Former Great Bridge Exec starts manufacturing software company based on open source

OpenMFG launches company with low-cost, full-featured 
ERP software for small entrepreneurial manufacturers

Company puts powerful functionality in reach of smaller companies, rewrites
rules of partner relationships

NORFOLK, Va., Oct. 22, 2002 ¯ OpenMFG, LLC today announced the launch of its
first product, a fully integrated manufacturing, distribution and finance
software suite aimed directly at small entrepreneurial manufacturers (SEMs)
- the 300,000 companies with revenues under $50 million comprising the heart
of American manufacturing.

Outnumbering larger manufacturers 10 to 1, but underserved by legacy
software vendors, SEMs now have access to a powerful, flexible and
affordable enterprise software system. OpenMFG provides a fully integrated
enterprise application that increases visibility across the supply chain,
enhances cash flow management and provides real-time decision-making to SEM
executives. The power and flexibility of OpenMFG ideally suits the product
for companies on tight budgets that face a pressing need to improve their
technology to stay competitive, often without the luxury of an information
technology department. There are no additional license fees for component
software costs, and the customer is totally free from vendor lock-in.

The OpenMFG software is also the first integrated enterprise resource
planning (ERP) product to offer a true universal platform solution; both the
OpenMFG client and the OpenMFG server run on Windows, Linux, Apple OS X and
several commercial Unix platforms, such as Sun Solaris, HP-UX and IBM AIX.
Built with an open source "stack" of components including the Linux
operating system, the PostgreSQL database and the "Qt" toolkit for C++,
OpenMFG offers customers a fully functional but lower-cost alternative to
existing enterprise software. 

"OpenMFG was selected because they listened to our needs and proposed a
completely integrated system, at a reasonable price, with features and
performance well-suited to our manufacturing company," said Bonnie Williams,
operations manager at General Ecology, Inc. General Ecology develops and
manufactures technologically advanced water purification systems and is a
supplier to leading aerospace, marine, emergency preparedness and
residential markets on an international basis. "The need for clear
visibility throughout our operations, with real-time information to help us
efficiently manage our resources, along with the ability to respond to
varied customer needs, were the three top reasons for selecting OpenMFG."

Powerful yet simple 
The OpenMFG software is a true client/server application, an Internet-ready,
fully integrated end-to-end ERP system for make-to-order, make-to-stock, and
mixed-mode manufacturers. It offers SEMs real-time visibility across the
entire supply chain process, from ordering raw materials to manufacturing to
shipping. All of these functions are supported by integrated financial
applications to handle accounts receivable, accounts payable and the general
ledger. This level of control means that at any moment, SEMs have the
information necessary to redirect resources, answer a customer inquiry, or
promise a shipment, at the touch of a button.

"An open systems stack for small companies opens interesting market
opportunities," said Gisela Wilson, director of the supply-chain program at
industry analyst firm IDC. "There is clearly a void in the marketplace for
affordable, full-featured ERP for companies at the low-end, where a sizeable
percentage of small manufacturers is concentrated."

OpenMFG sells through certified channel partners and its own direct sales
operation, pricing its software according to an affordable annual site
license model. The company also offers its own industrial engineering
services in conjunction with the installation of its software, although it
typically partners in this area with consultants in its channel program.

Partner benefits
In the ERP industry's most open partner program, OpenMFG makes its full
software source code available to select value-added resellers (VARs) for
modification, customization, and new development. This powerful business
innovation allows OpenMFG partners to better meet customers' individual
needs. It can also enable them to develop entirely new revenue streams
through new, jointly marketed vertical solutions.

"It's rare to find a vendor willing to license and share code with their
channel partners the way OpenMFG is doing, allowing us to develop customized
solutions - which is important because we're 
talking about a very independent, individualized market," said Philip
Perkins, president and CEO of Acumen Corporation, a Virginia-based systems
integrator and consultancy with deep experience in the manufacturing world.
"OpenMFG allows us to bring a powerful and sophisticated product to a whole
new market segment we've never been able to reach before."

OpenMFG's underlying open architecture simplifies customer deployments as
well, putting the power of an enterprise-class ERP system into production
for small manufacturers in weeks, not the months or even years required to
implement larger, more rigid systems. 

"We believe that the talented, highly technical VARs and systems integrators
in the ERP community are looking for alternatives to inflexible legacy
products, vendors poaching their best customers, and product uncertainty
driven by mergers and acquisitions," said Ned Lilly, OpenMFG president and
CEO.  "We've taken a lesson from the open source communities and built a
business-driven ecosystem for serious business software development, based
on an open software platform that allows for the greatest innovation in the
shortest possible time."  

Product pricing and availability 
Unlike most ERP vendors, OpenMFG does not price by the module; the OpenMFG
Standard Manufacturing Solution, available immediately, includes Inventory
Management, Part Definition and Costing (including Bills of Material and
Bills of Operation), Master Scheduling and manufacturing resource planning
(MRP), Capacity Planning, Work Order Management, Sales Order Management,
Purchase Order Management, Shipping and Receiving, and Sales Analysis. The
Standard edition integrates with any existing third-party financial
application at the individual transaction level. The OpenMFG Deluxe
solution, coming later this year, offers a fully integrated native
accounting solution, including General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Accounts
Payable and Fixed Asset Management. Customers have the option of a flat
annual site license, or traditional per-seat perpetual licenses. Contact
sales@openmfg.com for more information.

About OpenMFG
OpenMFG, LLC, develops enterprise software tailored to the needs and budgets
of small, entrepreneurial manufacturing companies. OpenMFG products give
companies visibility into costs, supply chains, processes, inventory and
financial operations with a lower cost of ownership than competing
enterprise resource planning (ERP) products. For more information about
Norfolk, Va.-based OpenMFG, visit the company Web site at www.openmfg.com.

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