Real Time Interoperability Between Enterprise and Plant Floor Technology Delivers Best-in-Class Performance in Enterprise Asset Management

Technology Utilization and Real Time KPI Measurements Are Key Success Factors for Optimizing Asset Performance


BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - July 11, 2007) - Recent research and analysis of over 200 manufacturers reveals dynamic data in a benchmark report by Aberdeen, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS). This report titled, "Benchmarking Enterprise Asset Management," has correlated very specific business capabilities to Best-in-Class operational performance. For the purposes of this study, Aberdeen has evaluated and classified manufacturers based on three key performance indicators: On Time Delivery, Throughput and Overall Equipment Effectiveness. Best-in-Class manufacturers are defined as the top 20% of performers in a weighted average across the aforementioned three KPIs and results show that Best-in-Class performance is:

--  97% On Time Delivery
--  96% Throughput
--  92% Overall Equipment Effectiveness
    

Putting these findings in context, Bharat Nair, SVP and Research Director with Aberdeen's Global Manufacturing Practice, states, "while implementation of best-of-breed technologies do provide measurable improvement in performance, those that invest beyond best-of-breed technology with enterprise interoperability with real time data feeds to and from ERP systems tend to realize better performance improvements at Best-In-Class levels."

Based on the findings of the report, Nair adds the following recommendations for action:

--  Deliver factory floor data as actionable intelligence to key decision-
    makers.
--  Implement best-of-breed applications with real time integration to
    enterprise applications.
--  Establish executive sponsorship for EAM at the enterprise level, but
    execute locally.
--  Adopt Condition-Based and Predictive Maintenance Strategies.
--  Increase real-time monitoring capability to track Spare Parts
    Consumption and stock outs.
    

The participating manufacturers of this study included: Deere & Co, Nextel, Hayes Lemmerz, Owens Corning, British Telecommunications, GE Energy, USPS, General Motors, General Dynamics and GE plastics. This report is made available to the public through the underwriting of: Lawson, Visiprise, IBM, and Aleier.

To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=4089

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.

© 2007 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
260 Franklin Street
Boston, Massachusetts  02110-3112
Telephone: (617)723-7890
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com

Contact Information: Media Contact: Bharat Nair Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5322 Bharat.nair@aberdeen.com