people join. The Get It
Together Network revolutionizes dynamic trade by affording consumers
and small businesses alike the purchasing advantage traditionally
reserved for large organizations who buy in volume. Accompany, Inc.
is headquartered in San Francisco, with its development center in
Toronto, Canada. Principal investors include Web pioneer and Netscape
co-founder Marc Andreessen and the Mayfield Fund. Additional information
about Accompany, Inc. can be found on the Web at www.accompany.com.
(Note: The statements contained in this press
release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements
that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Therefore, the
actual results of future events described in such forward-looking
statements could differ materially from those stated in such forward-looking
statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially are: (i) regulatory and tax developments; (ii)
changes Administaff’s direct costs and operating expenses;
(iii) the effectiveness of Administaff’s sales and marketing
efforts, including its marketing agreement with American Express,
American Express’ ability to set qualified appointments and
Administaff’s ability to convert those appointments into sales;
(iv) the estimated costs and effectiveness of capital projects and
investments in technology and infrastructure; (v) Administaff’s
ability to effectively implement its eBusiness strategy, including
identifying and reaching agreements with strategic alliance partners,
timely rollout of and attraction of clients and worksite employees
to its eCommerce portal, effective generation of revenues from eBusiness
initiatives and unanticipated development costs of eBusiness initiatives;
and (vi) changes in the competitive environments in the PEO industry.
These factors are described in further detail in Administaff’s
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.)
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