New PeopleSoft Organization Brings ERP and Supply Chain Solutions to Global Manufacturing Markets; Monte Zweben To Lead Manufacturing Industry Business Unit

Business Wire, Jan 6, 1997

PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 6, 1997--PeopleSoft (NASDAQ:PSFT), announced today its focused strategy for offering both enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain optimization solutions under a single, global business organization.

Monte Zweben, former Red Pepper Software CEO, has been appointed general manager of PeopleSoft's expanded manufacturing industry business unit. The Red Pepper Software division will remain intact as a product development and service organization within this business unit.

"The combined domain expertise of PeopleSoft Manufacturing and Red Pepper Software now unite to serve manufacturers worldwide," said Zweben. "PeopleSoft is accelerating extensions to the Red Pepper supply chain product suite, as well as expediting its global availability."

The PeopleSoft manufacturing industry business unit provides two solutions: (1) ERP systems comprised of PeopleSoft Manufacturing, Distribution, Financials, and HRMS applications, and (2) Red Pepper optimization systems for supply chain, single plant, and order-promising operations. Manufacturers can choose to implement Red Pepper embedded in PeopleSoft ERP solutions, or interface Red Pepper applications with their existing transaction-processing systems.

"With the Red Pepper real-time planning and scheduling technology, PeopleSoft customers can maximize their return on assets while providing the highest level of service to their customers," said Dave Duffield, president and CEO of PeopleSoft. "Under the entrepreneurial leadership of Monte Zweben, who was the founder and driving force behind Red Pepper, PeopleSoft's manufacturing business unit is ready and able to help our customers attain these goals."

PeopleSoft ERP Integrates Planning Optimization

PeopleSoft is the first enterprise applications vendor to deliver an ERP solution that integrates ERP transaction and planning optimization functionality. PeopleSoft Manufacturing is based on the Red Pepper advanced real-time planning and scheduling system, as well as integrated product configuration capabilities, a highly customizable, flexible architecture, and embedded workflow technology. Customers who have already licensed PeopleSoft Manufacturing include: Classic Soft Trim, New England Business Services (NEBS), QUALCOMM Inc., Smead Manufacturing Co. and VisionTek.

Integrating Red Pepper Products with Other ERP Systems

On a global basis, PeopleSoft will provide Red Pepper's best-in-class planning applications for users of Oracle, SAP, Baan, JD Edwards, QAD, Marcam, and SSA applications. Manufacturers who have chosen an ERP system that lacks supply chain optimization can modernize their business system with Red Pepper. Additionally, those legacy MRP users who may be hesitant to replace their entire information infrastructure with an ERP system can easily integrate Red Pepper advanced optimization solutions.

"As announced at the time of our merger, manufacturing and distribution customers can be assured that PeopleSoft remains 100% committed to meeting their needs with the Red Pepper supply chain solution," said Aneel Bhusri, senior vice president of product strategy for PeopleSoft.

About Monte Zweben

Monte Zweben cofounded Red Pepper Software Company in 1992, and since then has been its CEO, president and chairman. Prior to founding Red Pepper, Zweben was Deputy Branch Chief at NASA Ames Research Center, where he co-managed NASA's principal artificial intelligence laboratory. Zweben has published numerous technical papers on advanced scheduling technology, and co-edited the book "Intelligent Scheduling," published by Morgan Kaufmann. He earned an M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University and a B.S. in Computer Science and Industrial Management from Carnegie-Mellon University.

About PeopleSoft

PeopleSoft Inc. (NASDAQ:PSFT) was established in 1987 to provide innovative software solutions that meet the changing business demands of enterprises worldwide. A client/server applications pioneer and market leader, PeopleSoft develops, markets, and supports a complete suite of enterprise solutions for accounting, materials management, distribution, manufacturing and human resources.

In addition, PeopleSoft provides industry-specific enterprise solutions to customers in select markets including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, higher education, the public sector and the U.S. federal government. With more than 1,300 customers around the world, the company has been recognized for both its award-winning customer service and its remarkable growth.

PeopleSoft was listed by Fortune Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in America in 1994, 1995, and again in 1996. PeopleSoft product and service information is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.peoplesoft.com . -0-

Note to Editors: PeopleSoft, PeopleTools, nVision, and PeopleCode are registered trademarks, and Red Pepper and PeopleTalk are trademarks of PeopleSoft Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.