Accenture and Vigilance, Inc. Form Strategic Alliance to Deliver Supply Chain Event Management Solutions; Accenture Technology Ventures Invests in Vigilance.

Business Editors

NEW YORK & PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 2001

Accenture, formerly Andersen Consulting, and Vigilance, Inc., a provider of supply chain management solutions to Fortune 1000 companies, today announced a strategic alliance to deliver integrated supply chain event management (SCEM) solutions to companies worldwide.

Accenture Technology Ventures, Accenture's venture capital unit, also announced that it has taken an equity stake in Vigilance for an undisclosed amount.

The alliance joins Accenture's global management and technology consulting capabilities with Vigilance's SCEM software to help companies improve their supply chain operations. A primary goal of the alliance is to offer companies the ability to protect their supply chains by building dependable systems accessible via the Internet that can help to counteract unforeseen events that can wreak havoc in a company.

"Vigilance is a well recognized, early pioneer of SCEM, which promises to be one of the critical elements in e-business's future," said John T. Kunzweiler, a general partner with Accenture Technology Ventures. "Vigilance's innovative SCEM approach has the potential to kick off a 'next generation' of supply chain management technology deployment."

Vigilance is an early pioneer of SCEM, which is anticipated to be the next wave in e-business. The market for SCEM systems is large; AMR Research predicts the SCEM market to exceed $1.2 billion by 2003 and that the supply-chain market segment in particular will be the fastest growing area of SCEM.

Specifically, Vigilance supplies SCEM applications that enable users to anticipate, define and personalize virtually any occurrence. These events can be as wide ranging as late orders in customer service to equipment malfunction in manufacturing management to supplier non-compliance in supplier management. Once there is an exception to the defined event, Vigilance's solution notifies in real-time all affected members of the community via the Internet or any wireless device. The application enables those affected members to collaborate in real-time and address the exception through its integrated tracking and workflow features. Users can employ Vigilance's analytical tools to identify recursive patterns triggering the exceptions throughout the global supply chain and constantly refine and improve their business processes.

"Increasingly the supply chain is being recognized as a driver of corporate strategy. The alliance with Vigilance is exciting for us because it gives Accenture access to a leading supply chain event management solution, and it provides Vigilance access to Accenture's worldwide implementation capabilities and knowledge-management to provide integrated global solutions to clients," said John Miller, a Partner in the global Supply Chain Practice at Accenture.

"SCEM is supply chain management's next frontier in supporting e-business strategies," said Michael Bittner, research director for AMR Research. "SCEM is the hot new supply chain application, so e-businesses looking to coordinate and control supply chain activities are supporting SCEM. Supply chain velocity and the need for micro level, real-time event, and exception information will drive the market for SCEM," he added.

"Companies are searching for ways to become more efficient, improve customer service, reduce costs and streamline business processes as they struggle to compete in today's fast-paced market," said Dr. Jonathan Golovin, CEO of Vigilance. "Vigilance and Accenture are poised to provide customers with a strong business advantage to help them grow and prosper," he added.

Accenture and Vigilance will work together in their sales and marketing efforts and leverage each other's portfolio of existing clients to foster accelerated growth and opportunities. Vigilance and Accenture have already been pursuing several opportunities under the alliance, with plans to target over 20 customers to use Vigilance's applications by the end of the year.

To celebrate the alliance, the companies are hosting an invitation only event at Accenture's Technology Center in Palo Alto today from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Speakers at the event include Dave Anderson, Partner, Accenture, Dr. Jonathan Golovin, CEO of Vigilance and Michael Bittner, research director for AMR Research. Invitees include the media, customers and partners of Vigilance and Accenture.

Editors: a recent report by Accenture in Management Today titled "eCollaboration" claims that even though Supply Chain accounts for 60 to 70% of all transactions in a company the Supply Chain continues to remain a blind spot for many CEOs. Copies of the report are available upon request.

About Vigilance, Inc.

Vigilance sells the first complete supply chain event management system that enables cross-enterprise collaboration on both the front and back end of organizational business processes. Founded in 1998 by Dr. Jonathan Golovin and Subhash Tantry, the company is known for its rapidly implemented and efficient solutions that provide closed-loop business process controls in use at numerous companies worldwide. The Vigilance client list includes Fortune 1000 companies such as 3Com, Seagate Technology, Compaq, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and LSI Logic. Vigilance is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., with offices across the United States and European headquarters in Amsterdam. More information about Vigilance can be found at www.vigilance.com.

About Accenture and Accenture Technology Ventures

Accenture, formerly known as Andersen Consulting, is a $10 billion global management and technology consulting organization. The firm is reinventing itself to become the market maker, architect and builder of the new economy, bringing innovations to improve the way the world works and lives. More than 70,000 people in 46 countries deliver a wide range of specialized capabilities and solutions to clients across all industries. Under its strategy, the firm is building a network of businesses to meet the full range of client needs -- consulting, technology, outsourcing, alliances and venture capital. Accenture's home page address is http://www.accenture.com. Renamed. Redefined. Reborn.

Accenture Technology Ventures, formerly known as AC Ventures, helps talented entrepreneurs build companies that can transform entire industries, create new markets and ultimately generate superior economic returns. Our portfolio includes more than 70 innovative companies that are building key components of tomorrow's infrastructure and improving the way the world works and lives. Launched in December 1999, Accenture Technology Ventures is the venture capital unit of Accenture. Its home page address is http://www.accenturetechventures.com.

On January 1, 2001 Andersen Consulting's name was changed to Accenture. Since August 7, 2000 Accenture has not been associated with Andersen Worldwide or Arthur Andersen.