News from Business Wire

GS1 Awarded Auchan and Soft Solutions the Innovation Prize for their PIM Data Synchronization Implementation Project

Thursday, December 21, 2006

SAN BRUNO, Calif. (Business Wire) -- Auchan Group, the world's 9th largest food retailer, and Soft Solutions, global provider of retail merchandising and marketing solutions, were awarded the GS1 Special Jury Prize, on October 24, 2006, for their innovative implementation of Soft Solutions' data synchronization solution, ibs DATA SYNC.

SOFT SOLUTIONS' IBS DATA SYNC DELIVERS RAPID, MEASURABLE RESULTS

In less than 6 months, Auchan and Soft Solutions deployed ibs DATA SYNC, improved data quality, reduced data integration time and cost, and strengthened the relationships between Auchan and its suppliers. Today, with ibs DATA SYNC, Auchan automates at least 60% of their item and supplier listing process, thus improving time to market for new items. This represents over 200,000 items and growing. Auchan is planning to rollout the solution to other countries and banners.

MEASURABLE RESULTS IN LESS THAN SIX MONTHS

ibs DATA SYNC was selected because of application's ability to easily adapt to differing supplier requirements based on GS1 data standards. "Soft Solutions is a partner who is reactive and capable of addressing our business needs rapidly. Their multiple client references, project methodology and the professional commitment of its team were key success factors in our project," comments Daniel Malouf, CIO of Auchan Group. "We greatly appreciate working with the Soft Solutions' team, whose true passion for the retail business and understanding of our strategic challenges assisted us enormously," adds Malouf.

LEADERSHIP FROM A GLOBAL RETAILER RECOGNIZED BY GS1

The General Director of GS1 France, Pierre Georget, praised Auchan and Soft Solutions' leadership in their support of the GS1 global standards initiatives and their implementation of a GS1 certified solution. Georget stated that Auchan and Soft Solutions were awarded the GS1 Special Jury Prize in recognition of their leadership role in support of the global data synchronization movement.

SOFT SOLUTIONS AT NRF'S RETAIL BIG SHOW in NEW YORK IN JANUARY 2007

Come and see a demo of ibs DATA SYNC solution at Soft Solutions' booth #3154 at NRF 2007 Retail's Big Show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York.

ABOUT SOFT SOLUTIONS

With more than 80,000 active users worldwide, Soft Solutions is a leading provider of web-based retail merchandise management and decision support software. Our customers are multi-divisional, multi-format Tier 1 retailers including Carrefour, Auchan, Group Louis Delhaize, Kingfisher, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute, and Galeries Lafayette. The Soft Solutions Suite conforms to the latest industry and technology standards, including GS1, and is compatible with multiple databases and industry application server packages. With consistent delivery of measurable top and bottom line business results, Soft Solutions is uniquely positioned to provide global best practices and industry-leading solutions for the fast paced, competitive environment of retailers worldwide. Visit our website at www.softsolutionsus.com.

ABOUT AUCHAN

In the space of 44 years, Auchan has grown into the 9th largest food retailer with annual sales of over 50 billions USD in 2005. From the moment the first outlet in Roubaix, France opened its doors in 1961, Auchan has enjoyed continual expansion and is now established in 11 countries across the world with a workforce of 170,000. Auchan is founded on entrepreneurial spirit, customer satisfaction and empowering others. For more information on Auchan, please visit the website at www.auchan.com

Contact:
Karen Fast
Soft Solutions US
650-616-4217
fast.karen@softsolutionsus.com