CommercialWare Teams With IBM to Integrate Retail.dot.commerce With IBM WebSphere Commerce Suite

Combined Solution Provides Consistent View of Customer Across Multiple Sales Channels While Better Managing Business Operations

Aug. 27, 2001--Natick, MA-based CommercialWare, Inc., a leading provider of commerce infrastructure software, today announced the delivery of an integrated solution combining CommercialWare`s retail.dot.commerce with IBM WebSphere(A) Commerce Suite 5.1. The CommercialWare and IBM multi-channel retail solution combines the best-of-breed retail information management environment of retail.dot.commerce with the advanced e-marketing and personalization tools of IBM WebSphere Commerce Suite to provide retailers with the ability to optimize customer service, while maintaining margins and advancing competitive position.

"We are pleased to work with Business Partners like CommercialWare to offer complementary e-business solutions for the online retail industry," said Sandy Carter, vice president, WebSphere Marketing and Channel Execution, IBM. "The enablement of retail.dot.commerce for WebSphere Commerce Suite will provide e-businesses with sophisticated solutions for building customer loyalty and maximizing relationships with customers, suppliers, partners and employees."

This integration project builds on a strategic alliance between CommercialWare and IBM to deliver comprehensive e-business solutions to the retail industry. Both companies aim to provide retailers with systems that deliver a consistent interactive flow of information between a retailer and its suppliers, business partners/channel providers and logistics partners. CommercialWare integrated its solution with WebSphere Commerce Suite to leverage the best features for retailers, with retail.dot.commerce serving as the backbone powering everything within physical channels such as cross-channel customer relationships and sales, order management, inventory control, logistics/reverse logistics, drop-ship and third-party fulfillment. The WebSphere Commerce Suite controls all of the online elements including the design of a robust online merchandising and marketing operation, allowing retailers to effectively manage multi-channel commerce.

CommercialWare has worked with IBM to build an integration protocol between retail.dot.commerce and WebSphere Commerce Suite to seamlessly mesh the two systems while effectively leveraging the relative strengths of each. In doing so, CommercialWare and IBM worked to:

-- Eliminate redundant work effort across sales channels to enhance operating efficiency and reduce clerical data errors;

--Maintain appropriate static data, including base catalog content and all associated data enhancements (graphics, syndicated product reviews, etc.) on the Web server;

-- Maximize efficiency by limiting communications between retail.dot.commerce and WebSphere Commerce Suite to critical touchpoints - order check out, order status, catalog requests, etc; and

-- Provide real-time creation of Internet orders in retail.dot.commerce for processing. This ensures consistent cross-channel views of order status and inventory levels.

"Integration of retail.dot.commerce and WebSphere Commerce Suite is a very strong proof point of our strong relationship with IBM and is a continuation of CommercialWare`s mission to provide the best possible solutions to retailers," said Donny Askin, CommercialWare CEO. "This development will allow retailers to offer real-time inventory, obtain supply chain visibility and further their multi-channel sales integration efforts. We will continue to expand upon our culture of retail technology innovation for the good of retailers and consumers."

About IBM WebSphere Commerce Suite

IBM`s WebSphere Commerce Suite, the first integrated e-commerce solution, provides a wide range of easy-to-use features and functions for content management, relationship marketing, order management, and payment management for all types of Internet businesses, including business-to-business, business-to-consumer, and e-marketplaces. Sites built with WebSphere Commerce Suite can easily integrate with both internal and external systems and grow with the changing needs of an e-business. IBM WebSphere Commerce Suite customers benefit from the functionality of the WebSphere family, which integrates Web commerce, Web application server, Web application development tools, transaction processing and distributed component software from IBM.

About CommercialWare

CommercialWare is the world`s leading provider of commerce infrastructure software for multi-channel retailers. CommercialWare`s retail.dot.commerce and collaborate.dot.commerce suites enable retailers to interact and transact with, and service their customers across multiple channels, ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty. The product suites seamlessly link all aspects of the transaction lifecycle - from customer-facing activities like marketing, order entry and customer service, to operational activities like order management, fulfillment, reverse logistics, and supply chain collaboration. CommercialWare powers retail commerce for more than 80 leading retail brands, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Target, Disney, Starbucks, Brooks Brothers, J. Jill, Ritz Camera, JoS A. Bank, and Patagonia. For more information, visit CommercialWare at http://www.commercialware.com/

(A) Indicates trademark or registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. All other products or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

CONTACT:

Lois Paul & Partners Marc Goodman marc-goodman@lpp.com or Ted Weismann ted-weismann@lpp.com 781-238-5700

IRCE 2008 Conference Multi-Media CD-ROM