The Descartes Systems Group Inc. - Ashley Furniture Selects Descartes DeliveryNet Solution to Optimize B2B Retailer Portal

Business Wire, August 31, 2000

Business Editors

WATERLOO, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 31

Descartes Systems Group (TSE:DSG.)(NASDAQ:DSGX)

Top Five Furniture Manufacturer To Raise Customer Service Levels

And Minimize Distribution Costs with Descartes Technology

The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSGX)(TSE:DSG), a leading provider of global Internet logistics solutions, announced today that Ashley Furniture Industries, a top five furniture manufacturer in the U.S., has selected Descartes' DeliveryNet solution to optimize its B2B retailer portal AshleyDirect.com(TM). The DeliveryNet solution will optimize the scheduling and routing capabilities of AshleyDirect.com to ensure profitable and on-time delivery of shipments to Ashley's retailers at times selected by the retailers themselves. An Ashley-owned fleet of over 1,000 trailers makes over 10,000 deliveries to retailers throughout North America in an average week, creating an opportunity for significant cost savings for the furniture manufacturer's retailer distribution network with the Descartes technology.

"Failure to deliver is a catastrophic event for us because it impacts the end consumer and their continued loyalty," said Todd Wanek, President at Ashley Furniture. "Descartes' DeliveryNet solution allows us to rapidly create an optimized, customer-focused distribution network that starts with more optimized routing and scheduling capabilities for our AshleyDirect.com retailer portal and ends with timely delivery and better customer service for our retailers."

"Ashley has long been regarded as one of the best run private firms in North America. They continue to strengthen that position through their fulfillment innovation with Descartes technology," said Art Mesher, Executive Vice President at Descartes. "End-to-end distribution network visibility, resource optimization and value-added services for their network of retailers will raise customer service levels and further profitability for this major player in the furniture manufacturing industry. Ashley will also benefit from its connection to the Global Logistics Network via Descartes' technology."

Descartes' e-Scheduler(TM) Web-based scheduling and route optimization solution, part of the DeliveryNet solution, will be integrated into Ashley's dedicated retailer portal, AshleyDirect.com. Ashley's customer service representatives will use e-Scheduler to schedule requests for deliveries of furniture shipments to retail stores throughout North America.

Ashley is the first Descartes customer to use e-Scheduler for distribution between the manufacturer and retailer. The product premiered within the past year as a Web-based self-scheduling solution for home delivery, with Webvan as the first customer to license the software. Today, e-Scheduler is licensed by companies in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.

About Ashley Furniture Industries

Based in Arcadia, Wisconsin, Ashley Furniture Industries is the fifth largest furniture manufacturer in North America, offering a complete line of value-priced home furniture. Founded in 1945 as a sales organization, this privately-owned company has grown into a significant force in the furniture industry with annual sales approaching US$1 billion. Today, Ashley Furniture's facilities are spread over six different locations in the U.S. and collectively encompass more than three million square feet. The company's annual compounded growth of around 20 per cent per year for the past decade has been attributed to its quick adoption of new technologies that enhance efficiency and customer satisfaction, while improving profitability. Visit http://www.ashleyfurniture.com.

About Descartes

Descartes is a leading provider of end-to-end logistics solutions that facilitate B2B e-commerce. Descartes' e-fulfillment software and exchange solutions enable companies to create high-speed, high-performance fulfillment networks called DeliveryNets. DeliveryNet solutions empower organizations to deliver reliable, responsive customer service in a profitable manner and to create innovative new products and services.

DeliveryNet solutions leverage the Internet-based Global Logistics Network, an open, worldwide network of shippers, receivers, carriers, logistics service providers, e-marketplaces, vertical portals, and transportation exchanges. The result is a global e-fulfillment information infrastructure that provides cost savings and revenue opportunities for businesses that need to manage physical product movement.

Descartes products are licensed today by more than 850 companies in 35 vertical industries in over 50 countries worldwide. For more information about Descartes, visit www.descartes.com.

All registered and unregistered trademarks mentioned in this release are the property of their respective owners.

This release contains statements that may relate to expected revenue from and transaction volume of Descartes customers, performance of Descartes' DeliveryNet solutions, market dynamics and other matters that may constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results may differ from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements as a result of factors discussed in the section entitled, "Risk Factors" in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Ontario Securities Commission and other securities commissions across Canada.