news & events

Press ReleasesFrom the vault of Vendormate

Vendormate Announces Formation, Introduces Business Credentialing Services

December 12, 2005 - Atlanta-based Vendormate announced today its entry into the emerging field of business credentialing, offering products and services to assist companies in the acquisition, screening, and management of vendors.

Utilizing proprietary credentialing and indexing technology, client companies will, for the first time, have access to a comprehensive picture of all of their existing and potential vendors in one place, even before the start of purchasing.

As part of the unique Vendormate VisionTM process, a client's suppliers will be asked to express interest through a private-label registration system before contact is initiated, after which they will be screened and rated based on public records and the information they enter.

"Today, companies often have thousands of suppliers, and the number is growing yearly from globalization and an increasingly competitive landscape," noted Vice President of Sales, Andrew Somoza.

"It's a real struggle for buyers and procurement officers to keep track of their existing vendors, but under the strain of thousands of cold calls from new, prospective vendors, it can be difficult for them to stay focused at all."

Once a client begins using Vendormate Vision, each of its procurement specialists will be able to log in to see all businesses that either currently sell to or have expressed interest in selling to them. Sorted by geography and UNSPSC commodity codes, each registered supplier will be displayed along with a rating score specially formulated to represent the values important to the client.

Added Chairman and CEO, Andy Monin, "In particular, we're finding that healthcare and financial organizations have a unique set of requirements in choosing vendors, and they're having great difficulty validating their information.

"Recent security mandates imposed by Congress in HIPAA are especially expensive and time-consuming for hospitals, and until now, they've had to manually investigate each of their vendors and contractors in an ongoing process, racking up bills for data and analysis. Similarly, public corporations are now subjected to unbelievable scrutiny because of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and are still trying to find ways to implement the investigative and record-keeping aspects of the law."

As a way of addressing these recent developments, once a supplier enters the Vision system, it will undergo a series of tests including a financial health assessment, business verification, and industry-specific compliance metrics, all managed by Vendormate without any client effort. As a result of this automated process, client companies will be free to focus on their primary business goals. Then, when the client is ready to issue an RFP or make a simple purchase, all the necessary information will be available in a single, sortable repository.

"The best part," stated Vice President of Product Development Gil Benton, "is that it's a free service for our clients. Because the vendors initiate the process and pay a registration fee to be considered, it's not only hands-free for the customer, but it also saves them from having to find, pay for, and expend the time analyzing the business data themselves."

Demonstrating the success of its model, Vendormate has signed and is currently implementing two customers.

Principals

Andy Monin, Chairman and CEO
Prior to Vendormate, Mr. Monin co-founded BroadSource, a telecommunications expense management company that raised nearly $8M in private-placement and venture capital funding through 2004. Mr. Monin held several positions while at BroadSource including Chairman of the Board and successfully led the company's sales efforts to include customers such as BellSouth, Hooters of America, Caterpillar Finance, Olan Mills, Ted's Montana Grill, Rare Hospitality, and Qwest Communications. Previously, Mr. Monin held various sales and marketing positions for global telecommunications companies including Cable and Wireless and MCI. Mr. Monin received a BA in political science from Clemson University where he lettered 4 years for the varsity baseball team that won 6 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships (Regular Season and Tournament), played in the 1991 College World Series, and finished the 1994 Regular Season ranked #1 in NCAA. Andy lives in Atlanta with his wife Greer and their two children.

Gil Benton, Vice President of Product Development
Most recently a consultant with Cadence Solutions, an Atlanta-based consulting company, Gil Benton has led application development in a broad spectrum of industries including automotive auctions, malpractice insurance, online auto parts retailing, and online bond trading. His experience previously led him to BroadSource, Inc. where, as Director of Technology, he oversaw the development of the company's telecom management software, and to esavio, Inc. where he served as a Senior Consultant for two years. He holds a Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and resides in Alpharetta with his wife, Kathy, and two children.

Joey Katzen, Director of Marketing
A graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Joey Katzen is currently a second-year law student at the University of Virginia. Mr. Katzen's degrees in industrial engineering and cultural + literary studies are complemented by his decade of experience in internet marketing and design. Most recently, he was the Director of Art and Marketing for Atlanta-based BroadSource. In addition to marketing, Joey has played a significant role in the product development strategy for several companies including Vendormate and BroadSource. Raised in Richmond, Virginia, he is an advocate for New Urbanism, supporting attractive, sustainable growth of our communities, and is an active cruciverbalist. Joey was the 2001 recipient of the Alvin Ferst Award for Leadership and Entrepreneurism.

Andrew Somoza, Vice President of Sales
Previously the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast Regional Sales Manager for Lancope, Andrew Somoza has ten years of technology experience including direct sales, business development, and channel sales with companies such as Borland and Starbase. Born in Marietta, Georgia, Mr. Somoza graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology where he pitched for Georgia Tech's nationally ranked varsity baseball team. He resides in Atlanta with his wife, Jessie, and daughters Caroline (3) and Sara Kathryn (1). He is a member of Christ the King Catholic Church, board member for H.E.R.O. for Children, and an active community leader.

About Vendormate, Inc.

Vendormate is the leading provider of supplier-driven business credentialing technology. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Vendormate provides products and services that increase visibility into potential and existing vendor bases, helping its clients make informed decisions in an efficient, low-cost manner.

###