AccessVia Signs Staples For Web Printing Technology; Office Supply Superstore to Deploy Web dSignShop Enterprise-wide.

Business Editors/Technology Writers

AccessVia, the leading provider of retail sign printing and multichannel retail display solutions, today announced that Staples Inc. (Nasdaq:SPLS) has selected Web dSignShop(TM) as its in-store printing technology for over 1,300 stores.

AccessVia's Web dSignShop allows retailers to print promotional signs and shelf-edge labels from a central server using a corporate intranet or the Internet.

AccessVia's Web dSignShop will allow Staples to maintain a single server site for their entire enterprise -- simplifying deployment, maintenance and migration of the application. Staples will have central control of sign layouts and item content while giving individual stores the ability to print signs and labels using just a Web browser and existing printers. Corporate-designed templates and dynamic access to real-time corporate data ensure design consistency and sign accuracy across the enterprise.

"The Web-based architecture of Web dSignShop revolutionizes our in-store printing processes. We will increase our flexibility, simplify processes and reduce costs by centrally deploying and managing all aspects of the system," said Scott Floeck, SVP North American Retail and Corporate Systems, Staples. "Real time access to centralized content enhances our customer experience, by providing content rich product information that enables customers to make more informed product decisions."

AccessVia's Web dSignShop was awarded the 2002 Retail Application Developer (RAD) Award. The Microsoft(R) RAD Award highlights the most innovative Microsoft-based software solutions for the retail and supply chain industries.

"Web dSignShop connects with multiple data systems at Staples, making it easier to effectively communicate the value proposition to our customers," said Robert DiPietro, Director Visual Merchandising Systems & Process. "One click execution provides our associates with real-time access to item content and layouts using just a Web browser in the stores. New marketing initiatives can now be deployed across the chain in a fraction of the time."

"The Staples implementation is significant because of its size and considerable integration challenges," said Dean A. Sleeper, AccessVia CEO. "The system includes J2EE/HTML user interfaces, BEA Systems WebLogic on UNIX, IBM MQSeries messaging using XML for data access to the merchandising system and other data on the AS/400, an NT based planogram system, Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional rendering server, NT clients, Internet Explorer, Symbol hand-held devices, dual vendor printing devices . . . a veritable bouillabaisse of modern and legacy systems and devices. Despite these complexities, the user interface remains intuitive and easy to use. It's a unique combination of AccessVia's web-based rendering technologies, sophisticated enterprise back-end technology and store-friendly access."

The AccessVia Print solution includes both Web dSignShop and dSIGN to provide clients with accurate and attractive signs, shelf-edge labels, fact tags, coupons, and more. Web dSignShop is designed for enterprise and affiliated retailers who want to use the Internet, an intranet, or an extranet to publish signs using a Web browser without installing or maintaining in-store software. dSIGN is built for classic client/server implementations and offers advanced product data delivery and unmatched integration with legacy systems. Other solutions include AccessVia M-commerce, AccessVia Kiosk, AccessVia E-commerce, and AccessVia E-mail.

AccessVia's customers include major retailers such as Boscov's, Bed Bath & Beyond, Canadian Tire, Eckerd, Giant Eagle, PETCO, PETsMART, Safeway, Target, Tesco Lotus, Walgreens, and Wawa. About Staples Staples Inc. is an $11 billion retailer of office supplies, business services furniture, and technology to consumers and businesses from home-based businesses to Fortune 500 companies in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Portugal. Headquartered outside Boston, Staples invented the office superstore concept and today is the largest operator of office superstores in the world. The company has approximately 53,000 associates serving customers through more than 1,400 office superstores, mail order catalogs, e-commerce, and a contract business. More information about the company is available at www.staples.com.

About AccessVia

With AccessVia solutions, the nation's leading retailers transform the information in their product databases and use it in creative ways to communicate with their customers. AccessVia technologies enable automated consumer messaging, allowing retailers to reach buyers in stores, at kiosks, on the Web, by e-mail, via wireless devices -- wherever they are. AccessVia systems are built on a flexible architecture that allows retailers to extract data with precision, automate its presentation, and then communicate it artfully to a variety of purchase environments. Fortune 500 companies at over 25,000 stores reach their customers daily with AccessVia solutions. For more information, visit www.AccessVia.com.