STOCKHOLM, Sweden, May 13, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Industri-Matematik International Corp. (OTCBB:IMIC)(IMI) today announced Holtung AS, the third largest Norwegian pharmaceutical wholesaler, has selected IMI Order software to manage their customer fulfillment. The software allows Holtung to provide Internet-based ordering capabilities and manage high-volume order spikes it receives each day, to deliver strong service and fast response times to pharmacy customers.
With IMI Order, Holtung expects that 98 percent of customer orders will be placed via the Internet, reaching approximately 20,000 order lines per day. Customers can access a web portal that allows them to enter orders and use previous orders as templates to minimize manual work and increase quality. They can use the self-service features of IMI Order that provide visibility to supply chain information, such as available- to-promise order capabilities, pricing and promotions, open orders and invoices, and ability to manage backorder order lines performing automatic cross order checks on all open orders.
"The Norwegian pharmaceutical market is highly competitive, and IMI Order advances our business goals of adding value in customer service," said Britta Nielsen, IT Manager at Holtung. "The IMI software enables us to improve response time to customers with its web-based ordering capabilities. Performance is another reason we selected IMI Order. We needed a high-volume order engine because our pharmacy customers place their orders in the same timeframe, with orders peaking during the same 1 1/2-hour window each afternoon."
IMI Order allows Holtung to capture order information and make it the central point of customer fulfillment in Holtung's high-volume environment. It provides Holtung with a comprehensive view of each order as it moves through the order process, with inventory availability information at each stage of the order cycle.
Pharmacies will have all Holtung information available to them regarding product delivery, enabling them to provide quick answers to customer inquiries. By leveraging the Internet, the information is available 7 x 24 every day of the year. Also, with most orders placed via the web portal, the Holtung customer service center will have more time to spend on value-add activities and handle order exceptions and deviations.
"We needed to have our new order management system up and running before year end. We know by the experience at a sister company that IMI can deliver on tight implementation schedules with a rollout and go live in a very short time frame. We started our IMI Order software lab in March and expect our entire company to be live by October," said Ms. Nielsen.
IMI Order enables Holtung to be fully integrated with its trading partners. Holtung suppliers can access the Holtung data warehouse fed with data from IMI Order. Holtung can electronically send statistical and purchase data directly to its suppliers.
Norwegian law requires that pharmaceutical wholesalers must carry all approved drugs and have the ability to deliver both prescription and non- prescription products within 24 hours to any pharmacy in Norway, which, given the country's geography, presents a challenge. Holtung manages distribution from one central warehouse south of Oslo, providing next day order delivery to customers.
Holtung stocks more than 10,000 pharmaceutical products with an additional 4,000 healthcare products available to customers. Its customers include 120 pharmacies, 200 institutions and 80 healthcare retailers. Holtung is part of Alliance UniChem Plc, which is one of the largest Pan-European pharmaceutical wholesalers with operations also in Spain, Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
"Holtung is a true supply chain innovator in leveraging web order capabilities to improve performance on their customer fulfillment promises," said Timothy Campbell, president and CEO at IMI. "IMI Order will help Holtung achieve the Perfect Order by gaining the ability to deliver an order to the customer that is complete, accurate, on time and in perfect condition."
About Industri-Matematik
Industri-Matematik International Corp. - The Order Company - is a provider of high-performance supply chain solutions for the retail value chain, turning supply chain friction into smooth order flows. Its software enables companies to manage order and replenishment business processes based on actual customer demand to provide best-in-class, pull-driven supply chain practices. IMI's software includes collaborative order management, fulfillment, distribution center and store replenishment, supply chain analytics, visibility and event management capabilities. For IMI information, please access the company web site at www.industri-matematik.com
Industri-Matematik International Corp. Porter Novelli Public Relations Peg Archdeacon Albie Jarvis or Julie Redard +1 (856) 793-3223 +1 (617) 450-4300 parchdeacon@imiamericas.com julie.redard@porternovelli.com
This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net
The following files are available for download:
http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/05/13/20030513BIT00290/wkr0001.doc
http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/05/13/20030513BIT00290/wkr0002.pdf