FIAT Selects the Baan Company as Major Supplier
27 July 1998
FIAT Selects the Baan Company as Major Supplier for Enterprise Software
PUTTEN, The Netherlands and RESTON, Va., July 24 -- The Baan
Company N.V. announced today an extended
relationship with FIAT Auto. Based on the previous decision to implement
Baan's enterprise applications (for use by approximately 2,000 employees
within different sites at FIAT Auto), Baan's software has been selected as the
enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to address the globalization
issues at Fiat Auto. BaanERP will also provide the solution to support the
start of new operations (in areas like Russia, India, and South America) and
to cover common processes in the global market (such as the World Material
Flow application used today in Italy, Turkey, Poland, South America to manage
logistic processes driven by customer orders).
This agreement complements a relationship that began in 1996 and has been
extended continuously. It reflects the Baan Company's strong commitment to the
automotive industry and supports the company's approach to providing advanced
solutions for this market.
FIAT Auto has chosen the Baan Company as a strategic partner because of
the its experience in the automotive business, the underlying concepts and
functionality inherent within the Baan software, and the commitment by the
Baan Company to successfully implement the system.
With this agreement, FIAT Auto continues a policy that has brought Baan
enterprise applications to other segments of the FIAT Auto group like Comau,
Ferrari, New Holland and Teksid, where Baan is currently in the implementation
phase.
Tom Tinsley, CEO of the Baan Company commented that, "The automotive
industry -- from assemblers to all levels of suppliers -- is of strategic
importance to the Baan Company. As a demonstration of this commitment, Baan
Solution Center Automotive has adopted a global approach in serving the
specific needs of customer groups worldwide."
In addition, the Baan Company provides Dynamic Enterprise
Modeling-Strategy Execution (DEM(SE)) reference models that are specific to
automotive assemblers and suppliers. These reference models offer users "best
business practices" to guide users when defining their own business processes.
The use of the DEM(SE) reference models significantly reduces the time and
effort involved in the definition of such business processes using
conventional methods. The close link of the DEM(SE) reference models to the
the Baan Company's software components, used to support functions such as
purchase, sales, warehousing, production planning, contract management and
finance, enables the fast and flexible configuration and implementation of a
business-wide software solution.
Specific software components such as EDI and Cume Management are fully
integrated into the standard BaanERP solution. Continuous improvement and a
dedicated roll-out of requirements guarantee a state-of-the-art solution
within the BaanERP "evergreen" approach.
About the Baan Company
The Baan Company delivers its comprehensive enterprise-wide business
management software to companies requiring best-in-class business
capabilities. Its current products are fully Year 2000 compliant and are based
on a flexible, multi-tier, client/server architecture which can scale to meet
the needs of small, medium and large enterprises. More than 3,000 companies
use Baan in 5,000 sites world-wide. Baan's products uniquely support
continuous business improvements through its capability for Dynamic Enterprise
Modeling.
Founded in 1978, Baan has dual Headquarters in Putten, The Netherlands and
Reston, Virginia. The Company's Common Stock is registered on the Nasdaq Stock
Market under the symbol BAANF and on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange under the
symbol BAAN.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on
current expectations, estimates and projections about the industries in which
the Company operates, management's beliefs and assumptions made by management.
These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain
risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual
outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or
forecasted in such forward-looking statements in this press release. Factors
that could cause or contribute to such differences include but are not limited
to the following: potential complications and delays in the implementation of
the application software, the dependence upon third parties who may assist in
implementation of software, the challenges of supporting global customer
needs, the year 2000, dependence on key personnel, ability to enforce
intellectual property rights, and currency fluctuations.
NOTE: "Baan" is a registered trademark of, and any trade, product, or
service name referenced in this release using the name "Baan" is a trademark
and/or property of, the Baan Company. All other trade, product, or service
names referenced in this release may be trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective holders.