Western Data Systems selected by Department of Defense to supply MRPII software

Business Wire, Oct 7, 1996

CALABASAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 1996--Western Data Systems (WDS) Monday announced that the Department of Defense (DOD) Joint Logistics Systems Center (JLSC) has selected WDS to supply commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRPII) software and implementation services for the 18 major Army, Navy and Marine Corps depot facilities throughout the United States.

The multi-year contract is valued at $30 million in software licenses, program management and implementation services.

The depots will implement the WDS CompassENTERPRISE suite of COTS Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application software products as their primary operational and cost management system for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations.

The new client/server system will be integrated with existing financial systems and other specialized support systems, and will support more than 45,000 people across the 18 sites, utilizing UNIX servers, PC clients, and the Oracle7 RDBMS. This will be the first time that the DOD has used COTS MRPII software products for a major MRO system implementation.

In operation, the CompassENTERPRISE products will provide comprehensive support for all manufacturing, engineering, procurement, cost and contract management functions. Additional capabilities will be delivered by the WDS workbench product series, including key functionality to support the critical requirements of teardown and dispositioning.

"Maintenance, repair and overhaul operations are an extremely important aspect of today's commercial and military aerospace industry. Government and industry are working to extend the life of sophisticated aircraft, ships and ground systems through improved MRO practices which will dramatically improve mission readiness.

"WDS is focused on providing advanced COTS software and expertise to this growing MRO sector as well as to the OEMs of new products. We're proud to have been selected by the JLSC for this important project. It is probably the largest COTS-based MRO systems project in the world, and it should set the standard for cost-effective MRO operations in the future," said Michael Rapaport, WDS Vice President.

"WDS is already the leading supplier of COTS Enterprise Resource Planning software to aerospace and defense manufacturers, with customer companies of all sizes throughout the OEM supply chain.

"Industry leaders that have chosen WDS products as their corporate standard include McDonnell Douglas, Hughes Aircraft, Kaiser Electronics, Smiths Defense, and most recently, the UK's GEC Marconi, one of the world's largest aerospace and defense electronics companies.

"Other WDS users include such companies as Lockheed Martin, Litton Guidance & Control, and United Defense. Selection by the JLSC adds logistics support to the rest of the supply chain, and creates for the first time the opportunity to establish a single view of a product from manufacture through after-market support," added Allan Wilson, Senior Vice President.

"The award of the JLSC contract is another important milestone in our progress towards positioning WDS to support the full spectrum of the global aerospace and defense industry. We're now providing key operational management systems built on COTS software to companies who together support the entire product life cycle, from development through manufacture and maintenance.

"Ultimately, the use of a common systems infrastructure will enable organizations throughout the military supply chain to work together more effectively and efficiently," added Anton Rodde, WDS President.

Western Data Systems is a member of the Visionary Corporate Technologies group of information technology companies.

Other Visionary companies include Vicor Inc., a provider of enterprise systems engineering services; Avistar Systems, a provider of visual collaboration products and services for the enterprise; and Siren, a developer of cross-platform, Internet-compliant e-mail, network fax, and x.500 directory products.

A common goal of all group companies is to leverage the synergistic products and services of sister companies to deliver competitive advantage to customers worldwide.

For more information, contact Mary Lou Miller at Western Data Systems in Calabasas, Calif. Phone: 818/880-0800, Fax: 818/880-1424, E-mail: info@westdata.com. Visit the WDS World Wide Web home page at http://westdata.com. -0-

Trademarks: The WDS logo and CompassCONTRACT are registered trademarks of Western Data Systems of Nevada Inc. Any other product or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Western Data Systems

Mary Lou Miller, 818/880-0800

818/880-1424 (Fax)

miller@westdata.com (E-mail)