GlobalNetXchange Announces Commercial Availability of GNX Collaborative Product Development Solution.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 17, 2002

Leading UK Grocery Retailer Sainsbury's Using Solution to

Streamline Private Label Product Development

GlobalNetXchange (GNX), the leading retail industry exchange serving both retailers and manufacturers, today announced the commercial launch of its Collaborative Product Development (CPD) solution, a workflow and specification management tool for private label grocery products.

Developed in association with Sainsbury's Supermarket's and QSA, the GNX CPD solution provides grocery retailers with a workflow tool for managing the entire product development cycle -- from concept to store shelf -- for private label items.

The tool can be used to streamline the development of food products, as well as non-food items based on a recipe, such as skincare and cleaning products. The application enables all parties involved in the process to work together in a real-time, collaborative environment to develop new private label products. Hosted by GNX, the application provides a project management system, configurable workflow, a central repository for all data and tools to facilitate communication among all participants.

Sainsbury's, a leading UK-based grocery retailer with over 460 stores across the United Kingdom, has been utilizing the GNX CPD solution in a phased implementation since January 2002. Sainsbury's is currently utilizing the platform to manage the development process for several own-brand products in beer, frozen food and skincare categories.

"Sainsbury's investment in GNX underscores our commitment to both quality and innovation. We view the GNX CPD solution as a powerful strategic and operational tool that will enable us to get our products on store shelves sooner, be first to market with innovative new products, and reduce the cost of product development," stated Stuart Mitchell, assistant managing director of Sainsbury's. "We believe that GNX CPD has the potential to deliver a 50% reduction in time to market, a 30% reduction in costs and a 20% increase in lifecycle revenues."

At the completion of the rollout throughout 2002/03, 100% of all Sainsbury's private label products, representing approximately 40% of Sainsbury's total product offering, will be developed on the GNX platform. Sainsbury's develops from scratch or improves the recipes of over 2700 products per year on average, a process involving dozens of Sainsbury's personnel and hundreds of suppliers, all of whom will be integrated into the new process.

"Bringing a new product to market is a complicated process, involving multiple parties -- from concept developers, chefs, manufacturers, buyers, and nutritionists, to the marketing department, design and reproduction house, as well as product safety and legal experts," said John Padgett, senior manager of B2B at Sainsbury's. "The GNX CPD solution centralizes the product data and development work plan, allowing all parties to access the information they need and complete tasks simultaneously. Everyone works off of the same version of information and the project stays on track."

"Private label is very important for retailers looking to drive higher margins and create competitive differentiation, but the creation and enhancement of private label products can be a time and resource intensive process - unless you have the right tools." said Joe Laughlin, chief executive officer of GNX. "The GNX CPD solution streamlines the development process for any product based on a recipe, offering real benefit to companies looking for a cost-effective way to improve private label product development and lifecycle management - including retailers of all sizes and manufacturers themselves."

About GlobalNetXchange

GlobalNetXchange, LLC is the retail industry exchange focused on customer success. GNX helps retailers and manufacturers streamline the processes at the core of their business and drive down costs across the entire supply chain. GNX equity partners include many of the world's largest retailers: Carrefour SA; Coles Myer Ltd.; Karstadt Quelle AG; The Kroger Co.; METRO AG; Pinault-Printemps-Redoute SA; J Sainsbury plc; and Sears, Roebuck and Co. More information is available at www.gnx.com or [phone].

About Sainsbury's

J Sainsbury plc is a leading UK and US food retailer with interests in financial services and property. The group comprises Sainsbury's Supermarkets and Sainsbury's Bank in the UK and Shaws Supermarkets and Star Markets in the US. Sainsbury's Supermarkets was established in 1869 by John James and Mary Ann Sainsbury and is Britain's longest-standing major food retailing chain.

Sainsbury's Supermarkets employs over 141,900 people. A large Sainsbury's Supermarket offers over 23,000 products -- 40% of these are Sainsbury's own brand. In addition to a wide range of quality food and grocery products, many stores offer bread baked on the premises, delicatessen, meat and fish counters, pharmacies, coffee shops, restaurants and petrol stations.

Sainsbury's Supermarkets serves over 10 million customers a week and has over 460 stores throughout the UK.

For further information:

J Sainsbury Group -- http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk

Sainsbury's Supermarkets -- http://www.sainsburys.co.uk

About QSA

QSA is a leading provider of integrated, product development and knowledge management software solutions for the food and grocery industry. QSA's success has been built upon the combination of real industry expertise and the application of leading-edge technologies to provide innovative solutions that address the business issues facing the food and grocery industry.