Press Releases

Leading Provider of Bicycle Components Speeds Up Its Global Shipping Process with SAP® AND Catalyst XPS

SRAM Implements Catalyst Parcel Packing & Shipping System

PHILADELPHIA, PA AND LONDON, U.K, December 12, 2008—CDC Global Services, a business unit of CDC Software Corporation, announced today that its Catalyst SAP® services unit delivered a multi-carrier solution in Catalyst XPS to SRAM, one of the world's leading providers of high quality bicycle components. This solution facilitates the small parcel transactions from within SRAM's existing SAP environment.

SRAM manufactures and distributes some of the industry's highest quality bicycle components to serious bike enthusiasts. SRAM's components have been chosen by Olympic champions, Tour de France competitors and thousands of people around the world who are dedicated to excelling in, and are passionate about, cycling.

In November 2007, SRAM acquired Zipp, a leading wheel manufacturer. Traditionally, SRAM supplied large volumes of products to OEM factories and distributors, who then handle the distribution to dealers and bike shops. Zipp's distribution model differed greatly from SRAM's, which created a challenge for both companies. Zipp ships products directly to the dealers on a 24 hour delivery basis because of the precise specifications required for its products. This means orders are taken, picked and shipped on the same day via an express shipping company.

SRAM has been a SAP customer for many years and is running SAP in all its global operations. Originally, Zipp was using a different system, so the first objective was to implement the SAP solution at Zipp. SRAM also needed to ensure a parcel shipping system was implemented so it could integrate between SAP and UPS. SRAM identified three potential solutions for this and ultimately selected Catalyst XPS.

"Catalyst XPS was a really smooth implementation that was delivered on time and budget thanks to the knowledge and commitment of the Catalyst consultants," said Patrick Brandwagt, integration manager at SRAM. "They were able to respond positively to all our requests, delivering customizations quickly and accurately. We learned a lot through this project, particularly about how important it is to fully understand the business processes when translating them into system requirements. For SAP and parcel shipping, I am really happy that we worked with Catalyst because of their in-depth knowledge of SAP and shipping processes, including carrier specific rules."

"Another key advantage of Catalyst was the people," said Brandwagt. "They were clearly very knowledgeable, not just of their own software, and shipping in general, but of SAP-related issues as well. We had no experience with creating interfaces between SAP and third party carriers, but we could see that Catalyst had all the experience that was needed. Catalyst XPS also had the advantage of being assimilated with SAP, so if and when we make future upgrades to the SAP system, Catalyst XPS will automatically upgrade with it."

A target date for SAP implementation, as well as the fully-functional and integrated solution for parcel shipping, was set for July 1, 2008. "We evaluated three options for shipping software," Brandwagt continued. "The first was an application recommended by UPS, which appeared to work well, but was not a SAP application and did not integrate with SAP. The second option was to develop our own solution with the help of SAP consultants that would integrate the UPS rating engine with our own SAP production environment. We felt that this would require considerable resources and expertise. We were also concerned about delivery and implementation timeframes. In addition, we felt this model would require on-going maintenance and development to meet future requirements and system upgrades."

SRAM also noted that the Catalyst solution was an excellent option for them after they visited a live Catalyst XPS site and witnessed Catalyst XPS in operation - - along with the enthusiasm of the operators. According to Brandwagt, "It was clearly a solid, reliable and stable solution that had the advantage of being ready and available for us to install with minimal efforts from the internal SRAM team. We had a lot of work on our hands getting the whole SAP system live within our deadline. However, working with Catalyst gave us confidence because Catalyst XPS is virtually a plug-and-play solution that helps to ensure that the shipping element of the implementation would be taken care of."

Catalyst XPS is fully-developed in the native SAP program language and provides an easy to manage, centralized view of all packing and shipping processes, across multiple distribution centers and multiple carriers. It is a 'built-in' application – not a 'bolt-on', existing within the SAP ecosystem, which helps to eliminate the need for middleware and offers compliance with most of the leading global parcel carriers.

After selecting Catalyst XPS, the two companies quickly went to blueprint stage. SRAM explained everything they needed from the solution to Catalyst and minor adaptations were made to Catalyst XPS to help ensure it met these requirements. "Carrying out minimal customizations to the system was very straightforward and was completed very quickly due to Catalyst's extensive knowledge of SAP," said Brandwagt. "When we carried out our testing procedures four weeks before the go-live date, we identified some additional requirements that we wanted from the system. Catalyst XPS is a very flexible application and Catalyst was able to take these requirements on board, design a solution and deliver it in very short time. It was a real bonus for the implementation team to have Catalyst on board and committed to ensuring the shipping system would be fully operational for the SAP go-live."

Gavin Klaus, business development manager for Catalyst, added, "We understood that the SRAM project team had plenty to do to ensure the SAP go-live happened smoothly and it was our responsibility to make sure that the shipping system was delivered promptly, accurately and without draining SRAM's IT and business resources. We have put a lot of thought into the architecture that enables us to deploy Catalyst XPS in very short timeframes and we are delighted that Catalyst has delivered a complete parcel shipping solution to meet SRAM's tight timelines and business processes."

The system went live on the target date of July 1, 2008.

In conclusion, Brandwagt said, "It is just a few weeks since we started using Catalyst XPS, but we are already seeing really positive benefits. It has the look and feel of a SAP application. Users don't have to go into a separate system for shipping services. They can do everything from within the SAP system, including placing the orders, tracking them and confirming delivery. Catalyst XPS has also been a real benefit to our customer service department, allowing them to raise customer satisfaction by having instant access to real-time delivery status information. We are now looking forward to expanding the deployment of Catalyst XPS in our Chicago and Germany warehouse locations."

About Catalyst

Catalyst is a SAP services partner, specializing in building and implementing business solutions for enterprise requirements in supply chain execution, planning, and management, and is part of CDC Global Services. Catalyst services excel at helping organizations with complex distribution networks in the retail, manufacturing, life sciences, process, and consumer packaged good sectors; as well as parts distribution for the automotive, aerospace, and electronics industries. Catalyst serves hundreds of customers around the world from its headquarters in Newtown, PA, U.S. and its European headquarters in London, England. For more information, please visit www.catalystinternational.com/sap.

About SRAM Corporation

Headquartered in Chicago, with product development and manufacturing facilities in California, Colorado, Indiana, Taiwan, China, Germany and Portugal, and a sales office in Amersfoort, Netherlands, SRAM produces a full line of high performance bicycle components for original equipment manufacturers and independent bike dealers (www.sram.com). The Company markets its products under the SRAM, RockShox, Avid, Truvativ, and Zipp brand names. After more than 20 years of dedication to the bike industry, SRAM expects 2008 revenues to approach $500 million.

About CDC Global Services

CDC Global Services, a business unit of CDC Software, provides IT consulting services, including platform-specific services for Microsoft and SAP, as well as project management, staff augmentation, managed help desk solutions and a full range of outsourced service offerings. CDC Global Services provides hardware for data collection and RFID, through partnerships with some of the industry's most reputable vendors. CDC Global Services embraces a customer-first approach, which means they are able to draw upon a wide range of expert resources to address each customer's unique business needs, while keeping their best interest as a top priority. CDC Global Services customers benefit from streamlined vendor management and the ability to control project costs, while being able to access the right IT resources through a singular point of contact. For more information on CDC Global Services, visit: www.cdcglobalservices.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and includes statements relating to the expected benefits of using Catalyst XPS to our customers, their employees, processes and businesses, our beliefs regarding the ease of use and functionality of Catalyst XPS, the ability of Catalyst XPS to address the needs of clients such as the ability improve supply chain efficiencies, improve customer service, drive cost savings and competitive advantage, our beliefs regarding the benefits of using our products and services, as well as other statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties and changes in circumstances. There are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward looking statements including, among others: the conditions of our vertical industries; the continued ability of Catalyst XPS solutions to address industry-specific requirements of companies in the our vertical industries; demand for and market acceptance of new and existing Catalyst solutions; development of new functionalities which would allow our customers to compete more effectively in their respective industries. If any such risks or uncertainties materialize or if any of the assumptions proves incorrect, our results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements we make. Further information on risks or other factors that could cause results to differ is detailed in filings or submissions with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission made by CDC Corporation in its Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2007 on Form 20-F filed on June 30, 2008 and amended as of September 15, 2008. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based upon information available to management as of the date of the press release, and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward looking statements which speak only as of the date of this press release. The company assumes no obligation to update or alter the forward looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For More Information

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Lorretta Gasper
CDC Software
(678) 259-8631
lgasper@cdcsoftware.com

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