IBM and Industri-Matematik Expand Global Strategic Alliance for E-Business Fulfillment and Customer Service Industri-Matematik Selects IBM WebSphere as Development Platform for Next Generation Applications -- Nov 15 2000
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. and MT. LAUREL, N.J., Nov 15, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- IBM
(NYSE:IBM) and Industri-Matematik International Corp. (NASDAQ: IMIC) today
announced the companies have expanded their strategic alliance to deliver
fulfillment and customer service e-business solutions for retail,
wholesale/distribution and manufacturing companies.
Industri-Matematik will include WebSphere(1) Application Server and IBM's
MQSeries(1) business integration software as part of its next generation
VIVALDI(TM) applications. The applications will leverage open standards, such as
extensible mark-up language (XML) and enterprise JavaBeans (eJB), for ease of
use and integration with other applications.
As part of the expanded alliance, Industri-Matematik extends its existing
Internet strategy by leveraging IBM WebSphere software - the first web
infrastructure software to help companies at each stage of e-business
development - as its standard development platform for next generation VIVALDI
applications. The new software will feature a component-based architecture and
deliver applications based on contact center, portal, fulfillment, replenishment
and supply chain event management capabilities. It will allow companies to
leverage the Internet to collaborate with customers and suppliers, and extend
the traditional enterprise by integrating logistics, marketing and customer
service operations. The first new VIVALDI products are anticipated to be
delivered next month.
A major goal of the IBM/Industri-Matematik alliance is to support multi-channel
business and logistics strategies, helping "bricks and mortar" companies achieve
world-class fulfillment and customer service in both traditional and e-business
operations. Additionally, the combined IBM and Industri-Matematik applications
integrate web commerce sites with back-end distribution capabilities so
Internet-based merchants have reliable, scaleable logistics and warehouse
processes.
"Industri-Matematik's industry-leading fulfillment and customer service
applications, combined with IBM WebSphere and consulting and integration
services, provide a total e-business solution," said Pat Toole, general manager
of B2B Solutions at IBM. "Our strategic alliance with Industri-Matematik will
enable companies to speed the flow of product through a global supply chain as
well as improve trading community collaboration."
According to John Geraci, chief operating officer at Industri-Matematik, "By
working with the WebSphere e-business platform, we can leverage a
standards-based Internet architecture to significantly reduce time-to-market for
our next generation component applications. Additionally, a strengthened IBM
relationship delivers strong value to our customers by optimizing VIVALDI
software performance for IBM hardware and software to manage a high volume of
e-business transactions and easily connect with other products in the IBM
portfolio."
Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will jointly market and sell
Industri-Matematik VIVALDI software running on the IBM WebSphere platform. On
sales to new customers, Industri-Matematik will lead with WebSphere products as
a middleware platform of choice. IBM will provide consulting, customization and
integration services for joint IBM and Industri-Matematik solutions.
A History of Working Together
This expanded alliance builds on existing Industri-Matematik involvement in
IBM's Global Supply Chain Management initiative and its role as an IBM Premier
partner. Included among the joint customers of IBM and Industri-Matematik are
Canadian Tire, Canada's largest hardgoods retailer; Ahlsell AB, a market-leading
wholesale company that provides plumbing, heating, and electrical supplies in
Sweden; Albert Heijn, the Dutch subsidiary of Ahold, one of the largest grocery
chains in the world, and Norsk Medisinaldepot (NMD), Norway's largest wholesale
distributor of drugs and hospital supplies.
The strategic alliance with Industri-Matematik is another example of IBM's
commitment to go-to-market with leading independent software vendors through its
PartnerWorld for Developers program (www.developer.ibm.com). These alliances
target industries such as financial services, retail, manufacturing, and
solution segments including enterprise resource planning, supply chain
management, customer relationship management and business intelligence. The goal
is to provide developers with access to new customers and revenue opportunities
through IBM's marketing, sales and solutions resources, and in return developers
commit to lead with IBM's middleware, server platforms and services.
PartnerWorld for Developers also offers the IBM Application Framework for
e-business, a technology roadmap - based on industry standards - that helps
developers integrate Internet technologies with traditional information
technology. MQSeries messaging middleware is among the strategic products within
the IBM Application Framework for e-business, and Industri-Matematik will
continue to incorporate it into its product offerings.
Industri-Matematik VIVALDI software provides customer relationship management
(CRM), fulfillment, replenishment and supply chain event management capabilities
for retail, wholesale/distribution and manufacturing companies. VIVALDI provides
total visibility of e-business transactions across a trading community to manage
high-volume fulfillment with increased reliability and velocity. It integrates
contact center and logistics operations to provide customers and suppliers with
web access to the real-time status of orders. VIVALDI also allows contact center
agents to leverage current order status information to proactively address
customer delivery issues as well as "cross-sell" and "up-sell" product.
About IBM PartnerWorld for Developers
Software application developers receive support from IBM's PartnerWorld for
Developers - a worldwide program designed to help software developers reach
broad markets, lower their costs of doing business and take their products to
market faster.
About IBM
IBM is the world's largest information technology (IT) company and provider of
IT services, as well as a preeminent technology partner to the world's financial
services industry. Working directly with its financial services customers, IBM
helps them become more competitive through the innovative deployment of
high-impact solutions. These solutions comprise the full range of IBM
capabilities including consulting, software, hardware, research and services.
Additional information can be found at www.ibm.com/solutions/supplychain.
About Industri-Matematik
Industri-Matematik International Corp. (www.im.se) provides high-performance
fulfillment and customer service software solutions for B2B and B2C e-commerce.
Its applications help companies achieve a Zero Inventory/100 Percent Visibility
business model by replacing inventory with information to improve collaboration
within a trading community and speed the movement of goods across a supply
chain. Customers include market-leading companies such as British Airways,
Canadian Tire, Carlton & United Breweries, Ericsson, FedEx Corp., Starbucks and
Warner/Elektra/Atlantic as well as B2B and B2C e-commerce companies, including
CoShopper.com, Electronic Business Partners (EBP) and Yellowrent.com. |
