There Is No Debate: The Broad Accounts Payable Transformation Is Underway

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - October 7, 2008) - While Accounts Payable ("A/P") departments have typically lagged other functional areas in their use of automation to streamline processes and enable more broad-based changes, leading enterprises have been able to make the case for an investment in e-payables solutions and execute a strategy for success, reports Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), in its latest research effort, "E-Payables Benchmark Report: A/P Strategies for Success." To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=5310.

"Accounts payable operations continue to present one of the most compelling opportunities for improvement through process automation within the typical enterprise," states Andrew Bartolini, vice president of global supply management research, Aberdeen Group. "And, as more A/P departments continue to drive significant performance improvement while gaining a greater ability to evaluate their operations and the overall impact they can have on the larger enterprise, momentum for A/P transformation will continue."

Aberdeen's latest e-payables-focused report examined the use, experiences, and intentions of more than 450 distinct accounts payable departments and introduced the "Aberdeen E-Payables Framework" to assist CFOs, controllers, and accounts payable leaders in their drive for accounts payable excellence.

The report also highlights the strategies of leading accounts payable departments in case study format and highlights the key strategies employed by Best-in-Class enterprises to achieve the following advantages:

--  Invoice-processing costs that are, on average, 94% below their peers
--  Invoice-processing cycle times that are, on average, 88% faster than
    their peers
    

A complimentary edition of "E-Payables Benchmark Report: A/P Strategies for Success" report is available due to the underwriting support of 170Systems, Ariba, Datacap, DO2 Technologies, Inc., Metafile, Inc., and U.S. Bank PowerTrack. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=5310.

To access all of Aberdeen's complimentary research please visit http://research.aberdeen.com.

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.

© 2008 AberdeenGroup, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
451 D Street, Suite 710
Boston, Massachusetts  02210-1928
Telephone: (617)854-5200
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com

Contact Information: Contact: Andrew Bartolini Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5310 andrew.bartolini@aberdeen.com