Bausch & Lomb to Use viaLink Data Synchronization Service.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 2002

The viaLink Company (OTCBB:VLNK) said today that Bausch & Lomb (NYSE:BOL), the preeminent global healthcare company for the eye, will use viaLink's syncLink(R) service to synchronize product, price and promotion information with its trading partners. The Rochester, NY-based company's products are available in more than 100 countries around the world.

"At Bausch & Lomb, we are committed to helping our customers better serve their customers by finding easier and faster ways to purchase, manage and market our eye care products," said Michael Brandow, Bausch & Lomb vice president of OTC/Rx Corporate Accounts. "Bausch & Lomb is looking forward to providing customers with the benefits offered by the syncLink service. With the syncLink application as the backbone of our electronic business platform, Bausch & Lomb and our trade partners should be able to reduce costs related to item data entry and maintenance and direct our efforts toward activities that build sales for our customers."

"Eye care products represent yet another important new product category for viaLink as we continue to broaden the range of items that make up our synchronized database," said Warren D. Jones, viaLink's chief executive officer. "Synchronization has broad appeal across the retail industry as leading manufacturers, such as Bausch & Lomb, increasingly recognize the value of using synchronized product data with their retail trading partners through a single electronic connection."

Bausch & Lomb Incorporated is the preeminent global technology-based healthcare company for the eye, dedicated to helping consumers see, look and feel better through innovative technology and design. Its core businesses include soft and rigid gas permeable contact lenses, lens and general eye care products, ocular vitamins, ophthalmic surgical and pharmaceutical products. The company is advantaged with some of the most respected brands in the world starting with its name, Bausch & Lomb(R), and including SofLens66(TM), PureVision(TM), Boston(R), ReNu(R), and Ocuvite(R). Founded in 1853 in Rochester, N.Y., where it continues to have its headquarters, the company has pro-forma annual revenues of approximately $1.7 billion and employs approximately 12,000 people in 35 countries. Bausch & Lomb products are available in more than 100 countries around the world. Additional information about the company can be found on Bausch & Lomb's Worldwide Web site at http://www.bausch.com.

The viaLink Company (OTCBB:VLNK) provides advanced e-commerce services to the retail/CPG and foodservice industries. We help progressive suppliers, distributors and retailers improve their supply chain efficiency, increase sales and serve their customers more effectively. For more information about viaLink's data synchronization, scan based trading and supply chain visibility solutions, call 972/934-5500 or visit viaLink's website: www.vialink.com.