LOS ANGELES--May 12, 2000--Expedite.com, a provider of business-to-business exchange and online management software, has announced its first vertical market, ExpediteMedia.com

This new Web site targets the entire production process (development through post-production) for film, television, music, multimedia and advertising. XpediteMedia streamlines the procurement process by providing powerful transaction capabilities coupled with online project management tools to achieve significant cost-efficiency. Commercial launch for ExpediteMedia is scheduled for summer 2000.

Brad Goodman, president of ExpediteMedia, is a 15-year film industry veteran and former post-production supervisor for DreamWorks SKG. Among his post-production credits are "End of Days," "Deep Impact," "Twister," "Casino" and the Academy-Award-winning documentary, "The Last Days." He also served on the post-production staff for Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment.

After years of working in the film industry, Goodman recognized the need for an efficient management and e-commerce tool. Utilizing his knowledge and industry contacts, Goodman designed this innovative electronic solution to meet the full range of production needs. The project has been in confidential software development since 1999.

Peter Kanfer, ExpediteMedia's co-founder and vice president of Market Development, joined the project to provide sales and marketing expertise for entertainment transactions. Kanfer has 25 years of sales and marketing experience and was previously an independent marketing executive for Sony Pictures Studios Post Production Facilities.

His feature film credits include "Boogie Nights, "The Negotiator," "Last Man Standing" and "The Long Kiss Goodnight." Kanfer began his career as a marketing executive in the textile industry.

Goodman and Kanfer joined with a group of media, communications and technology entrepreneurs to create Expedite.com.

John Hearne, chairman of Expedite.com, explained: "Expedite has developed proprietary software for the online scheduling, procurement and management of facilities, goods and services. Its technology is rapidly transferable to a wide variety of industries that are inadequately served by conventional b2b methods. The initial focus on media is a natural extension of Brad Goodman's entertainment industry knowledge and experience. A Web site that can meet the complex demands of this industry can meet the requirements of virtually any industry. The company will announce at later dates the other vertical markets it is developing."

Explained Goodman: "For film and television production, ExpediteMedia offers the most closely tailored online solution imaginable. A major feature film is a case study of the modern virtual business. Filmmakers buy, rent or schedule every conceivable product and service: stock, ADR stages, composers, CGI effects, and the like. We have crafted a transaction Web site that makes this process faster, easier and more cost-effective. We add value by enabling producers to instantly track spending and production status, helping to keep budgets on target and productions on time."

Added Kanfer: "Access to Expedite is free for both users and vendors and is open to qualified participants in the industry. The site also offers value-added services such as access to financing for users, project and budget management tools, and a comprehensive quality control system."

Expedite employs a state-of-the-art, 128-bit encryption technology, providing the highest level of browser-based security available. Goodman explained: "Expedite has made a commitment to safeguard all transactions and sensitive client data. We believe the security and neutrality will be the key benchmarks of successful online exchanges in the future."

Chief Technology Officer of Expedite is J. Stephen Pendergrast. He was a distinguished member of the technical staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories from 1983 to 1990, and thereafter at Unix System Laboratories (acquired by Novell Inc.).

In 1996, he became chief technical officer and co-founder of Kobixx Systems (acquired by KnowledgeSoft Inc.). Among Expedite's other engineering directors are Scott Pendergrast, Daniel Jorissen and Chris Hardwick. They developed the highly acclaimed AmericanPresident.org Web site for "The American President" PBS series, recently honored by President Clinton at the White House.

Expedite is funded by investors from the technology and media industries. Among others, they include Point Capital Group, chaired by John Hearne; Kacey Investments, chaired by Warren Chang; and Rosetree Partners, chaired by Saul Rosenzweig. They have variously owned and operated successful companies in broadcasting, cable television, cellular telecommunications, electronics manufacturing, software services, Internet advertising and other technology ventures.

Hearne and Rosenzweig were among the initial backers of Tut Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:TUTS), which provides equipment for transmitting high-speed data over conventional telephone lines. They have also backed Spinware Inc., which is announcing a new software platform (patent pending) that allows Internet data to integrate smoothly with rich media from DVDs, CD-ROMs and hard disks, and that also provides a robust, new encryption mechanism to eliminate piracy of DVDs.

 

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