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For more information, contact:
Mary Holmgren King, APICS
(800) 444-2742 or (703) 354-8851, ext. 2251
m_king@apicshq.org
Lizette Kodama, BearingPoint, Inc.
(212) 954-2461
lkodama@bearingpoint.net
For Immediate Release
APICS and BearingPoint Announce Executive Knowledge Series To Help Businesses Improve Enterprise Performance
ALEXANDRIA, VA (September 24, 2003) APICS—The Educational Society for Resource Management, an international supply chain and inventory management educational organization, and BearingPoint, Inc. (NYSE:BE), one of the world's largest business consulting and systems integration firms, today announce the Executive Knowledge Series, offering executives white papers, Web casts, and industry research to communicate the importance of collaboration, operations planning, management, and process standardization across a company's enterprise. The Executive Knowledge Series kicks off with the release of a white paper entitled, "Instance Consolidation: Platform for Growth, Standardization and Improved Corporate Governance."
Bob Collins, CFPIM, CIRM, 2003 APICS president states, "With the changes taking place in the industry, including recent government regulations, there is an even greater need for executives to define global processes and align individual business functions across the enterprise to create a cohesive information-sharing environment. APICS is pleased to team with BearingPoint to provide executives with industry-critical operations, planning, and management information."
"Many companies are considering an instance consolidation strategy to address the Sarbanes-Oxley requirements," says Ken Taormina, senior vice president, BearingPoint, Inc. "The compliance demands are compelling companies to define and monitor business processes more effectively and ensure that systems provide access to accurate data across the enterprise. The executive series provides the insight to achieve these business goals."
The white paper discusses a three-tiered approach to ERP instance consolidation to assist organizations in standardizing global operations, establishing common data management standards, and refining organizational structure. This approach is designed to support executives in automating operating procedures, reducing IT costs, and managing processes for enhanced business intelligence and reporting.
"The current industry climate has heightened the need for collaboration and standardization across the enterprise," said Mahnaz Zeinali, associate director of marketing at APICS. "APICS' globally recognized education and certification programs provide organizations with the tools needed to accomplish enterprisewide collaboration and standardization."
Electronic copies of the Instance Consolidation: Platform for Growth, Standardization and Improved Corporate Governance white paper are available at www.apics.org/consolidation and at www.bearingpoint.com.
About APICS
APICS provides lifelong learning for lifetime success through its certification programs, training tools, and networking opportunities. For more than 45 years, APICS has been setting the standard as the global leader and premier provider of inventory and supply chain management education and information for individuals and organizations. The APICS community is comprised of nearly 60,000 individuals from 20,000 companies worldwide. Members hold a variety of positions and come from different environments, encompassing more than 70 countries throughout the world. To learn more about the APICS community, visit or call (800) 444-2742 or (703) 354-8851.
About BearingPoint, Inc.
BearingPoint, Inc. (NYSE:BE) is one of the world's largest business consulting, systems integration, and managed services firms serving Global 2000 companies, medium-sized businesses, government agencies and other organizations. We provide business and technology strategy, systems design, architecture, applications implementation, network, systems integration, and managed services. Our service offerings are designed to help our clients generate revenue, reduce costs, and access the information necessary to operate their business on a timely basis. Based in McLean, Virginia, BearingPoint has been named by Fortune as one of America's Most Admired Companies in the computer and data services sector. For more information, visit http://www.bearingpoint.com.
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