Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: CY) today announced that its Board of Directors has clarified the Company’s policy against reverse auctions. The Company will not participate in any reverse auctions, including sealed-bid or iterative-bid varieties. Furthermore, the policy precludes participation in procurement programs or tactics that eliminate straightforward negotiations. Cypress first announced that it would not participate in reverse auctions in May 2007, and does not use reverse auctions in awarding contracts to its own vendors.
The reverse-auction process has numerous drawbacks. It does not allow bidders to realize the full value of their solutions, instead focusing solely on the lowest price as a differentiator. Cypress prides itself on delivering more value to customers than its competitors, including robust supply chain capabilities, flexible terms and conditions, corporate viability, product quality and the robustness of the entire product solution. Cypress customers enjoy higher value even when they do not pay the lowest price.
“Since we stopped participating in iterative-bid auctions in 2007, both Cypress and our customers have benefitted,” said Christopher Seams, executive vice president of Worldwide Sales and Marketing for Cypress. “We are clarifying that policy to cover all forms of reverse auctions for the long-term advantage of all parties, including our shareholders. Of course, we welcome the opportunity to participate in negotiations and Requests for Proposals (RFPs). Given the opportunity, we are confident that customers will see the value of Cypress solutions and services.”
About Cypress
Cypress delivers high-performance, mixed-signal, programmable solutions that provide customers with rapid time-to-market and exceptional system value. Cypress offerings include the PSoC® programmable system-on-chip, USB controllers, general-purpose programmable clocks and memories. Cypress also offers wired and wireless connectivity technologies ranging from its CyFi™ Low-Power RF solution, to West Bridge® and EZ-USB® FX2LP controllers that enhance connectivity and performance in multimedia handsets. Cypress serves numerous markets including consumer, computation, data communications, automotive, and industrial. Cypress trades on the NYSE under the ticker symbol CY. Visit Cypress online at www.cypress.com .