Extending the Lean Enterprise

Best-in-Class Enterprises Are 150% More Likely Than Laggard Enterprises to Share Collaborative Best-Practices Across the Enterprise

| Source: Aberdeen Group Aberdeen Group

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - March 4, 2008) - Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), through the analysis of over 300 enterprises, reveals that Best-in-Class manufacturers realize 21% more On Time Deliveries, have a 37% higher level of OEE and a 83% lower total inventory costs when compared to Laggard manufacturers. Putting these findings in context, Matthew Littlefield, Research Analyst with Aberdeen's Global Manufacturing Practice, states that, "Enterprises are continually faced with the pressure to reduce operating costs. Our analysis has shown that in response Best-in-Class, enterprises are collaboratively sharing best practices across the enterprise and adopting an industry specific approach to Lean. In addition, we have found that these enterprises are more likely to have extended these Lean across the enterprise, support these initiatives with both education and performance management capabilities, and adopt technology solutions at both enterprise and line of business levels."

The research offers the following recommendations: 

--  Best-in-Class enterprises are 40% more likely to leverage external
    domain experts for Lean initiatives and of the Best-in-Class currently
    leveraging consultants, 93% leverage consultants with industry specific
    experience implementing Lean.
--  Performance Management is a key capability that differentiates Best-in-
    Class performance. The Best-in-Class are more likely to provide role-based
    real-time KPIs, link operational KPIs with financials, and leverage
    manufacturing analytics to provide actionable intelligence.
--  Technology is the final differentiator of Best-in-Class performance.
    The Best-in-Class are integrating multiple technology solutions to extend
    the functionality of traditional enterprise applications supporting Lean.
    These technologies include: Simulation, Enterprise Asset Management (EAM),
    Manufacturing Intelligence (MI), Business Intelligence (BI), Advanced
    Planning and Scheduling (APS), and Lean Software Solutions.

A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the following underwriters: Infor, Plexus Systems, and RWD Technologies. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=4648.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com. 

© 2008 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
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Telephone: (617) 723-7890
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Contact Information: Media Contact: Matthew Littlefield Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5204 Matthew.littlefield@aberdeen.com