Because of the highly complex nature of the solutions we provide, our clients demand significant competence and experience from a variety of different business disciplines during the sales cycle. As such, we utilize a selected member of our senior executive team to lead the design and proposal development of each potential new client we choose to pursue. The senior executive is supported by a select group of highly experienced individuals from our professional services group with specific industry knowledge or experience to the solutions development process. We employ a team of highly trained implementation managers whose responsibilities include the oversight and supervision of client projects and maintaining high levels of client satisfaction during the transition process between the various stages of the sales cycle and steady state operations.

Technology

     We maintain advanced management information systems and have automated key business functions using on-line, real-time systems. These systems enable us to provide our clients information concerning sales, inventory status, customer payments and other operations that are essential for our clients to efficiently manage their electronic commerce and supply chain business programs. Our systems are designed to scale rapidly in order to handle the transaction processing demands of our clients.

     We employ technology from a selected group of partners, some of whom are also our clients. For example, we deploy IBM e-servers and network printers in appropriate models to run web site functions as well as order management and distribution functions. We utilize Avaya Communication for telephone switch and call center management functions and to interact with customers via voice, e-mail or chat. Avaya Communication technology also allows us to share web pages between customers and our service representatives. We have the ability to transmit and receive voice, data and video simultaneously on a single network connection to a customer to more effectively serve that customer for our client. Clients’ interest in using this technology stems from its ability to allow shoppers to consult with known experts in a way that the customer chooses prior to purchasing. Our sophisticated computer-telephony integration has been accomplished by combining systems software from IBM and Avaya Communication together with our own application development. We use AT&T for our private enterprise network and long distance carrier. We use J.D. Edwards as the software provider for the primary ERP applications that we use in our operational areas and financial areas. We use Ecometry as the software provider for the primary multi-channel direct marketing application we deploy for our catalog and direct marketing clients. We use Siemens Dematic/Rapistan Materials Handling Automation for our automated order selection, automated conveyor and “pick-to-light” (inventory retrieval) systems, and Symbol Technologies/Telxon for our warehouse radio frequency applications. Our Warehouse Management System (“WMS”) and Distribution Requirements Planning (“DRP”) system have been developed in-house to meet the varied unique requirements of our vertical markets. Both the WMS and DRP are tightly integrated to both the North American and European deployments of our J.D. Edwards’ system.

     Many internal infrastructures are not sufficient to support the explosive growth in e-business, e-marketplaces, supply chain compression, distribution channel realignment and the corresponding demand for real-time information necessary for strategic decision-making and product fulfillment. To address this need, we have created the Entente Suite, which is a comprehensive suite of technology services, with supporting software and hardware infrastructure, that enables companies with little or no e-commerce infrastructure to speed their time to market and minimize resource investment and risk, and allows all companies involved to improve the efficiency of their supply chain. The Entente Suite is comprised of four distinct service offerings — EntenteWeb, EntenteDirect, EntenteMessage, and EntenteReport — that can stand alone or be combined for a fully customized e-commerce solution depending on the level of direct involvement a company wants to maintain in their e-commerce initiative.

     The components of the Entente Suite provide the open platform service infrastructure that allows us to create complete e-commerce solutions with our customers. Using the various services of the Entente Suite, we can assist our clients in easily integrating their web sites or ERP systems to our systems for real-time transaction processing without regard for their hardware platform or operating system. This high-level of systems integration allows our clients to automatically process orders, customer data and other e-commerce information. We also can track information sent to us by the client as it moves through our systems in the same manner a carrier would track a package throughout the delivery process. Our systems enable us to track, at a detailed level, information received, transmission timing, any errors or special processing required and information sent back to the client. The transactional and management information contained within our systems is made available to the client quickly and

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