Adobe Shortens Sales Cycle With Comergent's eBusiness Solution

Market Wire, September, 2005

Comergent Technologies®, Inc., the leading provider of eBusiness solutions for the extended enterprise, has streamlined the sales process at Adobe Systems, Inc. By implementing Comergent's eBusiness System(TM), Adobe shortened the time it takes to complete a request for quotation (RFQ) from hours to minutes, so salespeople can spend less time on paperwork and more time selling and servicing customers and channel partners. The new system has automated the approval process, reduced order errors, lowered the cost per quote, and increased sales and enabled a more satisfying purchasing experience for its customers and channel partners.

Adobe is the world's leading provider of software solutions to create, manage, and deliver high-impact, reliable digital content. A majority of the images on the Web today were created or modified with one or more of Adobe's products. Adobe sells through a complex matrix of sales channels, including through direct, retail, online, value-added resellers, distributors, and more.

Prior to implementing its Comergent solution, Adobe took orders via phone, fax, and email and generated RFQ responses manually. The result was a time-consuming and error-prone process because salespeople lacked standard templates and had to look up account information, product, and pricing information for each order. Then, RFQs were routed manually for approval and hard copies were sent to customers or channel partners.

The Comergent system produces quotes using a standard format with proper terms and conditions. It automates the approval process within the system and prints quotes in a legal, PDF form. Adobe adopted Comergent's subscription license for optimal costs and implementation with rapid results based on Comergent's service oriented-architecture and rapid deployment methodology.

"We chose Comergent because it could meet our aggressive deployment schedule," said Beth Muller for Adobe. "Most contenders were eliminated because they could not implement quickly enough or couldn't meet our budget requirements. Comergent met our other criteria, too: ease of use and administration, a proven track record of execution, and the ability to support future initiatives within a single platform."

"We pride ourselves on meeting our commitments to customers," said Jean Kovacs, CEO for Comergent. "In this case, time was of the essence. We prototyped Adobe's solution in 15 days and it was fully operational within Adobe's 45-day target, enabling Adobe to optimize the sales process with visible results."

About Comergent

Comergent is the leading provider of eBusiness solutions for the extended enterprise. The Comergent eBusiness System(TM) orchestrates complex product, selling, and order management processes across multiple enterprise systems, business organizations, and sales channels. Comergent's customers are able to increase revenues while reducing the cost of sales by making it fast and easy for their customers to do business with them. Customers include industry leaders like Applied Biosystems, Best Buy, Cisco Systems, Gates Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, J.C. Penney, NEC Solutions America, Nissan Motor Co., Pearson Education, Pitney Bowes, Stanley Works, and The Toro Company. Comergent is privately held with headquarters in Redwood City, Calif.

For more information, visit www.comergent.com.

Comergent and the Comergent logo are registered trademarks of Comergent Technologies, Inc. Comergent E-Business System is a trademark of Comergent Technologies, Inc. All other products or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Editorial contact: Joanne Kisling Comergent Technologies, Inc. 831-462-9378 Email Contact