Sixth Annual Upside Hot 100 Award Recognizes Innovation, Leadership, and Performance

Pasadena, CA – July 16th, 2001 — eConnections, a provider of supply chain solutions designed specifically for the electronics industry, has been named as a recipient of one of Upside Magazine's sixth annual Hot 100 Awards.

eConnections, which was selected as an Upside Hot 100 company in the Business-to-Business (B2B) category, was one of 100 private companies singled out by the editors of Upside and an advisory panel comprised of venture capitalists, financial analysts, and market researchers. More than 800 companies were nominated for this year's Upside Hot 100 Awards. Each company was judged on the basis of its technological achievements, customer acceptance of products or services, financial performance, industry partnerships, financial backing, and management experience. The complete list of the Upside Hot 100 Award winners is published in the June 2001 issue of Upside, and is also online at http://www.upside.com.

"Now, more than ever before, the electronics marketplace needs improved speed and accuracy for critical supply chain decision-making and communications," said Rob Rodin, CEO of eConnections. "Our Web-based supply chain solutions address the increasing volatility and complexity our customers face on a daily basis by enabling them to connect and collaborate with their supplier partners in real-time with deep, multi-layer supply chain visibility. We're honored to be included in UPSIDE's Hot 100 Award."

David Bunnell, Upside Media's CEO, helped to create this annual event—the listing of the "hottest" private technology companies. As a veteran of some 20 years in technology publishing and high-tech startups, Bunnell wants to "remind all of our readers that, while economic cycles in technology come and go, the kinds of companies that the editors of the magazine have recognized in this list are ones that have proven, year after year, to be those companies that often rise to the top of the next cycle. They are companies and people who bring innovation and new technology to the forefront."

"We evaluated hundreds of great companies that spanned a broad range of technology market segments, and we are pleased to recognize eConnections among this year's winners," said Jerry Borrell, President and Editor in Chief of Upside Magazine. "We look forward to watching the progress of Upside's 2001 Hot 100 Award winners over the next year or so, and we hope they continue to make news as they potentially move from being privately held to becoming publicly traded companies."

About eConnections
eConnections represents a new web-based model for supply-chain management in the electronics industry: the private marketplace. Neutral and independent, combining deep industry expertise with authorized connections to the world's leading suppliers, distributors and manufacturer representatives, eConnections speeds a customer's time to market, coordinating supply-chain efficiency through a comprehensive toolbox of customizable services. For more information, visit www.eConnections.com.

eConnections Public Relations Contact: Karen D'Angelo at Blanc & Otus; kdangelo@blancandotus.com

About Upside
Upside Magazine provides timely news and commentary on the issues, people, technology, and capital that are changing the technology business world. Upside is delivered to more than 300,000 executive-level readers.