FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Doug Curran
Manager, Corporate Communications
Pindar Systems
+(781) 862-0034
doug.curran@pindarsystems.com
CHICAGO, USA, and YORK, UK, June 11, 2002 -- Pindar Systems, a global leader in product information management technology, today announced the commercial release of Agility v. 1.0, its new enterprise catalog commerce server. Agility enables businesses 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.
Agility, the first comprehensive product information management system built with a Java-based, J2EE-compliant Web application server architecture, is now available for sale and installation, following extensive field testing and quality assurance work with corporate customers.
Among the early customers selecting Agility are Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), the world¹s largest seller of office products under its corporate and Viking Office Products brands, and Littlewoods plc, the well-known Liverpool-based high street retailer. They already are working with Pindar Systems on development of the Agility system for their multi-channel catalog management needs.
Pindar Systems also announced that the Haymarket Group, Britain`s largest privately owned magazine publisher, has agreed to purchase Agility to manage and publish its MIMS (Monthly Index of Medical Specialties) publications, recognized in the UK as the leading source of information on prescription medicines. Agility was chosen over several other vendors` products for its superiority in managing and delivering data and images across MIMS` print, Web (www.emims.net) and CD-ROM channels.
"Even as we bring Agility to market, its Web-based global scope and IT-friendly architecture have won immediate recognition from leading global 2000 businesses," said Kurt Dressel, Pindar Systems chief marketing officer. "Agility is seen as a breakthrough because it opens up new ways for businesses to create, collaborate and communicate with their trading partners, customers and company colleagues regardless of their location or IT platforms."
Already supporting the latest BEA WebLogicŒ application server, Agility is being extended to support IBM¹s popular WebSphere server by this Fall. In addition to tight integration with QuarkXPress, Pindar Systems is working with Littlewoods on the first product information solution that integrates Adobe¹s latest desktop publishing system, InDesign 2.0.
Pindar System`s 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 enterprise databases are Oracle 8i and 9i and Microsoft SQL 2000.
Together with its open Web architecture, Pindar Systems` nique 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 Agility`s 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. Agility`s Web-based remote connectivity for translators speeds the most complex multi-lingual, multi-version catalog projects.
For businesses that sell directly to consumers, 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 it`s supporting sell-side partners with syndicated targeted catalogs 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.
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.
About Pindar Systems
Pindar Systems powers catalog commerce, the management and delivery of product information to drive sales. The company¹s 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. Pindar¹s 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, Fisher Scientific, Spiegel, Club Med, Littlewoods, 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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