GBG and Arete Deliver Best-In-Class Supply Chain Applications to Bottlers.

WATERLOO, Ontario -- Arete Inc. and GBG announced today that they will be partnering to provide world-class supply chain management applications to GBG's more than 750 beverage and snack distribution customers.

An Ontario-based company with offices throughout the US, GBG is the largest, most successful provider of sales and distribution software for Direct-Store-Delivery (DSD) of consumer packaged goods.

New Jersey-based Arete Inc. is the leading supplier of Demand Planning and Supply Planning applications for bottlers. With offices in NJ and Argentina, Arete continues to expand both its application portfolio and markets.

"Partnering with Arete supports our commitment to provide our customers with best-in-class solutions," said Bruce McIntyre, VP of Product and Marketing, GBG.

Lynn Barkalow, Executive Vice President, Nor-Cal Beverage Company and long-term user of GBG's host, SIMAS, applauded the Arete product suite. "We installed Avail, around 2000 and Prevail in 2002. We consider these applications to be a mandatory part of the DSD bottling-delivery application set," Barkalow noted. "In the past two years we have been looking at ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems. During the search process we learned that there are no better systems than SIMAS, Avail and Prevail available for our type of company - as bottlers," he said.

"Without question, Arete is the solution for bottlers in North America and around the world. Through this partnership, GBG can guarantee complete integration with GBG's Route Accounting Systems (RAS) as well as the next generation of DSD applications which are today being rolled out in the marketplace," said McIntyre.

"Arete, Inc. is very excited about our new partnership with GBG. GBG's products fit extremely well with the Arete suite of supply chain management applications. Together we will provide a full circle of data management and planning tools which will enable our clients to focus on process improvement and increasing profitability," added Chris Lauchner, Chief Operating Officer, Arete. "GBG's route accounting and inventory management products will be seamlessly connected to Arete Prevail, Demand Planning, and Avail, Supply Planning, applications creating a tremendous platform for success. This partnership will give our clients a significant competitive advantage while simultaneously making their work easier. We look forward to many years of mutual benefit in helping our clients effectively grow their businesses," noted Lauchner.

"This relationship is part of a major strategy on the part of GBG to empower all its customers with the latest operational solutions - helping them to reach world-class levels of performance in the DSD industry," concluded McIntyre.

About Arete Inc.

Arete Inc. is a privately held firm based in Pennington, New Jersey that is committed to delivering elegant supply chain management solutions. Since its inception in 1984, Arete has listened to the needs, requirements, and requests of hundreds of clients and has used that input to develop a suite of software that is powerful and tailored to meet the needs of many consumer packaged goods verticals. Arete has built its reputation on advanced, effective software design and implementation, as well as excellent product support. Arete, Inc. is the leader in Supply Chain management software for the carbonated soft drink industry. www.areteinc.com

About GBG

GBG is the largest, most successful and most experienced provider of sales and distribution software for the direct-store and direct-home-delivery of consumer packaged goods. GBG's solutions are used every day by approximately 700 organizations that distribute soft drinks, beer, wine & spirits, water, snacks, candy and tobacco. GBG is headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario with operations in Austin, TX; Charlotte, NC; Dallas, TX; Durham, NC; Denver, CO; Lancaster, PA; and San Diego, CA. www.gbg.com.