Lilly Software Associates Enters the Third Party Logistics Industry Segment Through a Partnership with Bekins Group

Business Wire, April 19, 2000

Business/Technology Editors

HAMPTON, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 19, 2000

Bekins Group has entered into a partnership agreement with Lilly Software Associates for the development and implementation of a complete end-to-end third party logistics application.

Bekins Group, based in Sioux City, Iowa, is a leading provider of third party logistics and fulfillment operations for vertical industries, including food processing, chemicals, consumer products, and technology, with customers such as Gateway, Wells, and Blue Bunny.

Bekins Group selected Lilly Software Associates from a field of the most well-established warehouse system vendors in the industry for its superior technology and functionally complete product line. It wanted applications that would help the company improve customer service and satisfaction and meet its unique business requirements.

By choosing VISUAL DCMS(TM), an advanced Radio Frequency-enabled Warehouse Management System, Bekins Group will be able to provide real-time information about customer orders and inventory throughout its supply chain.

VISUAL DCMS(TM) is part of Lilly's VISUAL Distribution product line, which offers companies the tools to optimize their distribution centers and improve cycle times, on-time deliveries, and customer satisfaction. Lilly Software offers a complete line of front- to back-office supply chain solutions. Acknowledged by AMR as "a rare example of a mid-market vendor that can support these end-to-end business processes" (Chris Newton, The AMR Alert on Supply Chain Management, November 22, 1999), Lilly continues to form strategic alliances and develop applications to help companies increase profitability and improve customer service.

"The third party logistics industry is an exciting marketplace, especially for emerging e-commerce technologies," says Stanley Chew, Lilly Software's Vice President, Distribution. "Bekins Group signed with Lilly because they recognized the capabilities of our end-to-end distribution solutions from the Internet all the way through our best-of-breed Warehouse Management System. Lilly Software offered system solutions that fit with Bekins' vision of what it needs to succeed in today's new economy."

The Bekins Group pilot site will be in production by August, 2000 with a multiple site rollout planned for the future.

About Lilly Software Associates

Lilly Software Associates, Inc. (LSA) provides a complete line of supply chain management solutions. These include VISUAL Manufacturing(R), VISUAL Distribution(R), VISUAL APS(TM) (Advanced Planning and Scheduling), and VISUAL Quality(R) for engineer-to-order, make-to-order, assemble-to-order, make-to-stock, and mixed-mode manufacturers. Lilly's flagship product, VISUAL Manufacturing, is an intuitive, fast-implementing, integrated Windows-based supply chain solution with more than 2,500 installations worldwide. Broad functionality manages the total production environment and supply chain using ERP, E-Business, APS, MES, Quality Management, Customer Relationship Management, and Warehouse Management capabilities. VISUAL Manufacturing runs on Windows NT(R), UNIX(R), Novell(R) or OS400 using SQLBase(R), Microsoft SQLServer(TM), ORACLE(R) or DB2(R)/400 relational databases, and is certified for both AS/400e and Netfinity servers. Inc. Magazine ranked LSA as one of the 500 fastest-growing companies in the US in both 1998 and 1999. In 1999, LSA was also named to Inbound Logistics Top 100 LIT Providers, Manufacturing Systems' Top 100 Software Companies, and Software Magazine's Top 500. More information about Lilly Software and its products is available on the Web at www.lillysoftware.com.