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ChannelOnline and Ingram Micro® Enter Into Agreement to Offer Sales Cycle Automation and E-Commerce to Resellers SAN FRANCISCO, CA February 13, 2006 CNET Channel, a leading independent source of on-demand technology product content announced an agreement with Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM), the world's largest technology distributor to bring ChannelOnline into the distributor's certified e-commerce partner program. CNET Channel¸ a property of CNET Networks (NASDAQ: CNET), will offer ChannelOnline, a Web-based sales cycle automation solution for resellers, to Ingram Micro's customer base - including the VentureTech Network, IMSN, SMB Alliance and GovEd Alliance customer communities. ChannelOnline has supported Ingram Micro solution providers with daily file support, real-time cost retrieval and real-time warehouse availability since its May 2000 launch. This agreement extends ChannelOnline's support of Ingram Micro to include electronic purchase order submission and automatic order tracking information, including serial numbers capture. Ingram Micro resellers benefit from ChannelOnline's efficient and cost-effective electronic business-transaction with their end-customer customers. Other features, such as automatic shipping and status updates, will enable the end user to get the information they need from the reseller's e-commerce site, which saves time for both the reseller and the customer. "We're confident that adding ChannelOnline to our e-commerce partner program will help our reseller communities differentiate their businesses to better serve their customers," said Jonathan Merrell, senior director, e-commerce strategy, Ingram Micro North America. "Through ChannelOnline, our resellers have access to a Web-based sales cycle automation solution that allows them to focus on the service side of their business." ChannelOnline is a leading work environment used daily by over 2,500 VAR professionals to manage their sales, purchasing and customized e-commerce storefronts. ChannelOnline comes with built-in connections to Ingram Micro as well as several other leading channel distributors and manufacturers. The foundation of ChannelOnline is the comprehensive CNET Channel DataSource product catalog that enables both reseller and end-customer to research, view detailed product specifications, and compare over 350,000 IT & consumer electronics products. "Our customers rely on us to deliver the very best in product functionality, enhancements, and support in order to enable resellers to sell more, reduce costs, and increase end-customer satisfaction", said Greg Mason, president of CNET Channel. "We are pleased to join forces with Ingram Micro and offer high-value services like electronic ordering to our mutual customers." The standard ChannelOnline subscription offers resellers a broad range of sourcing, quoting, purchasing, order management and e-commerce capabilities designed to integrate and streamline every step of the sales cycle. Optional services include accounting integration, XML services, public store, multiple storefronts that can be customized for specific target markets, as well as professional services for custom requirements. The result is a robust, scalable and easy to administer solution designed to give small to mid-sized resellers all of the operational advantages of their larger competitors at a fraction of the cost.
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