Alexandria, VA (October 4, 2001) - The Worldwide Retail Exchange (WWRE), the premier business-to-business exchange for retailers and suppliers, today announced the commercial launch of the WWRE Collaborative Planner, version 2.0, to all 58 Exchange members and their trading partners. This follows the successful completion of the Exchange's controlled launch, which was one of the largest web-based implementations of VICS-CPFR®* in the retail industry.

"The WWRE Collaborative Planner, powered by i2 Technologies, Inc., is designed to allow retailers and suppliers to contribute to their bottom line by sharing information on strategic plans, sales and order forecasting and replenishment - maximizing the capabilities of the WWRE. The targeted result is a reduction in safety stock, rush orders, and the domino effect of compensating for the unknown - avoiding empty shelves during promotions, " explained Don Norman, chief information officer for the WWRE. "Importantly, suppliers can view retailer order forecast data, which allows them to conduct business with superior information."

"By implementing i2's CPFR® solution, the exchange is poised to meet and exceed the demands of both retailers and suppliers," said Terry Turner, i2 senior vice president, Consumer Goods and Retail. "Based on a flexible architecture that supports e-marketplaces, the i2 solution can provide support not only for standard collaborations for procurement, logistics and demand management, but also for customized collaborations for any number of business processes."

Since March 2001, the WWRE has been piloting its CPFR® solution and began conducting a controlled launch in June. Twelve active trading relationships between 11 retailers and nine suppliers resulted in controlled launch participants' collaboration on the trading of 480 items over 45 distribution centers throughout Asia, Europe and the U.S. A wide variety of products, including 'direct' and 'indirect' goods, were included in the controlled launch such as hygiene products, foods and beverages, electronics, over the counter drugs and apparel.

Results from the controlled launch show that participants experienced significant improvements in their business processes, largely due to the value of data visibility between retailers and suppliers. Measurable results to date include reduced delivery time by 25 percent, a 33 percent decrease in safety stock, improvements in in-stock supply by 20-25 percent, and increased forecast accuracy by 30-35 percent.

Many of the participants involved also cited improvements in their business processes that are difficult to quantify. Safeway Inc., a company involved in the CPFR® controlled launch, found that the product helped drive sales by raising customer satisfaction.

"Closer collaboration with our suppliers on promotions ensures that we have the right products at the right time and price for our customers," said Linda Nordgren, corporate marketing director for Safeway. "Providing our customers with the best possible value is always Safeway's primary concern. The WWRE's CPFR® solution has improved levels of communication with our suppliers and directly benefits our customers."

The Exchange is supplementing its WWRE Collaborative Planner with various tools and services, such as a CPFR® Implementation Guide and a Member Adoption Process (MAP). The Implementation Guide is an online reference manual that consists of proven methodology, tools, templates and a roadmap to a successful implementation. Through MAP, the WWRE assesses members' business and technology environments and then prescribes a customized implementation plan and CPFR® strategy for members. The service also supports member adoption of the CPFR® solution and ensures a rapid transition to member self-sufficiency.

About the WWRE
The WWRE is the premier Internet-based business-to-business exchange in the retail e-marketplace. The Exchange was created with the fundamental purpose of reducing costs and improving efficiencies throughout the supply chain, employing product and service solutions typical of a global procurement and supply operation. Designed to facilitate and simplify trading between retailers, suppliers, partners and distributors, the WWRE currently consists of 58 retail industry members from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America with combined sales of over U.S. $830 billion. To date, the WWRE has saved its members over $155 million through the use of online negotiations, its first product offering. For more information, visit the website at www.wwre.org or www.worldwideretailexchange.org.

*A registered trademark of the Voluntary Inter-industry Standards Association

For more information:
Laura Battle
Edelman Public Relations Worldwide
312/233.1374
laura.battle@edelman.com

Larisa Myles Spillman
Edelman Public Relations Worldwide
312/297.7440
larisa.spillman@edelman.com

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