Indigo Books & Music Inc. Optimizes Customer Service and Product Availability Across Retail Operations with SAP

Indigo Books & Music Inc. Optimizes Customer Service and Product Availability Across Retail Operations with SAP

Leading Canadian Retailer Replaces Legacy IT Systems with SAP for Retail Industry Solution to Control Inventory, Improve Business Processes and Reduce Costs

TORONTO, May 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SAP Canada Inc., a subsidiary of SAP AG (NYSE:SAP), today announced that Indigo Books & Music Inc. (TSX: IDG), Canada's largest book retailer, has successfully implemented the company's first fully integrated IT business solution based on the SAP for Retail industry solution to unify operations, standardize processes and increase efficiency across its retail operations. Combining mySAP(TM) Business Suite solutions with a broad set of integrated retail applications, SAP for Retail enables Indigo to provide 'right product, right price, right place, right time' operational and inventory excellence while achieving overall cost reductions. The solution is now deployed at Indigo's multiple retail locations and delivery channels throughout Canada, which include 88 superstores, more than 170 mall stores and a successful online division.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050310/SFTH009LOGO-a )

"Our adoption of SAP software is a significant step in the ongoing transformation of our business," said Doug Caldwell, chief technology officer, Indigo Books & Music Inc. "SAP for Retail is driving significant efficiencies in our retail operations, lowering our cost of technology ownership and helping us achieve our goals for growth and organizational efficiency. We leverage SAP to address critical business processes such as inventory management, forecasting and replenishment, allowing the organization to focus completely on providing superb quality, selection and service to our customers."

Indigo's success using SAP(R) solutions to enhance efficiency and reduce costs is an important part of the retailer's mission to achieve enterprise-wide consistency while delivering the ultimate customer experience. Indigo Books & Music Inc., an SAP customer since 2002, has implemented a full range of SAP core enterprise applications and specialized software from the SAP for Retail solution, including merchandise assortment and planning, promotions and planning, retail business analytics and financials.

Each day, Indigo manages 70,000 to 100,000 titles at any given moment in its larger stores and approximately 25,000 titles in its smaller stores. When variables such as availability, demand and seasonal variance at 250 locations are factored into the equation, the total number of individual store/book combinations the new SAP system is required to manage is in the tens of millions.

"Indigo has made customer service a top priority, and fundamental to the success of that goal is the ability to routinely provide the right product, at the best price, at the time a customer wants to make a purchase," said Robert Courteau, president and managing director, SAP Canada Inc. "SAP's retail software aligns every aspect of Indigo's value chain-from forecasting and planning to allocation and replenishment-to meet and surpass its customers' expectations."

Indigo Books & Music Inc. at SAPPHIRE(R) '05 Boston

Gain insight into the future of service-enabled enterprise software and learn how enterprises such as Indigo are using SAP solutions to adapt to market changes, evolve their businesses and achieve competitive advantage at SAPPHIRE(R) '05, SAP's international customer conference, being held in Boston, Massachusetts, May 17 - 19. At SAPPHIRE, Indigo will be presenting its implementation of SAP for Retail on Wednesday, May 18th from 4:30 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. EDT in Consumer Products Theater 1.

About SAP for Retail

SAP for Retail is an industry solution portfolio that combines mySAP(TM) Business Suite solutions with integrated retail applications to help companies grow sales, reduce expenses and improve inventory productivity. With more than 400 customers using the SAP for Retail portfolio and 2,500 SAP customers in the retail industry worldwide, SAP is the leading provider of business software solutions for the retail industry. Supporting sophisticated processes such as forecasting and replenishment, merchandise management, multisite workforce deployment and point-of-sales data management, SAP for Retail enables retailers to achieve real-time visibility into enterprise-wide performance, customer demands and market trends. Built on the open and scalable SAP NetWeaver(TM) platform, SAP for Retail enables retailers to integrate existing applications and achieve business change more easily and cost-effectively. (Additional information at http://www.sap.com/retail/ )

About SAP

SAP is the world's leading provider of business software solutions*. Today, more than 27,000 customers in over 120 countries run more than 91,500 installations of SAP(R) software-from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small and midsize businesses to enterprise-scale suite solutions for global organizations. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver(TM) platform to drive innovation and enable business change, mySAP(TM) Business Suite solutions are helping enterprises around the world improve customer relationships, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across their supply chains and business operations. SAP industry solutions support the unique business processes of more than 25 industry segments, including high tech, retail, public sector and financial services. With subsidiaries in more than 50 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol "SAP." (Additional information at http://www.sap.com/ )

(*) SAP defines business software solutions as comprising enterprise resource planning and related software solutions such as supply chain management, customer relationship management, product life-cycle management and supplier relationship management.

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.

NOTE: SAP, R/3, mySAP, mySAP.com, xApps, xApp, SAP NetWeaver and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries all over the world. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Data contained in this document serve informational purposes only. National product specifications may vary.

For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:
Global Customer Center: +49-180-534-34-24
United States Only: 1-800-872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727)

For more information, press only:
Jodi Kasten, 416-218-6584, jodi.kasten@sap.com, EDT
Christine Kluter, +49-6227-7-65677, christine.klueter@sap.com, CET
SAP Press Office, +1-610-661-3200, press@sap.com, EDT
Paula Morrison, NATIONAL/Burson-Marsteller, 416-848-1372,
pmorrison@national.ca, EDT
Uwe Schaad, Burson-Marsteller, +49-69-238-09-31, uwe_schaad@de.bm.com,
CET

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050310/SFTH009LOGO-a
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk; photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: SAP AG

CONTACT: press only, Jodi Kasten, +1-416-218-6584, or
jodi.kasten@sap.com, EDT, or Christine Kluter, +49-6227-7-65677, or
christine.klueter@sap.com, CET, or SAP Press Office, +1-610-661-3200, or
press@sap.com, EDT, all of SAP AG; or Paula Morrison of
NATIONAL/Burson-Marsteller, +1-416-848-1372, or pmorrison@national.ca, EDT,
for SAP AG; or Uwe Schaad of Burson-Marsteller, +49-69-238-09-31, or
uwe_schaad@de.bm.com, CET, for SAP AG

Web site: http://www.sap.com/retail

Web site: http://www.sap.com/

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