aPriori Enterprise Cost Management Platform is Chosen by Caterpillar

Business Wire, Feb 13, 2007

aPriori increases visibility to product costs across multiple functions

CONCORD, Mass. -- aPriori, the leading provider of enterprise cost management solutions for discrete product and manufacturing companies, today announced that Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines, has purchased aPriori's Enterprise Cost Management Software Platform[TM] to be used in their North American operations.

The aPriori Enterprise Cost Management Software Platform provides real-time, predictive cost assessments throughout the entire product development, manufacturing, sourcing and delivery process. The investment in aPriori enables the users to generate real-time costs for new product introductions and engineering changes within minutes rather than weeks. Design personnel have the opportunity to confidently understand the cost impact of their decisions, through instant feedback directly within their MCAD environment. Additionally, other functions, from manufacturing engineers and planners, to purchasing and sourcing professionals and program managers have full visibility to product costs through aPriori. This enables them to measurably identify quantifiable savings in material, tooling, labor and overhead cost while evaluating alternative designs, manufacturing processes, and vendor sources, ultimately driving a reduction in their Cost of Goods Sold (COGS).

aPriori provides predictive product information from the earliest stages of product development continuously through production delivery. aPriori also demonstrates its ability to provide accurate, real-time cost assessments at all stages of the design and product development process. aPriori's cost information enables easier cost/design trade off analysis and provides manufacturing routing and cost information that can be used by manufacturing engineering, planning, and purchasing departments.

"We are excited that a leading Fortune 100 company and one of the most successful manufacturing companies in the world has made an investment in our technology," said Frank V. Azzolino, President and CEO of aPriori. "Caterpillar has joined the growing list of aPriori customers, including Flextronics, John Deere, Dana Corporation, JLG Industries and others, that benefit from the ability to determine product costs early and that can confidently manage towards established cost targets which are critical for a manufacturing company in today's competitive markets.

About aPriori

aPriori is the leading provider of enterprise cost management solutions to the discrete manufacturing and product industry. aPriori's proven and patent-protected software platform allows companies to assess, control, and reduce the cost of their products in real time, at any time before design, sourcing and manufacture. This enables companies to understand the cost impact of product design decisions earlier than ever before, reduce their cost of goods sold, and improve operating margins. aPriori software is used at leading Fortune 1,000 companies and provides an annualized return on investment of greater than three to one in the first project use. aPriori, headquartered in Concord, MA, was founded in 2003 and is funded by Bain Capital Ventures and Sigma Partners.

For more information, visit www.apriori.com