DELMIA and RWD Join to Improve Build-to-Order Productivity eCommerce and eLearning Venture Streamlines Manufacturing Lifecycles

Business Wire, Feb 15, 2001

Business Editors

TROY, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 15, 2001

DELMIA Corp., a leader in eManufacturing solutions, and RWD Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: RWDT), a leader in eLearning and lean manufacturing services, today established a cooperative agreement to provide continuous manufacturing data flow solutions to companies throughout the manufacturing lifecycles of their products.

The two companies will provide integrated eCommerce solutions that will offer manufacturers enhanced quality and consistency of manufacturing process planning, reduced total planning time, efficient collaborative engineering processes, reduced ramp-up times, and worldwide support of international project roll-outs.

"With RWD's expertise in lean manufacturing consulting and in advanced eLearning," said David Richards, vice president, Americas, for DELMIA, "our customers can deploy and implement solutions more efficiently and rapidly. In doing so, they can create, monitor, and control agile and distributed manufacturing systems geared toward build-to-order and lean productivity."

DELMIA will provide Digital Manufacturing software solutions for customer product development teams, customer support teams, strategic partners, and manufacturing facilities to collaborate throughout product lifecycles.

RWD will provide its proven and certified project management expertise to support project roll-outs. They will also provide online training through University360(TM), a fully hosted eLearning offering that comprises a comprehensive suite of online learning components and value added business services. Each component of University360(TM) is derived from a best-of-breed eLearning technology so that risk and investment are minimized. RWD's team of 1,100 members consists of over 400 consultants specializing in eLearning and Lean Manufacturing techniques and systems.

"Advanced software systems, manufacturing excellence, and enterprise learning are essential for companies to harness the full potential of the Internet," said Dan Slater, president of RWD's Manufacturing Performance Group. "We are pleased to combine RWD's proven capabilities in these areas with our DELMIA consulting and software implementation services. "

RWD's Lean Value Chain Solution is designed to significantly impact the way companies operate and deliver value to their customers. It helps companies improve their profitability by accelerating their transition to lean enterprises and eliminating waste from their value chain. It also helps companies to increase their market share by enabling the shortest order-to-delivery times possible through successful end-to-end execution of consumer-driven, Internet-enabled, build-to-order processes.

About DELMIA Corporation

DELMIA Corporation develops eBusiness solutions for manufacturing by implementing a process-centric solution to define, monitor and control production systems from a single device workcell, production line, or factory material flow to extended enterprise production flow. DELMIA serves industry segments where continuous transformation and optimization of the manufacturing processes are critical such as Automotive, Aerospace, Fabrication and Assembly, Electrical and Electronics, Consumer Goods, Plant and Shipbuilding. DELMIA constitutes the core offering for Digital Manufacturing and Production, serving the product life cycle. DELMIA solutions are interoperable with major CAD, PDM and ERP systems. DPM for Assembly is completely integrated with ENOVIA, and provides a unique integrated manufacturing solution with configuration management of the product, process and resource models.

About Dassault Systemes (The parent company of DELMIA)

Dassault Systemes (NASDAQ: DASTY, Euronext Paris) is the premier global software developer of Product Lifecycle Management Solutions (PLM), providing companies with e-business solutions to implement their digital enterprise, thus creating and simulating the entire product lifecycle from initial concept to product in service. CATIA, ENOVIA and DELMIA solutions support industry-specific business processes to help unleash creativity and innovation, reduce development cycle time, improve quality, competitiveness and shareholder value: CATIA supports the digital product definition and simulation, ENOVIA delivers enterprise solutions that manage a comprehensive, collaborative and distributed model of the digital product, processes and resources, and DELMIA provides solutions to define and simulate lean digital manufacturing processes. The combined integration creates the Digital Product Lifecycle Pipeline, supporting reuse of corporate knowledge. SolidWorks and Smart Solutions, Dassault Systemes companies, respectively offer 3D design-centric and TeamPDM software solutions based on Windows.

Information about DELMIA is available at http://www.delmia.com

Information about Dassault Systemes is available at http://www.dsweb.com

About RWD Technologies

RWD Technologies (NASDAQ: RWDT) also provides Internet-based, eLearning systems to help online communities of companies, partners, customers, and suppliers communicate and train each other on their entire collaborative approach to working together using Internet eMarketplaces. RWD optimizes companies' corporate training and knowledge management systems and can develop and implement virtual corporate universities.