ORDERTRUST CLOSES $22.9 MILLION IN FINANCING

LOWELL, Mass., November 16, 1998 – OrderTrust, the leading order processing network, announced that it has closed its first round of equity financing in the amount of $22.9 million. The company plans to use the funds to support additional sales and marketing efforts. Thomas J. "Tim" Litle, the company’s chairman since its inception in September 1995, led the financing with contributions from several other private investors including William Melton, founder of CyberCash and Verifone and Nicholas Negroponte of MIT Media Labs. Mr. Melton will join the OrderTrust Board of Directors.

"By providing the back-end order processing infrastructure, we eliminate many of the headaches of electronic commerce, allowing companies to focus on their core business," said Jim Daniell, CEO and board member at OrderTrust. "Our solution is unique in that it benefits existing merchants who want to expand their business to the Web as well as cybermerchants who are starting from ground zero."

Removing the burden of order processing for the merchant, OrderTrust offers companies like 1-800-FLOWERS, SkyMall, and Impulse! Buy Network, a comprehensive back-end infrastructure that enables electronic sales activities via the Web and traditional channels. Through OrderTrust's services, merchants can quickly and accurately fulfill complex orders regardless of whether they are received online or through telemarketing. OrderTrust allows merchants to efficiently access and support new sales channels and develop relationships with strategic vendors, while leveraging their existing technology investment.

Genni Combes, Internet analyst at Hambrecht & Quist, commented, "We see obvious advantages for companies to utilize OrderTrust’s back-end electronic commerce. It enables our clients to free up capital otherwise spent on technology, and gain more flexibility for other corporate objectives."

About OrderTrust

OrderTrust, the leading order processing network, provides services that allow merchants to access and support new sales channels, expand marketing opportunities and develop relationships with strategic vendors. OrderTrust, privately held and based in Lowell, MA, operates a fully redundant 7x24 network operations center with complete failover capabilities. OrderTrust customers include SkyMall, Inc., 1-800-FLOWERS, Inc., and other major merchants. For more information, visit our Web site at http://www.ordertrust.net.

# # #

OrderTrust is a trademark of OrderTrust LLC. All other names and trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.

OrderTrust Contacts:  

Carrie Marino 
Lois Paul & Partners
781-238-5734
[email protected]