Matsushita Refrigeration Selects MAPICS to Keep Y2K Bug 'In the Cold'

Business Wire, Feb 11, 1999

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 1999--

Rapid implementation time and ITAA 2000 certification, combined with

enhanced supply chain capabilities, secures leading refrigeration

manufacturer's selection of MAPICS XA

MAPICS, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAPX), a leading provider of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) business solutions to manufacturers, today announced that Matsushita Refrigeration Pte Ltd has selected MAPICS XA to manage its worldwide operations. Matsushita Refrigeration, one of the world's largest manufacturers of refrigeration compressors, plans to implement MAPICS' ERP solution in the company's manufacturing plants throughout Singapore and Malaysia. The company will connect the sites with its existing operations in the United States and China to improve its efficiency and delivery lead times while standardizing the company's software worldwide.

After 25 years of operating on custom-built production control, accounting and personnel systems, Matsushita Refrigeration needed to upgrade its enterprise applications in view of the threat posed by the Year 2000. MAPICS' development processes have received Information Technology Association of America's (ITAA) Year 2000 certification and the MAPICS XA rapid implementation methodology made it the ideal solution to help Matsushita Refrigeration replace its non-Y2K compliant applications before they could become a problem. After reviewing leading ERP solutions from J.D. Edwards, System 21 and APACS, Matsushita Refrigeration selected MAPICS XA's enhanced multisite functionality to ease communication and information exchange throughout the company's operations worldwide.

"MAPICS XA is an excellent choice to facilitate executing our corporate strategy to connect and standardize our worldwide operations while concurrently preparing us for the Year 2000," said Mr. Soh Wah Kheng, Senior Manager (Manufacturing System & Control) at Matsushita. "MAPICS' powerful support for e-business was especially attractive to us since we are planning to adopt Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) communications with all our vendors by the end of next year. Through MAPICS, we will have more efficient planning and information exchange and will be able to reduce our delivery times from the current 45 days to just 14 days, providing benefits directly to our customers."

With recent encouragement from the Singaporean government for manufacturing organizations to adopt Y2K standards, EDI and other e-business practices, Matsushita recognized MAPICS' ability to create drastic improvements in the way the company operates. Unlike with Matsushita's existing systems, MAPICS XA provides the company with real-time information and enables it to plan sales and inventory more accurately. MAPICS XA will also help to increase the productivity of Matsushita's manufacturing reporting function, as users will now be able to create reports directly from the system at any time, in many formats.

"Matsushita's decision to partner with MAPICS validates our mission of providing manufacturers with proven, cost-effective solutions that can be implemented quickly and easily," said Dick Cook, MAPICS' president and CEO. "MAPICS is the ideal ERP solution to take Matsushita into the next millennium. The latest release of MAPICS XA provides the business tools to deliver faster and more accurate global supply chain management to help fulfill Matsushita's vision of global information sharing."

Commercial Software Services Ltd (CSSL) Singapore, a division of one of Asia's largest and most successful remarketers of IBM mid-range systems and the MAPICS Master Distributor in South East Asia, Greater China and Australia/New Zealand, manages the Matsushita Refrigeration customer relationship and will complete the implementation of MAPICS XA.

About Matsushita

Established in Singapore in 1972, Matsushita Refrigerator produces more than 8 million compressors a year. The company has a vertically integrated supply chain that produces all the components, including the cast iron and electrical parts of a compressor. Matsushita Refrigerator operates from its 90,000 square meter-manufacturing complex in Bedok South and a 25,000 square meter foundry in Jurong. It also supports a Malaysian sister company, MARIM, which manufactures in a plant in Malacca.

About MAPICS

With more than 20 years of proven manufacturing expertise, MAPICS, Inc. is one of the world's leading providers of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application software specifically designed for the business needs of manufacturers. The company's flagship ERP solution, MAPICS XA, delivers proven in-depth functionality for the management of operations, financial, engineering, product demand and supply chain planning. The solution leverages standard technologies like the AS/400 platform and integrates advanced new technologies such as Java, client/server and the Internet to deliver companies an ERP suite that meets their business needs today and tomorrow. Approximately 2,400 customers have selected MAPICS XA since its introduction in 1994, including Bayer Corp.; General Electric Co., P.L.C.; Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.; Honda Motor Co., Ltd.; IBM; Matsushita; Michelin Corp.; Volvo Corp.; Westinghouse Electric Corp. and York International.