WHIPPANY, N.J. -- March18, 2002 -- Cirqit, a leading procurement service provider (PSP) to the Fortune 2000 for the procurement of custom manufactured materials, announced that The Black & Decker Corporation of Towson, MD has selected Cirqit's eProcurement and Supply Chain Management applications, Order-It and Price-It and related consulting services to manage commerce within the print category for its North American Power Tools and Accessories business under a multi-year contract. "We are thrilled to be working with a client like Black & Decker that has the vision to deploy leading edge practices and tools. Clients are typically unaware of the savings potential that can be created by curbing maverick spending and by more sophisticated analysis resulting in significant cost savings," said Mark Hausser, president, CEO and founding partner of Cirqit. "Cirqit extends best practices for supply chain management to a significant spend category and brings a complex commodity into our overall eProcurement and indirect sourcing strategy for our North American Power Tools and Accessories business" said Patricia Larkin, Director of Purchasing. Black & Decker engaged IBM Global Procurement Services to assist in the development of a sourcing strategy and eProcurement strategy for the print commodity. Black & Decker are using Cirqit applications to automate and streamline print purchasing and to bring the process online. Cirqit software stores supply chain pricing for various production processes. The software generates contractually binding quotes using the database and the print job specifications. The automated pricing engine returns real-time quotes for every supplier that can manufacture the work ensuring that awards go to the low cost provider. The process also greatly reduces bid / buy and order management cycle times. Black & Decker uses system generated Strategic Cost Management reports to evaluate the economic performance of the supply chain. Sourcing managers use the comprehensive set of reports to identify core competencies within the supply chain. Rich information and supply chain analytics provide negotiating power and create a competitive network; this drives ongoing price reductions over time.