Apriso and Wipro Technologies Announce Partnership to Serve Unique Requirements of Global Manufacturing Clients

Partnership will draw upon Wipro’s extensive experience in manufacturing IT, supporting Apriso implementations across multiple areas of operations execution

(Long Beach, CA and Bangalore – March 1, 2007) – Apriso Corporation, a provider of adaptive software platforms for global operations execution, and Wipro Technologies, global IT services division of Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT), today announced a new partnership agreement to better serve global manufacturing enterprises seeking excellence within their operations execution systems. Organizations seeking professionally organized, efficiently performed, multi-site implementations covering several areas of manufacturing operations execution will benefit from Wipro’s extensive systems integration and implementation experience.

Advanced discussions are already underway with several customers within the Mill Products and Automotive industry, attributed to the fact that each company already has substantial experience and shared relationships with leaders within these two industry verticals. The unique, large scale implementation challenges within manufacturing operations found in these industries stand to benefit from a joint Apriso-Wipro implementation. With plants located over widely dispersed geographic environments, Wipro’s expanded global footprint will ensure adequate coverage is supported throughout the entire lifecycle of the operations execution deployment.

A key benefit Wipro brings to the partnership is an extensive network of highly trained consultants focusing on Manufacturing in every major market. Wipro’s strong applied knowledge of supply chain, plant floor operations, enterprise technologies and business processes will enable timely, efficient and productive deployment of Apriso FlexNet®. With consultants spread across Automotive, Aerospace, High-Tech, Industrial Manufacturing and Pharmaceutical practices, coverage of Apriso FlexNet® deployments will also be well represented across industries.

 “Instead of an “MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) application”, manufacturers are looking for integrated suites of applications that knit together all of their execution, logistics, maintenance, quality, tracking, reporting, and visibility needs throughout all operations and across multiple plants,” says Greg Gorbach, vice president, collaborative manufacturing, ARC advisory group. “In today’s world, plants tend to be spread out over several different countries, further exasperating the challenges faced by manufacturers. Partnering with an established systems integrator that understands how to best implement and support a global infrastructure will provide a strong benefit for these types of clients.”

“Our partnership strategy has taken a big step forward with this Wipro announcement,” stated Jim Henderson, Apriso's president and chief executive officer. "We will leverage Wipro’s existing enterprise relationships to expand our global sphere of influence, while at the same time better support customer demand for roll outs where operations are integrated across several locations.”

Wipro has been acknowledged as a leading service provider in manufacturing operations for the Automotive, Aerospace and High-Tech industries. We have chosen to partner with Apriso to further strengthen and expand our capabilities in this area.” said NS Bala, senior vice president, Manufacturing Solutions, Wipro Technologies.

 “The selection criterion for partnering with Apriso was based on our observation that the traditional MES market has transformed into a much larger opportunity, integrating many areas of operations within the enterprise manufacturing environment,” observed NS Bala, senior vice president, manufacturing solutions vertical industry unit for Wipro. “Apriso’s flexible technology will enable our clients to attain the benefits from adaptive operations execution platform. This alliance is a building block in Wipro’s overall solution strategy to enable a Collaborative Value Network for our manufacturing clients.”

Wipro’s experience working with many Fortune 500 manufacturers will be an immediate benefit to the partnership. Manufacturing companies are looking to existing vendors with proven relationships to build enterprise wide operations execution systems. These organizations can benefit from Wipro’s expertise in ERP, manufacturing and distribution to enable timely, efficient and productive Apriso FlexNet implementations.

Another area of immediate benefit will be those organizations seeking to expand their quality improvement initiatives. Wipro is a pioneer within quality execution programs, as evidenced by their being the worlds 1st IT services company to embrace Six Sigma within a services environment. Apriso’s recently enhanced FlexNet Quality is an ideal solution to address manufacturer’s Six Sigma, Total Quality Management (TQM), Lean and other Continuous Improvement initiatives, when implemented by consultants within Wipro’s far reaching industry presence. 

If you are interested in learning more about this newly created partnership, please contact John C. Banks, Director, Global Alliances for Apriso Corporation by email at john.banks@apriso.com or by phone at +1 (713) 592 – 0409.

About Apriso
Apriso Corporation is a software company dedicated to providing competitive advantage for its customers. It does so by enabling organizations to adapt quickly and easily to market changes and unexpected events. Apriso’s FlexNet platform provides visibility, adaptability and real-time control of manufacturing operations across the enterprise and supply chain network. This is accomplished by integrating planning, execution and control, increasing operational efficiency and eliminating errors in the production process. Apriso serves more than 150 customers in 40 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia, powering more than 550 installations worldwide. Its customers include General Motors, Lear, Honeywell, Microsoft, L'Oreal, Lockheed Martin, Becton Dickinson, Rubbermaid, Saint-Gobain, Novelis and Essilor.

For more information, please visit our website at www.apriso.com.

Apriso and FlexNet are registered trademarks of Apriso Corporation. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About Wipro
Wipro Technologies, a division of Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT) is the first PCMM Level 5 and SEI CMM Level 5 certified IT Services organization globally. Wipro Technologies was recently assessed at Level 5 for CMMI V 1.2 across offshore and onsite development center’s. Wipro is one of the largest product engineering and support service providers worldwide. Wipro provides comprehensive research and development services, IT solutions and services, including systems integration, information systems outsourcing, package implementation, software application development and maintenance services to corporations globally.

In the Indian market, Wipro is a leader in providing IT solutions and services for the corporate segment in India offering system integration, network integration, software solutions and IT services. Wipro also has profitable presence in niche market segments of consumer products and lighting. In the Asia Pacific and Middle East markets, Wipro provides IT solutions and services for global corporations. Wipro's ADS’ are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and its equity shares are listed in India on the Stock Exchange - Mumbai, and the National Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit our websites at www.wipro.com http://www.wiprocorporate.com

Forward-looking and cautionary statements
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