BRIDGESTONE/FIRESTONE, INC. RETAIL DIVISION SELECTS LAWSON FINANCIAL SOFTWARE FOR ITS STORES; Lawson Package is Company's First Client/Server Application.

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--August 14, 1995--The retail division of Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., a leading manufacturer of tire and rubber products, is moving its financial and operations management systems from a mainframe environment to client/server applications from Lawson Software. The new applications will be the first client/server systems in any of Bridgestone/Firestone's 21 divisions.

The move to a client/server system will decentralize information processing from the corporate mainframe systems and move it to the Retail Division's district and zone offices. The new system is expected to improve management information and information access to end users. With the client/server system, district, zone and support-center associates across the division will now have on-line access to financial information.

During the evaluation process, Bridgestone/Firestone narrowed a field of nearly 100 software vendors to nine, including Lawson and J.D. Edwards, who were contacted for proposals. According to Project Manager Kay Stone, the company chose Lawson financial software because its features matched their requirements. "In the final analysis, Lawson offered competitively-priced financial software that blended very well with how we need to manage our business, and the package required less customization than other software," said Stone.

The Retail Division began the move to Lawson client/server financial applications on March 10, 1995 and expects to be live on all applications by July 1996. Included in the Lawson financial suite are general ledger, cost allocation/flexible budgeting, inventory control, purchase order, accounts payable, accounts receivable, order entry and project accounting modules. The Bridgestone/Firestone division chose a three-tiered client/server model in an open systems environment to replace existing mainframe applications.

According to Stone, the Retail Division decided to move to a new accounting and operations management system primarily to improve information availability to all areas of the business. Additionally, the new systems will enable the division to significantly reduce expenses and improve efficiency. "Improved access to information on a real-time basis will provide a critical benefit to our operations. The new systems, combined with concurrent operational changes, will move us into the 21st century. Once the system is operational, we expect to recover the investment within two years."

Lawson Software is a $70 million, full-service provider of enterprise-wide, client/server business application solutions, specializing in accounting, human resources, healthcare, and distribution and materials management. Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Minneapolis, the organization employs 600 professionals around the world. Offices are located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, London, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Toronto, and Washington, D.C., with affiliates in France, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.

Lawson was recently ranked among the leading client/server business application vendors by International Data Corporation and was listed among the top five vendors of client/server financial applications by Price Waterhouse LLP and InformationWeek.

Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. is a leading American manufacturer and retailer of tires for every application with annual sales of $5.7 billion. The company also produces tubes and retread products, synthetic rubber, fibers and textiles, and a diverse line of industrial products including air springs and building materials. Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., the company operates 12 tire plants and 20 other manufacturing facilities in North and South America. Among the major tire brands manufactured by the company are Firestone, Bridgestone, Dayton and Triumph. Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bridgestone corporation, one of the world's largest manufacturers of tires and rubber products with annual sales of $16 billion.

The Retail Division is one of the largest tire and automotive service providers in the United States with over 1,500 retail locations across the country. Its headquarters are located in Rolling Meadows Ill., with zone offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. -0-

Lawson is a registered trademark of Lawson Software. Other company and product names are the trademarks of their respective companies.

CONTACT: Richard Smith or Judith Vanderkay,

Rogers Communications [phone] or

Jan Cusumano, Lawson Software [phone]