Mrs. Fields Famous Brands Selects Junction Solutions and Microsoft Dynamics AX

Business Wire, Jan 24, 2006

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. -- Junction Solutions' Multi-Channel Retail, Food & Beverage, and Business Intelligence Solutions Chosen as Platform for Improved Productivity and Quality Assurance

Junction Solutions, a leading provider of vertical industry focused enterprise software and services based on Microsoft Dynamics AX (formerly Axapta), today announced that it has signed a contract with Mrs. Fields Famous Brands to provide Multi-Channel Retail, Food & Beverage, and Business Intelligence solutions to the company's gifting subsidiary, Mrs. Fields Gifts, Inc.

Mrs. Fields Famous Brands will be a premier client of Junction Solutions and will be the first to simultaneously use both the Multi-Channel Retail and Food & Beverage solutions. Specifically, Mrs. Fields Gifts will use the Multi-Channel Retail solution to perform major operational processes, including order entry, customer service, fulfillment and inventory management, purchase orders and inventory receipts and financials. Junction Solutions' Food & Beverage solution will be used to handle food-specific needs for its gourmet cookies and baked goods including recipes, inventory control and production processes, and facilitating compliance with critical food safety requirements. Both solutions are built on Microsoft Dynamics AX, a flexible and comprehensive ERP solution. The Junction Solutions' RetailQuadWare (RQW) suite will be used to provide advanced retail analytics.

"Providing Mrs. Fields with solutions that will extend their enterprise and meet their business goals is an exciting opportunity for both Microsoft and Junction Solutions," said Richard Barnett, Director Product Management of Microsoft Dynamics. "Junction Solutions shares our focus of providing our customers with vertical solutions and services such as the Multi-Channel Retail and Food & Beverage solutions for Microsoft Dynamics AX. Working together, we can ensure the execution of our vertical market strategy and a successful deployment for Mrs. Fields."

"This vote of confidence from such a recognizable, respected, and tasty brand such as Mrs. Fields validates our strategy -- building complete, industry tailored solutions on the Microsoft Dynamics platform," said Brian Carpizo, CEO at Junction Solutions. "I am especially pleased that Mrs. Fields has selected the entire suite of Junction Solutions' vertical products - this is a great opportunity to address the needs of food industry customers who deal directly with the consumer," he said.

Mrs. Fields Gifts, Inc. (www.mrsfields.com or 1.800.COOKIES(R)) markets a broad selection of gifts for every occasion under the Mrs. Fields(R) brand name on the Internet and through gift catalogs. Begun in 1988 with two product offerings, Mrs. Fields Gifts now offers more than 200 different gift items, including premium baked cookies and brownies, fresh fruit baskets and a full selection of other gourmet snacks and treats. Based in Salt Lake City, Mrs. Fields Gifts, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, LLC.

"This is part of an overall effort to continually improve the experience our customers have with Mrs. Fields Gifts," said Greg Berglund, President of Mrs. Fields Gifts, Inc. "In this area and others, we're taking advantage of some of the most advanced processes available to make sending our unique and delightful gifts as simple and easy as possible for the customer."

About Junction Solutions

Junction Solutions delivers comprehensive enterprise applications that enable companies to achieve profitable growth by streamlining processes, improving operational efficiency and building tighter connections with their customers and suppliers. Our industry-specific features for multi-channel retailers and food & beverage companies, integrated with Microsoft Axapta's flexible and proven ERP applications, give customers proven return on investment and lower total cost of ownership. As a Gold Certified Microsoft Business Partner, we combine business process know-how with comprehensive services for a high-value, low-risk implementation. For more information, visit our web site at www.junctionsolutions.com.