Chemical Transportation Giant, Odfjell, Implements SumTotal Systems to Ensure Readiness of Globally Distributed Workforce.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 2004

SumTotal Systems (Nasdaq:SUMT), the industry's largest provider of learning and business performance technologies, services and processes, today announced that Odjfell, the global leader in chemical transport, storage and related logistical services, has chosen SumTotal technology to build Odfjell Common Competence, a learning initiative designed to ensure employee readiness in critical areas throughout the company.

The Odfjell Common Competence program will support the company's pursuit of certified Safety & Quality Management Systems (SQMS), ensuring that all employees -- no matter where they are located in the company's worldwide organization -- are actively contributing to improving performance and SQMS procedures. Common Competence will establish a common learning culture for Odfjell worldwide, deliver consistent information and best practices to all employees, and provide the right information at the greatest time of need so that employees are able to do their jobs safely, accurately and effectively.

"Our corporate mission is to continue developing our position as a leading logistic service provider to the chemical industry by offering safe, reliable and efficient services in keeping with the highest quality, safety and environmental standards," said Brit A. Bennett, vice president of human resources for Odfjell. "To achieve this, we expect our employees to be responsible for the quality of their own work, to know their responsibilities and the applicable procedures to make sure that no activities are overlooked or omitted by mistake, and to contribute proactively towards continuous quality improvements."

To drive this level of readiness, Odfjell will use the SumTotal Enterprise Suite, including the TotalLMS, Total LCMS and TotalPerformance modules, to create, deliver, manage and measure targeted learning activities covering corporate policy, procedures and culture, as well as business, language and technical training. The company also will use the suite's in-depth functionality to align the skills and competencies of different job roles with specific business objectives, delivering targeted, specialized training to employees based on function.

"SumTotal was able to provide a solution that both supported our corporate imperatives and made it easy to move to a Web-based learning initiative," said Bennett. "The suite smoothly integrates into our current technology infrastructure and the modular platform will allow us to change and adapt the solution as our needs grow. We anticipate that the technology will have a long-term, significant impact on the productivity of our employees."

"Changing economic conditions, fluctuating prices and the ongoing pressure to meet environmental, health and safety standards, make it a challenge to increase competitive advantage in the global chemical services marketplace," said Andy Eckert, SumTotal CEO. "We know that a highly skilled, knowledgeable workforce is essential to both improving business performance and mitigating risk in companies like Odfjell, so we have designed our solutions to significantly reduce time-to-readiness in critical job functions throughout the enterprise in order to give them that important edge."

About Odjfell

Odfjell is a leading company in the global market of transporting and storing of chemicals and related logistical services. The fleet totals 89 ships, trading both globally and regionally, of which 47 are owned by the group. Odfjell additionally owns and operates tank terminals and tank containers.

About SumTotal Systems, Inc.

SumTotal Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:SUMT) is the business performance and learning technology industry's largest single provider of technologies, processes and services. Formed by the merger of industry pioneers Docent and Click2learn, the company is uniquely focused on helping organizations harness and manage mission-critical intellectual power to solve real-world business problems and produce significant bottom-line results. SumTotal has helped accelerate performance and profit for more than 600 of the world's best-known companies, including Microsoft, Cingular Wireless, Vodafone, Lucent, Accenture, Cendant, Harley-Davidson, Wyeth, Wachovia and D & B. SumTotal Systems is headquartered in Mountain View, CA, with offices throughout the US, as well as London, Paris, Heidelberg, Sydney, Tokyo and Hyderabad, India.

Safe Harbor Statement/ Forward-Looking Statements 

Information in this press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about future business operations, industry leadership, financial performance and viability, customer benefits, timing and features of our product offerings, acceptance of our solutions, expected innovation, and other potential benefits and synergies to be derived from the transaction and other market conditions that include risks and uncertainties. These statements are not historical facts or guarantees of future performance or events and are based on current expectations, estimates, beliefs, assumptions, goals and objectives, and SumTotal Systems does not assume any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future results and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by these statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, (i) the challenges and costs of integration and restructuring and the ability to achieve anticipated synergies associated with the recent merger; (ii) an emerging and rapidly evolving market, (iii) market uncertainty with respect to the merger and acceptance of SumTotal System's product offerings by customers and partners; (iv) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (v) delays or reductions in information technology spending; (vi) the ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees; (vii) intense competition in the marketplace and (viii) other events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in SumTotal Systems' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the joint proxy statement/prospectus on Form S-4 filed under the name Hockey Merger Corporation.