Harte-Hanks Trillium Software(R) Customer Bombardier Wins World Class Solution Award for Data Quality

Market Wire, September, 2004

Trillium Software®, a division of Harte-Hanks, Inc. (NYSE: HHS) and the leading provider of Total Data Quality(TM) solutions, today announced that its customer Bombardier Transportation has won DM Review magazine's World Class Solution Award for data quality. In presenting the award at the DCI Business Intelligence conference today, DM Review attributed the win to Bombardier's innovative use of the Trillium Software System® in delivering accurate and timely data for its global inventory management operations.

Established in 1996, DM Review's World Class Solution Awards represent the industry's best practices -- showcasing companies that have implemented solutions addressing a persistent business problem that, in turn, provides a significant return on investment.

DM Review judges considered more than 80 separate entries that vied for top honors in eight categories. More than 20 industry experts judged the 2004 World Class Solution Awards.

Bombardier Transportation, a global leader in the rail equipment manufacturing and servicing industry, uses the Trillium Software System to standardize and cleanse data describing more than 2.8 million inventory parts at its plants throughout the world. Bombardier represents a growing number of multinational companies that are applying data quality management across their entire enterprises to give knowledge workers the accurate and timely business data required to perform strategic analyses, inventory management, procurement and a host of additional corporate operations.

After identifying duplicate descriptions across foreign languages for individual parts, and adjusting for user entry errors, the Trillium Software System standardizes Bombardier's materials and parts data into UNSPSC (United Nations Standard Products and Services Codes) and FSF codes (the German national rail standard for train components). Enhanced, standardized and clean data are then sent to Bombardier's SAP-based enterprise data warehouse.

Bombardier developed custom business rules and logic within the Trillium Software System to meet its specific needs. "The software now interprets free-form text, finding commodities, parts, and products, and assigns standard codes for each," says Dr. Claudio Gruler, SAP integration manager, Bombardier Transportation. "It is an intelligent tool that we can teach how to interpret our data."

Bombardier uses the Trillium Software System to verify the accuracy of all product and material data, as well as supplier and customer names and addresses within more than nine million records each week across foreign domains. The data quality management operation supports 300 Bombardier business users.

Bombardier's global presence, both as purchaser and supplier, adds a layer of complexity to its data processing because users need to account for a wide variety of name forms and addresses from countries worldwide. The Trillium Software System recognizes and understands more than 180 different languages, including Asian double-byte character sets, allowing Bombardier to link supplier records across divisions. This ensures timely deliveries to customers by applying valid addresses in any of the countries where Bombardier operates or from which it sources parts.

"Getting a global, harmonized and consolidated view of our supply chain was a major driver," says Kevin Carrick, project director, SAP Services, at Bombardier. "Implementing the Trillium Software System allows us to truly understand our supply chain, inventory, and product landscape data to clearly identify and anticipate problems before they manifest themselves."

"Data quality is often relegated to being simply a niche customer name and address solution, but Bombardier's implementation clearly demonstrates the tremendous flexibility with which it is now being applied," said Len Dubois, vice president of global marketing for Trillium Software at Harte-Hanks.

"Trillium Software gives our customers confidence in their inventory data," Dubois said. "Knowing they can trust the accuracy and reliability of the data underlying day-to-day business allows company executives to make assertive, strategic decisions that help them streamline relationships with suppliers, more accurately manage inventory, and more efficiently process sales and orders. This is a shining example of how broadly data quality management is being adopted for all sorts of business data in global corporations."

About DM Review

DM Review is the leading publication covering the world of data -- BI, integration and analytics. Currently in its 14th year of publication, DM Review provides thought-provoking and informative editorial covering strategic solutions for business intelligence, analytics, data warehousing and integration across all major industries. DM Review's authors and columnists are internationally recognized experts in a variety of business intelligence fields.

About Trillium Software ® and Harte-Hanks

Trillium Software®, a division of Harte-Hanks, provides businesses with Total Data Quality(TM) solutions -- the full complement of technologies and services to profile, cleanse, enhance, and link global data, making it fit for purpose within e-business, customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, data warehouse, and other enterprise applications. Use of the Trillium Software System® by many of the world's largest and most successful companies has made Trillium Software the leader in its marketplace. For more information about Trillium Software and its offerings, call (978) 436-8900, or visit Trillium Software online at http://www.trilliumsoftware.com.