Cincinnati Bell Selects Telcordia Inventory Manager To Manage Inventory Assets.

Business & Technology Editors

MORRISTOWN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 29, 2000

Telcordia(TM) Inventory Manager Provides Enhanced

Inventory Optimization, Real-Time Parts Location

Communications software and solutions provider Telcordia Technologies, Inc. today announced that Cincinnati Bell Telephone, a subsidiary of Broadwing Inc., has selected Telcordia(TM) Inventory Manager as its asset management solution, to maintain network inventory levels at approximately 80 Cincinnati Bell locations supporting more than one million access lines.

Telcordia Inventory Manager is a leading inventory management offering that focuses on the special needs of telecommunication service providers. Events such as technology upgrades (circuit to packet or 2G to 3G), regulatory requirements and customer-driven demands for new types of service affect how service providers manage their inventory. Telcordia Inventory Manager addresses these issues by providing front-end interfaces to Network OSS systems, using standard location/equipment coding, by incorporating TCIF barcode standards and by interfacing to provisioning, procurement systems and telecommunications-oriented repair vendors.

For many companies today, effective management of assets found in a warehouse or field location are critical to maximizing a company's capital investment. Telcordia Inventory Manager helps to maximize asset usage, replenishment, and repair.

"We selected Telcordia Inventory Manager because customer satisfaction is our first and foremost priority. It provides real-time access to plug-in inventory information for quick service provisioning and improved customer service," said Dennis Hinkel, vice president of Network Planning, Engineering and Construction for Cincinnati Bell. "To keep pace with the tremendous demand for new service requests, spare inventory is dispersed across field locations, central offices, switching centers, maintenance garages and vehicles. This requires inventory to be managed locally and interactively, with rapid turn-around time. Telcordia Inventory Manager will provide improved tracking and management of our plug-in inventories, which means increased operational efficiencies, increased accuracy and more efficient delivery of service to the customer."

"At Telcordia, we have designed an inventory management solution that will support rapid response to customer demands for new service or repair," said David Leonard, vice president and general manager of Network Design & Inventory, Telcordia Technologies. "In the current competitive marketplace, companies need to manage their inventory efficiently. Inventory Manager can help companies be efficient and lower expenses associated with excess inventory."

"Carriers also need to keep track of their assets to meet the timely requests for service from a dynamic customer base," Leonard continued. "Inventory Manager plays a critical role in the provisioning process by keeping track of physical assets."

Telcordia Inventory Manager provides complete systems integration into the supply chain, with optional interfaces including force management; planning and forecasting; e-business procurement; ERP, continuing property records systems, accounting and billing; and provisioning. The system also allows for tracking shipments coming from or going to repair vendors.

About Telcordia Technologies, Inc.

Telcordia Technologies, Inc., an SAIC company, is one of the world's largest providers of operations support systems, network software and consulting and engineering services to the telecommunications industry. The Telcordia software organization, comprised of Operations Support Systems and Service and Business Management Systems, has been ISO 9001-certified and has been assessed at Level 5, the highest level of the Capability Maturity Model(R), an industry standard for measuring software development processes that was developed by the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. A leader in the development of Next Generation Network technologies, Telcordia employs more than 6,500 professionals and has revenues of more than $1.5 billion. Telcordia (www.telcordia.com) is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, US with offices throughout the United States, Europe, Central and South America and Asia Pacific.

(R) Capability Maturity Model is a registered trademark of Carnegie Mellon University