Company signs on to Ariba Discovery to increase visibility with Global 2000 buyers, lands $400,000 contract on first try

SUNNYVALE, Calif. - August 27, 2013 - When Kris Hart heard that Ariba, an SAP company, could connect him with Global 2000 buyers with billions in business to offer, he thought it sounded too good to be true. But, having grown frustrated with traditional lead generation tools that did little to help him get a foot in the door with such companies, the account executive for LLT Bar Code & Label was willing to give anything a try. So he signed on to Ariba Discovery, the premier service for matching business buyers and sellers globally. And through his first response to a posted Request for Proposal, he landed a two-year deal worth $400,000.

"One of the biggest challenges we face is competing with larger office suppliers who have higher brand awareness and nationwide retail presence," Hart said. "So we thought we'd try Ariba to get some contacts at a minimum. We quickly found the results were much better than we'd ever expected."

Delivered via the Ariba ® Network, Ariba Discovery simplifies the process of lead generation by instantly matching buyer requirements to seller capabilities. While the service is free to most sellers, Hart decided to allocate a small portion of the company's marketing budget to purchase the Ariba Discovery Advantage Plus package so that LLT could respond to unlimited buyer postings at no additional cost. And the move paid off.

"We responded to our first RFP, posted by a popular national retailer, and got invited to their sourcing event," Hart recalls. "We participated in the event and won a two-year contract for $400,000 in business - much more than what was initially published."

And LLT was able to double the initial contract duration during the supplier qualification phase by offering better quality and lead timesthan the incumbent supplier.

"Lead generation can be costly and time consuming, particularly for small to medium sized-companies," said Rachel Spasser, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Ariba, who recently joined Hart to discuss the shift toward online lead generation and the benefits that it can deliver during a podcast on the Briefings Direct Network. "But with the right tools, they can gain instant access to targeted buyers around the world, which they can leverage to expand their customer base, and ultimately, their revenue."

In the past 12 months, more than $5 billion in new business opportunities were offered through Ariba Discovery, over 15 million leads distributed, and more than 30,000 matches between buyers and sellers made. To learn more about the service and the results it can deliver for your organization, visit: http://discovery.ariba.com

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