SAS Group, the Nordic airline and travel group, has signed a five-year agreement with IBX, Europe’s leading provider of efficient purchasing solutions. The agreement, which comprises sourcing and procurement as well as support with its organizational re-design of the groups purchasing functions, is a central aspect of SAS new action program, Strategy 2011, to radically improve its long term profitability.

SAS is looking to increase the efficiency of its sourcing and procurement processes by using IBX experience and broad range of services and applications. The agreement includes the delivery and implementation of the eProcurement portal leveraging IBX global supplier network, as well as the strategic sourcing services using IBX eSourcing. In addition, IBX will support SAS with its organizational re-design of their purchasing functions.

-”IBX has the most comprehensive offer of services and solutions for efficient purchasing on the market, including organizational re-design support. Purchasing is one of the centre pillars in our ongoing action program, and through our partnership with IBX we expect to benefit from their extensive and deep expertise in this area. It was IBX ability to package all necessary services and applications into one consistent offer which made us go with IBX“, says Gunilla Berg, CFO & Vice President of SAS Group.

Increased focus on purchasing has put forth new demands for efficient purchasing solutions. There is a clear trend where large companies and organizations more often choose on-demand solutions rather than installing software and building up their own process knowledge required to maintain their own purchasing solution. IBX is leading the development of on-demand solutions and is thus well suited to meet the high requirements and demands of SAS.

- ”We are very proud to have entered into this partnership with SAS. Our mission is to assist SAS to re-model its strategic sourcing process and implement the necessary tools for putting the process into practice. I think we have put together a strong model, following the successful approach that we have taken on several other large European customers. This proves that we are a full-scale supplier of efficient purchasing solutions,” said Hans Ahlinder, CEO of IBX.

For more information, please contact:
Gunilla Berg, CFO & Vice President SAS Group, Tel. +46 8 7975006, e-mail: gunilla.berg@sas.se
Björn Alegren, CPO SAS Group, Tel. +46 8 7971060, email: bjorn.alegren@sas.se

Hans Ahlinder, CEO IBX, Phone: +46 70 513 65 79, e-mail: hans.ahlinder@ibxeurope.com
Torbjörn Enström, CFO IBX, Phone: +46 8 5030 4223, e-mail: torbjorn.enstrom@ibxeurope.com
Peter Lageson, SVP Marketing IBX, Phone: +46 703 75 51 05, e-mail: peter.lageson@ibxeurope.com

About IBX
IBX, Europe’s leading provider of efficient purchasing solutions IBX supports large and medium sized organizations in transforming their sourcing, procurement and payment functions, enabling them to quickly capture spend and deliver measurable savings. IBX services and solutions include IBX Strategy, IBX Source, IBX Procure, IBX Pay and IBX Supplier Network. IBX has offices in Stockholm (headquarter), Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Paris, Oslo, Oxford and Stavanger. www.ibxeurope.com

About SAS
SAS AB is the Parent Company of the SAS Group, the Nordic region’s largest listed airline and travel group, offering air transportation and airline-related services. Scandinavian Airlines, Spanair and Blue1 are members of Star Alliance™, the world’s largest airline alliance. The Group also includes the airlines Widerøe and airBaltic, as well as the partly owned airline Estonian Air. The SAS Aviation Services business area includes SAS Technical Services, SAS Ground Services and SAS Cargo. SAS EuroBonus, founded in 1992, is the SAS Group's loyalty program with more than 2.6 million members. In 2006, the SAS Group transported 38,6 million passengers to approximately 160 destinations.