PINDAR SYSTEMS UNVEILS WORLD-CLASS CATALOG COMMERCE SYSTEM, OFFICE DEPOT AS 1ST CUSTOMER

Pindar Systems (US & UK) announces "Agility," the first comprehensive product information management system built with a JAVA-based, J2EE compliant Web application server architecture. Agility helps B2B and B2C businesses more quickly and cost-efficiently develop even the most complex print and online catalogs and promotions.

CHICAGO, USA, and YORK, UK, Feb. 12, 2002 - Pindar Systems, already a global leader in catalog content technology, today announced Agility, an all-new enterprise catalog commerce server that will enable B2B and B2C companies to drive sales and cut costs through faster, more creative development of even the most complex catalogs and promotions across print, online and supply chain channels worldwide.

Pindar Systems will give businesses their first look at the new Agility system during the Seybold/New York conference Feb. 20-22.

Agility is the first comprehensive product information management system built with a Java-based, J2EE-compliant Web application server architecture, making it an IT-friendly enterprise solution for fully integrated catalog development - across sales channels; among in-house merchandising, marketing, creative and production teams; between domestic and international company divisions and brands; and in collaboration with both supply and sell-side trading partners.

Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), the worlds largest seller of office products under its corporate and Viking Office Products brands, has signed on as Pindar Systems principal partner in the final beta development of Agility. The system is due to be released commercially early in the second quarter this year.

Agility is our most important new product since the companys inception in 1989," said Pindar Systems CEO Paul OSullivan. This is truly a world-class catalog commerce platform, because it makes the entire process of managing, using and presenting product information across all media and commerce channels easier, faster, more creative and global. That means more sales and lower costs, and that spells ROI for businesses."

It is particularly fitting that Office Depot will collaborate with Pindar Systems in the final development of
Agility because, as a longtime loyal customer, Office Depot was a catalog commerce pioneer with the first installation of our then-groundbreaking Catalog Management System (CMS) Version 1.0 back in 1996," said Pindar Systems OSullivan. We truly appreciate their support, and we see their willingness to be a pioneer once again with our all-new catalog commerce platform as a harbinger of strong industry-wide support for Agility."

With more than a decade of experience developing product information management software to meet the needs of leading B2B and B2C companies such as Office Depot, W.W. Grainger, Spiegel, Freemans, Rexel and Eddie Bauer, Pindar Systems has moved from pioneer to global leader status in the catalog commerce marketplace.

Building on that experience, Pindar Systems has achieved a breakthrough with Agility by opening up new ways for businesses to collaborate, create and communicate with their trading partners, customers and company colleagues regardless of their location or IT platform.

Together with its open Web architecture, Pindar Systems unique and almost infinitely flexible new object-based EDGE data management technology gives Agility unmatched out-of-the-box capabilities to manage media assets, product information and assortments, and marketing promotions. EDGE allows Agility users to link objects, the basic building blocks of the data structure, into an infinite variety of taxonomies. Each object can include an unlimited number of attributes.

Using EDGE, together with Agilitys numerous merchandising, creative, production and collaboration tools, B2B companies can create an unlimited number of catalogs based on geography, industry, brand, channel, customer type and more. Agilitys Web-based remote connectivity for translators speeds the most complex multi-lingual, multi-version catalog projects.

For B2C companies, Agility provides extensive brand asset management capabilities, collaborative online whiteboarding" to speed the most creative designs, as well as support for leading third-party forecasting/analytical tools and customer-facing e-commerce systems.

Agility also offers easy-to-use and manage Web-based supply chain commerce resources, whether its providing sell-side partners with targeted catalogs for their customers or giving buy-side suppliers managed links into the system to import their own product descriptions and images.

Pindar Systems has built into the Agility platform the scalability and flexibility to fit the size, workflow regimen and IT requirements of virtually any business: powerful administration tools to manage system set-up, add users and grant object-level and feature access rights; J2EE compliance and open standards support for in-house developers to easily create system extensions; and seamless integration with industry-leading enterprise database, ERP, CRM and e-commerce systems.

In response to customers desire to open their catalog system to new in-house and external organizations, such as customer service representatives and trading partners, Pindar Systems has responded with a multi-level licensing structure for Agility that makes the addition of even hundreds of new users economically viable. In fact, much of Agilitys groundbreaking new functionality is the result of Pindar Systems collaborative initiatives with its vibrant and increasingly sophisticated community of corporate customers.

Despite its scope, Agility is designed for rapid deployment, thanks to its Web architecture, open standards, intuitive graphical interface, and strong Pindar Systems project management and consultant support. In addition, a powerful suite of optional productivity-enhancing modules allows each business to tailor Agility to its exact needs.

Available modules include Agility Workflow, Agility Content Gateway, Agility XML Importer and XML Exporter, Agility Table Wizard, Agility Whiteboarding, Agility PDF Generator, Agility Supplier Gateway and Production Advisor for Agility.

Pindar Systems Agility can be deployed across traditional Microsoft Windows, Web or the new Apple Macintosh OS/X platforms. It runs on Sun SPARC Solaris 7.0 and Intel NT 4.0 (and greater) servers. Supported application servers include BEA Weblogic and IBM Websphere (later this year). Supported enterprise databases are Oracle 8i and 9i and Microsoft SQL 2000.

About Pindar Systems
Pindar Systems powers catalog commerce, the management and delivery of product information to drive sales. The companys robust catalog commerce technology enables businesses, including distributors, retailers and manufacturers, to focus on effective marketing rather than the mechanics of the complex production process. Pindar customers are able to aggregate product, business and media content from many different sources into a rich product knowledge database. Pindars software presents a unified view of this information, giving merchandisers the ability to create targeted offers that are delivered across print and Web with significantly greater flexibility, precision and speed.

Pindar Systems is the recognized leader in catalog commerce. Clients include W.W. Grainger, Office Depot, Spiegel, Freemans, Rexel, and Eddie Bauer. Privately held, Pindar Systems operates globally from European headquarters in York, UK, and North American headquarters in Chicago, USA.

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For more information:
(1) Follow this link, www.pindarsystems.com, to download a detailed Agility product information brochure.
(2) Visit Pindar Systems at Seybold/New York Feb. 20-22, Booth #437. Email info@pindarsystems.com to arrange for a personal hands-on Agility demonstration at the show.