Korea Exchange Bank Awards Strategic Procurement Outsourcing Agreement to IBM

SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today
announced that it has signed a five-year strategic procurement outsourcing
agreement with Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), the country's largest foreign
exchange bank.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )

Under the agreement signed in August 2009, IBM will provide to KEB a full
range of enterprise strategic sourcing and procurement services, allowing the
bank to focus on its core competency and competitiveness in the banking
industry while achieving better cost savings and improving industry compliance
and internal control.

IBM will run KEB's overall sourcing and procurement operations end-to-end,
covering areas of information technology, marketing, services, facilities and
supplies. As part of the project, IBM will establish and support the bank's
purchasing strategies, improve the purchasing process and systems, as well as
manage strategic sourcing processes and relationship with suppliers. IBM will
also make purchasing decisions and settle payments.

IBM will assist the bank in reducing cost by centralizing its procurement
process. Previously many different departments in the bank had their own
purchasing teams performing procurement functions. This made it more difficult
to achieve savings from supplier negotiations because spending occurs across
many different business units. Furthermore, there was no transparency of
information on purchasing and lack of staff compliance.

The implementation of the procurement outsourcing project supports KEB's Zero
Waste Project, which is an employee-engaged management campaign aimed to
optimize the cost structure and enhance management efficiency. In addition to
optimize the bank's operational efficiency, KEB also wanted to yield cost
savings through an advanced, centralized and streamlined purchasing process
conducted by IBM.

IBM was selected over other companies because of its deep expertise in supply
chain and procurement management as well as direct experience in managing more
than US$48 billion of purchasing spend annually. KEB was seeking a business
partner with global experience and a supplier network that could be leveraged
to meet its purchasing requirements in overseas markets. IBM's internal
procurement capabilities -- policies, system and processes -- also
differentiate its procurement services offering.

"We are pleased to bring our collaboration with Korea Exchange Bank to a new
level with the strategic outsourcing agreement," said Hakdong Kang, business
development executive, Managed Business Process Service, IBM Korea. "IBM's
success in process outsourcing despite the unprecedented business environment
in the last few years is partly attributed to the process innovation in a
range of areas including enterprise purchasing, which helps drive cost saving
and ensure industry compliance."

About the Zero Waste Project
Korea Exchange Bank's Zero Waste Project includes a series of initiatives
aimed to optimize resource relocation, best allocation and execution of budget
to avoid waste of resources, which in turn will ultimately strengthen the
bank's competitiveness. Partnership with IBM in the global procurement area
is part of the campaign.

About Korea Exchange Bank
Established in 1967, Korea Exchange Bank was privatized in 1989. It has grown
to be one of the largest globally networked banks in Korea, with a competitive
presence in both the corporate and private banking fields. As a global bank
representing one of the most dynamic regions of the world, Northeast Asia, KEB
has been securing the top position in terms of capital level, profitability
and asset foundation. For more information about KEB, visit www.keb.co.kr

About IBM
For more information about IBM, visit www.ibm.com/services

Media Contact
Myunghee Son Harriet Ip Bruce McConnel
Media Relations, Communications, Worldwide External Relations,
IBM Korea IBM Growth Markets Unit MBPS & Services Delivery
82-2-3781-4681 +65 6418-1521 IBM Global Technology Services
mhson@kr.ibm.com harrieti@sg.ibm.com + 804.327.4644
wmcconn@us.ibm.com

SOURCE IBM

Myunghee Son, Media Relations, IBM Korea, +82-2-3781-4681, mhson@kr.ibm.com;
or Harriet Ip, Communications, IBM Growth Markets Unit, +65-6418-1521,
harrieti@sg.ibm.com; or Bruce McConnel, Worldwide External Relations, MBPS &
Services Delivery, IBM Global Technology Services, +804-327-4644,
wmcconn@us.ibm.com