--Collaboration Extends the Reach of Global Platform to Provide “Real-Time” Information in the Retail Supply Chain--
Alexandria, VA USA & Mountain View, CA USA – October 26, 2005 – VeriSign and the WorldWide Retail Exchange (WWRE) today announced an agreement to offer point-of-sale (POS) data services to WWRE members creating more timely access, exchange, and management of information throughout the $8 trillion global retail supply chain.
The agreement between the two organizations adds POS data services to the WWRE platform providing global store-level visibility to thousands of retailers and suppliers worldwide. VeriSign also today announced the acquisition of Retail Solutions Incorporated, (www.verisign.com/RSI) a leading provider of POS data to the retail industry with more than 130 industry leading customers such as Unilever and GlaxoSmithKline. Today’s retailers and suppliers are placing an increased emphasis on combining “demand signals” such as POS data, with emerging sources of real-time information such as product movement information provided by RFID. The agreement between WWRE and VeriSign helps make available a global, secure and scalable platform reaching a broad set of industry leaders in the retail supply chain.
"POS data is one of the most confidential pieces of data in our business," said John Gleeson, SVP, Corporate Strategy and Treasurer, Walgreen Company. "WWRE is our trusted industry platform and VeriSign has experience providing security and scalability with high data volume. We think this partnership will provide a great way for us to share POS data with our manufacturing partners."
The WWRE is a trusted agent of data exchange for more than 30 global retailers with combined revenue of more than $900 billion annually. Over 200 consumer products suppliers use WWRE’s collaborative solutions and thousands of companies have conducted business transactions totaling more than $12 billion using the WWRE platform. WWRE was founded by leading global retail companies, with investors that include Aeon, Albertsons, Auchan, Casino, CVS/pharmacy, Delhaize/Food Lion, Kingfisher, Lotte, Royal Ahold, Safeway, Tesco and Walgreen’s.
“The addition of POS data services to our existing platform significantly improves our manufacturing customers’ ability to serve their retail trading partners,” said Christopher Sellers, CEO WWRE. “This is the solution that our members, and the market as a whole, have been waiting for – enabling clear, measurable benefits to trading partner relationships, without major capital investment or significant business process change.”
VeriSign’s Intelligent Supply Chain Services provide secure, scalable infrastructure services for critical supply chain data – including POS - for global supply chain participants and their vendors. These participants have for years been working to garner additional data points to feed analytic and decision making applications, with the ultimate goal of increasing sales and lowering costs. VeriSign has taken a leadership role in providing the secure infrastructure to enable the sharing of this data on a global basis, via the WWRE, with a strong focus on store-level visibility in the retail supply chain.
“The WWRE/VeriSign relationship extends the reach of our supply chain infrastructure services to WWRE’s community of global retailers and suppliers,” said Jeff Richards, vice president of VeriSign’s Intelligent Supply Chain Services business. “WWRE and VeriSign share a common vision for providing granular, global visibility in the retail supply chain in a secure, scalable manner. We’ve also both been able to establish trusted relationships with some of the largest corporations in the world – a major component of this collaboration and the role we’re playing as we expand the scope of information available to supply chain participants.”
To learn more about VeriSign Supply Chain Services and solutions for Retailers and Consumer Products Manufacturers, visit http://www.verisign.com/supplychain.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), operates intelligent infrastructure services that enable and protect billions of interactions every day across the world’s voice and data networks. Additional news and information about the company is available at www.verisign.com.
About WWRE
The WWRE is the premier Internet-based business-to-business exchange for retailers and suppliers. Designed to facilitate and simplify trading between retailers, suppliers, partners and distributors, the WWRE currently consists of over 230 members from Asia, Europe, North America and South America. To date, the WWRE has saved its members over $2 billion on more than $12 billion transacted through the use of its solutions. For more information, visit the website at www.wwre.org or www.worldwideretailexchange.org.
For more information, contact:
VeriSign Media Relations: Patrick Burns, pburns@verisign.com, 703-948-4471
VeriSign Investor Relations: Tom McCallum, tmccallum@verisign.com, 650-426-3744
WWRE Media Relations: Rebecca Filbey, sci@wwre.org, 202-223-4933
Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign`s actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results due to such factors as the risk that VeriSign`s announced strategic relationships, including the relationship described herein, may not result in additional products, services, customers, profits or revenues; and increased competition and pricing pressures. More information about potential factors that could affect the company`s business and financial results is included in VeriSign`s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the company`s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.
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