Sigma-Aldrich.com Launches Powerful New Search Engine

Sigma-Aldrich.com Launches Powerful New Search Engine

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sigma-Aldrich (NASDAQ:SIAL) announced today that its website now includes the fastest and most powerful Web search engine in the life science and high technology industry. Partnering with Endeca to bring "Guided Navigation(SM)" to our Site, customers can now find results faster and easier than ever before. Results are presented and categorized in a user-friendly format that shows all relevant matches, along with all valid refinement and exploration options to intuitively hone searches. For example, an initial broad search can be fine-tuned focusing on individual properties, e.g., product line, purity, biological source or brand. This new approach is expected to be invaluable in allowing customers to make smarter, quicker and more informed buying decisions.

"With our products now organized by groups and research initiatives, our users can now make rapid refinements to their search criteria and find exactly what they need within seconds!" says Daniel Boesch, Marketing Manager at Sigma-Aldrich. "It's incredibly fast and extremely intuitive. It allows the customers to see related products listed together and make sound buying decisions based on this presentation."

The tool searches the more than 250,000 products on the web catalog, encompassing products from Sigma, Aldrich, Fluka, Riedel-de Haen, Supelco, and SAFC -- all members of the Sigma-Aldrich Family. It also searches thousands of HTML pages and PDF documents at the same time. Results are organized within these three distinct search categories -- products, HTML pages and PDF files. The search engine displays visual queues -- tabs and folders, to quickly enable the user to utilize the Web site's powerful new features. All refinement and navigation options display total counts to indicate how many records match the initial, or refined, query.

"Endeca's next-generation search and 'Guided Navigation' capabilities help Sigma-Aldrich present the full extent of vast data in their web catalog in an incredibly intuitive and user-friendly way," said Jim Baum, president and COO of Endeca. "The new site integrates searching and browsing to guide users with only relevant choices, providing instantaneous feedback and allowing for continuous refinement -- ensuring that the user quickly and easily finds what they are looking for."

About Sigma-Aldrich: Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company. Its biochemical and organic chemical products and kits are used in scientific and genomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, the diagnosis of disease and as key components in pharmaceutical and other high technology manufacturing. The Company has customers in life science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals, and in industry. Over one million scientists and technologists use its products. Sigma-Aldrich operates in 34 countries and has over 6,000 employees providing excellent service worldwide. The Company is committed to the success of its Customers, Employees and Shareholders through leadership in Life Science, High Technology and Service. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its award-winning web site at sigma-aldrich.com.

About ENDECA

Endeca's award-winning Advanced Search and Guided Navigation solutions help organizations integrate, discover, and navigate enterprise data to solve business problems associated with information overload. Endeca's customers include a wide range of enterprises including retailers (Barnes & Noble, CompUSA, Indigo Book, and BMG Music); finance (Putnam Investments, MFS Investments, and Quick & Reilly); business-to-business companies (IBM, Arrow Electronics and CDW); content delivery (World Book and IHS), and government (In-Q-Tel and the Library of Congress). In 2004, the AlwaysOn Network named Endeca one of the top 100 private companies in North America. Endeca is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. (USA). More info: http://www.endeca.com/ or info@endeca.com.


Source: Sigma-Aldrich

CONTACT: Douglas Wagner, +1-314-286-8395, or Daniel Boesch,
+1-314-286-7433, both of Sigma-Aldrich; or Craig VerColen of Endeca,
+1-617-621-4927

Web site: http://www.endeca.com/
http://www.sigma-aldrich.com/


-------
Profile: intent