GLOBAL SUPPLY NETWORK EXPERTS HELP SHAPE FUTURE OF COLLABORATIVE OPERATIONS SOFTWARE

New Apriso Global Advisory Council Draws Manufacturing, Supply Chain, IT, and Software Executives from Europe, North America and Japan

(Long Beach, CA - January 21, 2005) - Over 20 senior executives in manufacturing, supply chain, and information technology from some of the largest enterprises in the world gathered here recently to help set the direction of operation execution software for supply, manufacturing, and distribution. The group, gathered at the invitation of real-time execution software pioneer Apriso Corporation, shared their insights over a period of three days about the dramatically changing operations landscape in corporations large and small due to concepts such as the “adaptive” enterprise, in-line production sequencing, lean supply, demand driven manufacturing, and increased regulatory control. Keynote speaker for the event was Greg Gorbach from the ARC Advisory Group, and key discussions were moderated by the world-renowned supply chain management expert Dr. Dave Anderson.

“There is a rising awareness among manufacturing and supply network executives that the changing business landscape is demanding a class of real-time, event-driven enterprise operations software that is tightly integrated into supply network operations, across multiple plants and suppliers, and interoperable with classical, business-oriented enterprise software,” said ARC’s Greg Gorbach. “This Plant to Business or ‘P2B’ interoperability, and a real-time, collaborative operations management software capability are crucial as global enterprises begin to re-invent themselves after such poster children of the new, execution-oriented economy, as Dell, Toyota, or Wal-mart.” Gorbach, who is vice president of Collaborative Manufacturing for market analyst ARC, himself has over twenty years of direct experience in manufacturing and industrial automation.

Apriso, the sponsor of the event, is itself at the nexus of a revolution in enterprise software. The company, which has over 400 installations of its operations execution software worldwide, has developed a complete, end-to-end suite of collaborative applications that provide real-time, borders-independent operations execution and management based upon a distributed, Web services model. The software, marketed under the FlexNet brand, is the first of a new generation of event-driven – rather than plan driven – enterprise software applications that simultaneously can model, monitor, or execute any or all processes within the scope of extended operations, integrates with any type of equipment, process, program or personnel, and collaborates with installed business applications such as ERP or new technologies such as RFID. Apriso customers are using FlexNet as the platform for initiatives such as lean supply, six sigma, kaizen, Sarbanes-Oxley, and real-time, production re-sequencing, to name a few.

Attendees at the three-day session joined an advisory council that Apriso intends re-convene periodically to provide the company with additional insights and direction for product future development. During the meetings, Apriso executives shared closely-held product development plans, and received candid feedback and guidance from the assembled experts. “Suffice it to say, with this kind of group in place, Apriso will be a force to be reckoned with,” said Gorbach.

Among the companies represented were Becton Dickinson, Honeywell, International Paper, ITT, Lear Sigler, Leiner, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Tempur-Pedic, and Valeo. Manufacturing and supply chain software and system experts came from such companies as Accenture, Brock Solutions, Deloitte Consulting, Neoris, Toyo Business Engineering, and TSC.

About Apriso Corporation
Apriso is the leader in delivering real-time solutions for Supply Network Operations. This new class of enterprise software enables global operations to define, operate, and monitor supply, production and distribution processes in real time, globally. Apriso’s software, known as FlexNet®, is a dynamic, Web-services-based suite of applications that synchronizes the execution of real time manufacturing and supply chain operations across supply networks.

Apriso operates in nine countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The company has more than 140 customers and over 350 installations worldwide. Its rapidly-growing customer base includes such high-profile, global companies as General Motors, Lear, Honeywell, Microsoft, Merck, Lockheed Martin, ITT, Baker Hughes, Halliburton, International Paper, Rubbermaid, Matsushita Avionics Systems, Saint-Gobain, Pechiney, and British American Tobacco. For more information, visit the Apriso Web site at www.apriso.com.

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