Chemical Industry Leaders Choose mySAP CRM; SAP Delivers Chemical Industry-Specific Functionality; Companies to Benefit from SAP's Proven Understanding of Unique Industry Needs

Business Wire, April 29, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAPPHIRE(R) 2002

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 2002

SAP AG (NYSE:SAP) today announced growing momentum for mySAP(TM) Customer Relationship Management (mySAP(TM) CRM) among companies seeking to leverage SAP's global understanding of business, proven industry-specific business solutions, and CRM functionality for the chemical industry. Because mySAP CRM provides a flexible foundation well suited to a changing business environment, chemical companies have adopted it to integrate their entire business, global supply chains, and partner networks. Thus they can improve profitability through operational efficiency, maximize customer market share, and increase top-line revenue growth through customer attainment and retention.

Chemical companies that have selected mySAP CRM include The BOC Group, Dunn-Edwards Corporation, Marsulex Inc., Millennium Chemicals, and Rohm and Haas Company. These leading companies join the ranks of global customers who have chosen mySAP CRM to deliver improved customer service and value, and they are providing further proof of SAP's gaining market momentum. SAP will showcase mySAP CRM and its customer success stories at its annual customer conference, SAPPHIRE(R) 2002, to be held in Orlando on June 5-7.

Shifting market conditions, including mergers and acquisitions, sluggish demand, increased energy costs, new market entrants, downstream market consolidation, and a stronger emphasis on product and operational profitability have created a highly competitive market for chemical manufacturers. Companies must deliver high-quality products and services to meet customer demands.

mySAP CRM offers chemical companies a strategic advantage: its operational, analytic, and collaborative features empower employees to respond more quickly because they have a consistent view of their customers. By integrating business process functionality specific to the chemicals industry with processes and functions designed to support customer and operational needs, mySAP CRM enables companies to improve efficiencies and create long-term customer satisfaction. Revenue can also increase as demand forecasting improves and plant capacity utilization increases. Plant resources can be distributed to optimize production and maximize output.

mySAP CRM enables collaboration by distributing relevant information to internal and external communities of interest, informing customers and partners about new products, special offers, updates on new site features, and upcoming events. This improves marketing efficiency and speeds communication. Because the entire community is informed, business cycles make less of an impact and can be forecast sooner. Additionally, mySAP CRM helps chemical companies to grow top-line revenues by enabling more effective up-selling, cross-selling, and identification of new sales and delivery channels.

Millennium Chemicals, an international company with leading market positions in a broad range of commodity, industrial, performance, and specialty chemicals, has been live with an online ordering service, Millennium Direct, since November 2001. Built with mySAP CRM, Milliennium Direct offers Millennium's North American titanium dioxide customers a secure 24/7, Web-based environment to place orders, with immediate delivery confirmation, the ability to check and change orders via a flexible search wizard, access to account and invoice details, and the ability to obtain copies of certificates of analysis (COAs) and invoices.

"Integration with our SAP enterprise management system is extensive, providing customers with complete information, no matter how the order was received," said Marty Etzel, director of e-business at Millennium Chemicals. "Customers especially appreciate real-time available-to-promise confirmation. The need to provide the customer with detailed, accurate, real-time transaction information made mySAP CRM a logical choice that enables us to retain and better serve our most valuable resource -- our customers.

"Millennium Direct provides timely information easily and quickly -- from ordering details to COAs and invoices, to links to our public Web site for MSDSs," Etzel said. "We've brought numerous customer locations on to Millennium Direct, and the customers have returned again and again." Millennium plans to roll out Millennium Direct to other businesses and geographies and is considering sales force automation and marketing and campaign management.

The BOC Group, a leading international gases company with 43,000 employees in 60 countries, has deployed mySAP CRM for mobile sales, customer interaction center, customer self-service over the Internet, and better access to its distributors' data. "The implementation of mySAP CRM will allow us to better leverage our sales and customer service staffs," said Brian Walsh, president of Industrial and Specialty Products, North America, The BOC Group. "With a single customer care console, customer service representatives can take care of the majority of customer needs, and sales people can focus on new sales."