Acsis Serialized Track and Trace Helps Customers Meet Mandates and Regulations While Achieving Return on Investment.

Solution Manages Orchestration and Integration for Each Step of Serialization and Tracking Processes

MARLTON, N.J. -- Acsis, Inc., the leader in connecting people, devices and supply chains with business systems, today announced the availability of Acsis Serialized Track and Trace (ST&T). The new solution, built for manufacturers, distributors and retailers, facilitates regulatory and retail-mandated compliance; improves product integrity, inventory management, product movement visibility and intelligence; and ensures better risk management by orchestrating, automating and tracking intra- and inter-enterprise movement of finished goods through the use of serialized linear and 2D barcodes and RFID tag technology.

The Healthcare Distribution Management Association (HDMA) reports that the pharmaceutical industry incurs $2 billion a year in returns and product losses while incurring another $2 billion annually in costs associated with processing returns, expirations and recalls and yet another $2 billion a year to counterfeiting and diversion. Meanwhile, inventory shrinkage, a combination of employee theft, shoplifting, vendor fraud and administrative error, cost United States retailers billions of dollars each year, according to a National Retail Security Survey report on retail theft. Chain-of-custody and track-and-trace technologies help reduce the staggering costs associated with reverse logistics, product loss, inventory shrinkage, counterfeiting, diversion and expiration.

Acsis Serialized Track and Trace is a comprehensive solution consisting of a process automation platform, appliances for managing device orchestration and integration, analytics integration capabilities and end-to-end services, from a single vendor/point of contact. It aides companies in monitoring and measuring chain-of-custody activities, to reduce costs associated with product loss and counterfeiting. At the same time, Acsis ST&T enables customers to meet the RFID retail mandates set forth by Wal-Mart, Target and Albertson's, the Department of Defense RFID mandate, as well as ensures compliance with regulatory standards such as The U.S. Congress' Prescription Drug Marketing Act (PDMA) and state pedigree laws.

Acsis ST&T offers the following capabilities:

* Supply chain improvements associated with real-time product visibility including shipment reconciliation with customer receipts, dwell-time analysis, inventory planning, production forecasting and others

* Facilitation of intra- and inter-enterprise data sharing, collaboration and analytics

* Support for e-Pedigree and chain-of-custody documentation, authentication, anti-counterfeiting

* Unprecedented product movement visibility and intelligence

* Automation and tracking of finished goods movement and storage from receiving of inventory to the picking, packing and shipping processes, through warehousing and retailing

* Automation of the finished product serialization process in the manufacturing packaging and warehouse pack functions

* Serialized linear and 2D barcodes and RFID tag labeling

* Serialized aggregation of n-tiers of product hierarchy--item, case and pallet, and management of the associated parent-child relationships

* Real-time integration and orchestration for all devices--including printers, conveyors, barcode scanners, RFID readers, PLCs, etc.

* Utilization of HF and UHF tags, readers and devices from a wide range of vendors

More than 30 of Wal-Mart's top 100 suppliers are Acsis ST&T customers. Acsis has also provided a fully integrated and automated ST&T solution for a large pharmaceutical and life sciences customer including the pre-tagging of corrugate cartons remotely at the carton supplier during the manufacturing process and case-to-pallet aggregation in the packaging process. Since implementation at this customer, Acsis has extended the ST&T solution to a number of additional product lines further increasing the return on investment.

"Organizations in the consumer products or pharmaceutical industries are looking for an intelligent way to meet industry mandates and regulations that will also deliver value to their organizations," said Andre Pino, chief marketing officer, Acsis, Inc. "Our serialized track and trace solution offers significant opportunity to get ahead of the curve because it is the only solution that offers completely automated and integrated track and trace capabilities from a single vendor. It is also scalable, enabling our technology to grow with the business."

About Acsis

Acsis, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Marlton, NJ. Acsis is a global enterprise software and services provider that automates manufacturing and supply chain processes enabling higher throughput at lower costs. With implementations in 28 countries Acsis provides a single platform that connects people, devices, and supply chains, enabling adaptive manufacturing and supply chain operations. Acsis is an SAP Services Partner, SAP Technology Partner and charter member of SAP's Enterprise Services Community. Acsis also maintains partnerships with major service and hardware providers. Acsis is an EPCglobal member and early adopter of RFID technologies. Acsis is a partner company of Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. For additional information, visit us at www.acsisinc.com.

About Safeguard

Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE), a holding company, builds value in growth-stage technology and life sciences businesses. We provide growth capital as well as a range of strategic, operational and management resources to our partner companies. Safeguard participates in growth buyout financing, including corporate spin-outs and management buyouts, expansion financings, industry consolidations and early-stage financing. www.safeguard.com.