Fujitsu Siemens Computers Delivers Exceptional Partner Service and Reduces Costs with Siebel Customer Order Management and Universal Application Network

Business Wire, July 28, 2004

SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Solution Strengthens Relationships for Leading European IT Provider by Slashing Manual Processing Errors and Providing Accurate, Real-Time Product and Pricing Information

Siebel Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:SEBL), a leading provider of business applications software, today announced that Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC), the leading European IT provider, has reduced order management costs and enhanced relationships with its partner network using Universal Application Network (UAN) and Siebel Customer Order Management. With this deployment, the Fujitsu Siemens error rate for processing orders has decreased by 50 percent. This significant improvement is a critical element in building FSC's long-term trusted partner relationships, increasing efficiency and order accuracy, improving margins, and maximizing profitability.

"We were experiencing an unacceptably high rate of order failure, because either the product code or pricing information our partners used when placing the order was outdated," said Harald Bernreuther, IS Director, Fujitsu Siemens Computers. "Given the speed at which the technology industry moves, the business consequences of this issue quickly became a growing concern for the company. Siebel Customer Order Management and UAN enabled us to integrate disconnected catalog information and effectively communicate it to our partner network, which has had a powerful impact on our overall profitability."

The high tech manufacturing market is characterized by rapid product introductions and frequent price fluctuations. Competitive advantage is often determined by how quickly companies can make product changes and communicate new pricing information to distributors and resellers.

Prior to its deployment of Siebel Customer Order Management and UAN, Fujitsu Siemens experienced significant challenges with its order management process. The company sent product updates monthly and pricing information weekly to partners via PDF files or spreadsheets.

These changes were manually keyed into partners' systems, resulting in a delay between when a price actually changed and when the information was ultimately communicated to the customer, reducing levels of partner service and operational efficiency.

As catalogs were updated, FSC experienced significant increases in the number of invalid orders its partners placed as a result of outdated pricing or product information. At times, up to 50 percent of the 10,000 electronic orders received every month failed because of the erroneous information contained within the pricing and product catalogs.

Working closely with Siebel professionals, Fujitsu Siemens Computers defined, developed, and implemented Siebel Customer Order Management and UAN for Partner Management. FSC is now syndicating its electronic product catalog, which contains up to 40,000 product lines, to its partners. This allows FSC to more effectively align the communications of catalog information with its partners, reduce order entry errors, and increase control over pricing discounts and scheduling.

Partners now have an up-to-the-minute catalog reflecting complete product information with the most current pricing and product status included, such as end-of-life information. FSC anticipates that the Siebel application and UAN will ensure that 90 percent of electronic orders are conducted without errors or manual intervention -- representing up to an 80 percent improvement.

"UAN gave us a common, out-of-the-box set of business processes between Siebel, our SAP back office, and our webMethods Integration Platform," added Bernreuther. "Additionally, the standards-based solution allowed for ease of interoperability with our partner systems."

Developed by Siebel Systems in collaboration with leading technology companies, Universal Application Network is a standards-based architecture for business integration. UAN includes packaged integration applications that run on industry-leading integration servers, eliminating the cost and complexity associated with traditional integration methods. With UAN, companies can leverage their existing IT investments, deploy best-in-class applications, and optimize their cross-application business processes, resulting in greater organizational agility and a lower total cost of ownership.

Siebel Customer Order Management applications provide a unified view of customer quote, order, contract, and pricing information, enabling organizations to create more profitable orders and build stronger customer relationships.

About Siebel Systems

Siebel Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of business applications software, enabling corporations to sell to, market to, and serve customers across multiple channels and lines of business. With more than 4,000 customer deployments worldwide, Siebel Systems provides organizations with a proven set of industry-specific best practices, CRM applications, market-leading analytics products, and business processes, empowering them to consistently deliver superior customer experiences and establish more profitable customer relationships. Siebel Systems' sales and service facilities are located in more than 30 countries. For more information about Siebel Systems, Inc., or to review other customer success stories, please visit www.siebel.com.