Viewlocity Establishes Japan's First Supply Chain Event Management Company

Business Wire, April 16, 2001

Business Editors

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 16, 2001

NTT Comware and Viewlocity Announce Strategic Alliance

Softbank Technology Funds Invests In Viewlocity Japan

Viewlocity Acquires Division of Custom Technology Corporation

Viewlocity, Inc., a global provider of supply chain event management software and services that help companies respond in real time to unplanned events along the extended supply chain, and Softbank Internet Technology Funds, managed by Softbank Investment Corp. (SBI), one of SOFTBANK Corp.'s group of companies (www.SOFTBANK.com - Tokyo Stock Exchange 9984) and a subsidiary of Softbank Finance Corp., today announced the launch of Viewlocity Japan.

Viewlocity Japan will enable Japanese companies to benefit from Viewlocity's unique solutions that replace inventory with information by bridging the gap between traditional supply chain planning and real-life supply chain execution. In addition, Viewlocity and NTT Comware Corporation (NTT Comware), the IT solution arm of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation and one of Japan's largest systems integrators, announced today that they have agreed to form a strategic alliance.

Working with its partner in Japan, Custom Technology Corporation (CTC), Viewlocity has spent the last year training local resources in its B2B integration foundation and supply chain event management (SCEM) solutions and has been localizing its products for the Japanese market. Viewlocity acquired a major portion of CTC's Open Networking Division to help Viewlocity Japan scale quickly.

Mr. Yuji Matsuo, CEO and President of NTT Comware commenting on the partnership between NTT Comware and Viewlocity said, "Our alliance will create a large skills and implementation foundation enabling us to bring the SCEM solutions rapidly to the Japanese market so that companies can start realizing greater returns on their assets in the supply chain." As a Viewlocity partner, NTT Comware will market, resell and implement Viewlocity's solutions.

Japan represents the second largest economy in the world, and, according to Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Nikkei Business Publications, will account for $700 billion in B2B online commerce and $2.5 billion in Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) and B2B integration software and services by 2003. A presence in Japan enables Viewlocity to help the large corporations by linking the legacy, e-commerce and supply chain infrastructures of manufacturers, trading companies, retail stores, logistics providers, and other service providers, to leverage their market leadership as offline B2B intermediaries into online B2B powerhouses.

"This joint initiative should not be viewed as Viewlocity's initial flag-raising in Japan; rather, it represents the next stage in our Asia Pacific strategy," explained Greg Cronin, CEO of Viewlocity. "For many industries, the region serves as the genesis of the global supply chain. With over 100 customers in Asia Pacific already, this joint venture in Japan will complete the link between the source and users in global markets."

Hideo Nagashima has been appointed President of Viewlocity Japan with a focus on establishing strategic partnerships to help companies quickly migrate to agile B2B business models. He heads up an experienced sales, marketing, systems engineering, research and development and solution deployment team, many from CTC who are already deeply knowledgeable about Viewlocity's solutions and markets.

"Viewlocity's solutions have already generated considerable interest amongst some of Japan's leading manufacturing and trading companies," said Hideo Nagashima. "For the first time, they are being presented with a way of enabling their existing IT investments to provide more value at the same time as leveraging supply chain event management solutions to reduce inventories and make a positive impact to the bottom-line. With the current economic climate globally, the timing of Viewlocity's entrance into Japan is perfect."

Viewlocity's solutions are suitable for companies that need to improve domestic supply chain performance as well as for those seeking to gain visibility and control of global supply chains that typically consist of multiple subsidiaries and suppliers of varying degrees of technological sophistication.

About SOFTBANK Investment Corp.

Softbank Investment Corp., one of SOFTBANK Corp.'s group of companies (www.SOFTBANK.com - Tokyo Stock Exchange 9984) and a subsidiary of Softbank Finance Corp., is responsible for the management of one of the leading venture capital funds in Japan, and also provides incubation support and consultancy for new innovative uses of technology. The company's mission is to propagate the development and acceptance of technology as a critical business driver for companies in Japan and globally; by doing so, it aims to play a major role in the creation of technology companies that will lead the way in the 21st century. For further information, visit www.sbinvestment.co.jp.