INTERSHOP INTRODUCES ENFINITY MULTISITE –
THE FIRST AND ONLY COMPREHENSIVE COMMERCE PLATFORM FOR GLOBAL BUSINESS
For the first time ever, companies with multiple business units can centrally manage site-specific commerce from a single platform
SAN FRANCISCO/BERLIN, November 27, 2001 - Intershop Communications (Nasdaq: ISHP; Neuer Markt: ISH), the established provider of commerce platforms for global business, today unveiled the next generation of its fully integrated e-commerce solutions to a select audience of leading commerce pioneers gathered in Berlin, Germany. Enfinity MultiSite is the basis for new products that have been added to the existing range of successful Enfinity solutions. For the first time, global businesses can use this new enterprise-class platform to manage their proliferating, commerce-enabled sites easily and efficiently. As companies tighten resources, organizations need solutions to manage the complexity of commerce, which can entail managing multiple business sites, divisions, geographies and practices. Enfinity MultiSite delivers a centralized management approach to a shared central repository of core e-business functionality, data, and security. Intershop estimates that this will serve to cut the cost of e-business by at least half, while more than tripling the efficiency of the processes.
First and Only Solution Ready for Multi-Site Commerce
When recently surveyed, 54 percent of the companies with more than $50 million in revenues reported having no less than six and as many as 20 or more externally facing sites (“IT Managers Omnibus – Q3,” Jupiter/ERI Executive Survey, October 2001). The complexity of managing this proliferation is one of the most common frustrations plaguing IT managers today.
Centralized management will enable global enterprises to leverage ready-to-use commerce functionality from a single common framework, including transaction management, order management, dynamic content management, as well as pre-built applications delivering B2B functionality including RFP and contract pricing or B2C including features such as promotions, and personalization.
“Enfinity MultiSite addresses the real complexities of commerce that must ultimately include various departments, geographies or business models,” explained Carol Baroudi, founding partner of Baroudi Group, Inc. “Intershop’s commerce management was designed to address complex, diverse markets and allows global enterprises a quick route to operational efficiencies. Intershop’s strong installed base in Europe attests to its robust capabilities and the value of a coherent, well designed architecture.”
The commerce landscape is perpetually evolving to support multiple business relationships and models. Using Enfinity MultiSite, companies are not restricted to centralized management, allowing for management at the business unit level or distributed model as well.
Built on leading standards-based technology, Enfinity MultiSite enables enterprises to create commerce efficiency, manage commerce complexity and provide comprehensive commerce.
Using Enfinity MultiSite, IT and business line managers can:
Use a single repository of core business functions, minimizing administration costs
Accelerate international growth through inheritance and extension
Ensure consistent worldwide content
Share business data based on complete security infrastructureEnable workflow across the enterprise
View commerce activity from multiple sites within a company and across companies via a centralized or highly distributed business model
Integrate with existing IT Infrastructure
Support for multiple business models such as sell-side commerce, procurement, marketplaces, mobile commerce, silent commerce and private trading networks
“Intershop understands the complexity global enterprises with multiple business units face, and the need for unified commerce management,” explained Stephan Schambach, CEO of Intershop. “Enfinity MultiSite delivers what global enterprises could only dream about before a 360-degree view of commerce, across business units and around the world.”
Intershop COO Wilfried Beeck adds: "It is important, especially in today's challenging economic environment, to offer customers solutions that help them to boost efficiency and that ensure a quick return on investment. Enfinity MultiSite starts out precisely where many global companies currently see their biggest challenge: in bundling their e-commerce activity on a consistent corporate platform."
Enfinity MultiSite will be available in December 1, 2001. For more information, please visit www.intershop.com.
Enfinity Content Management
Enfinity Content Management is one of the new business components in the Enfinity MultiSite offering. The central management facilitated by Enfinity Content Management, the first content management system seamlessly integrated into an e-commerce platform, ensures current, personalized and identical information across transaction levels at all times. By dovetailing commerce and content, it provides fast, qualified and comprehensive information to business clients and partners making business decisions. It also ensures a consistent brand image and allows for target-group specific marketing.
Enfinity Procurement Solution
In addition to their well-known sell-side cross-industry solutions for the B2C and B2B, electronic marketplace and the supplier industries, Intershop now offers a procurement solution. This further extends the MultiSite concept to extend beyond management of just sell-side, to include centralized management of a company’s entire commerce strategy. With this latest addition to Intershop’s e-business components, the procurement of goods and services can be electronically handled and managed, not only considerably reducing the costs of obtaining goods, but also saving companies time spent communicating orders through existing channels including fax, phone or mail. The Enfinity Procurement Solution seamlessly integrates procurement processes with other Enfinity solutions, enabling automation of the entire value chain for the first time ever.
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About Intershop
Intershop Communications (NASDAQ: ISHP; Neuer Markt: ISH) is the established provider of commerce platforms for global businesses. With the addition of Enfinity Multi-Site, enterprises are now able to manage multiple business units from a single commerce platform. The Intershop Enfinity commerce platform, combined with proven, flexible industry and cross-industry solutions, enables companies to optimize their business relationships, improve business efficiencies and cut costs to increase profit margins. By streamlining business processes, companies get faster ROI at a lower total cost of ownership, increasing the lifetime value of customers and partners. Intershop has more than 2,000 customers worldwide in retail, manufacturing, media, telecommunications and financial services. Customers including Bertelsmann, Motorola, Swarovski, Otto and BOSCH have selected Intershop’s Enfinity as the foundation for their global e-commerce strategy. More information about Intershop can be found on the Web at www.intershop.com.
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This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial and operational performance of Intershop. Actual events or performance may differ materially from those contained or implied in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that could lead to such difference could include, among other things: Intershop’s limited operating history, the unpredictability of future revenues and expenses and potential fluctuations in revenues and operating results, consumer trends, the level of competition, seasonality, the timing and success of international expansion efforts, risks related to electronic security, possible governmental regulation, and the ability to manage a rapidly growing business. Additional information regarding factors that potentially could affect Intershop’s business, financial condition and operating results is included in Intershop’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the company’s Form 20-F dated July 2, 2001.
© 2001 Intershop Communications. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners
