80% of Companies Indicate Dissatisfaction With Their Existing Supply Chain Technology

Best-in-Class Companies Are 2X More Likely to Have Standardized on a Common Supply Chain Platform Through ERP and Supply Chain Software

 | Quelle: Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

BOSTON, MA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- February 1, 2007 -- Packaged supply chain applications are turning a corner in the automotive, aerospace and defense industries. This is according to a new benchmark report from Aberdeen, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), on 105 automotive, aerospace and defense industry companies.

"80% of companies surveyed indicate dissatisfaction with their existing supply chain technology," says Nari Viswanathan, Research Director, Supply Chain, at Aberdeen Group. "Part of the reason for dissatisfaction lies in the fact that the vast majority of automotive, aerospace, and defense companies run major parts of their supply chain operations on custom or in-house developed technology. Many of these companies are now looking to their ERP vendors or other packaged software providers to help them with the technology needed to enable supply chain transformation and more flexibly adopt to changing business requirements."

Best-in-Class automotive, aerospace, and defense companies are much more likely than their peers to have standardized on a common supply chain platform through ERP and supply chain software. Aberdeen defines the Best in Class as the top 20% of companies with the lowest average finished goods inventory levels, lowest order to delivery lead-times, and the lowest supply chain costs as a percentage of sales revenue.

Best-in-Class companies are: 

--  3X less likely to have manual or spreadsheet intensive supply chain
    processes
--  2X more likely to have standardized on a common, company-wide supply
    chain platform
Top Technology Investment Areas

As supply chains become more global and dynamic, companies are looking to increase their technology capabilities: 

--  Nearly three out of 10 automotive, aerospace, and defense companies
    are seeking to partner with their ERP vendor or best of breed supply chain
    vendor to create net new innovations for their supply chain.
--  73% of companies with revenue of over USD$1 billion plan to spend more
    than $250,000 in 2007 for new supply chain technology projects.
--  Top areas of technology investment: supply chain visibility, order
    management, supplier collaboration, and inventory management
The report is made available through the underwriting of: Infor, WaerSystems, CMS Software, and Syncron. Please download a complimentary copy of the report, "Globalization: The Turning Point for Packaged Supply Chain Applications," at: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=3866

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.

Contact Information: Media Contact: Nari Viswanathan Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5293 Nari.viswanathan@aberdeen.com

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