SCCyberworld

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Lawson Software Launches Contract Management to Help Customers Simplify Contract Creation and Tracking

Application helps organizations reduce operational costs by helping to improve management of contracts from start to finish

SINGAPORE, May 20, 2008 – Lawson Software (Nasdaq: LWSN) today announced the general availability of Lawson Contract Management, which is designed to help organizations, including those in healthcare and the public sector, simplify contract creation and management.

The new application is designed to help customers reduce purchasing costs by streamlining the creation of vendor contracts and monitoring the supplies and services purchased against those contracts.

Lawson Contract Management, part of the Lawson S3 Supply Chain Management Suite, delivers standardized, auditable processes for contract creation and greater visibility into the supplies and services an organization has under contract. This insight can help purchasing managers reduce costs by enforcing compliance with vendor contracts. It also helps managers negotiate vendor discounts by helping them better analyze supply usage trends within their organization.

“Lawson Contract Management helps us create contracts faster with reusable templates and terms and conditions. It also provides a single, secure and auditable repository of all contract-related documents,” said John Lauer, manager of enterprise systems, Oglethorpe Power, a Georgia-based power supply cooperative and a Lawson Contract Management pilot customer.

“The application also allows us to track purchase volumes for specific items, which helps us negotiate better contract prices.” Located in Tucker, Ga., Oglethorpe Power generates electricity for thirty-eight Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs). It is the nation’s largest power supply cooperative in terms of assets and annual kilowatt-hour sales.

Lawson Contract Management supports flexible pricing scenarios, such as complex tiered pricing and management of rebates, which is particularly useful in managing healthcare supply contracts. Public services and utility organizations, including Oglethorpe, can use Contract Management to help manage construction agreements and automate enforcement of business terms to help reduce costly overruns or incomplete projects.

In addition, Lawson Contract Management can store corporate and other non-purchasing contracts, helping to create a more comprehensive view of these enterprise documents. The application also helps companies develop customized procurement contracts for products or services to meet their evolving needs. Lawson Contract Management is also compatible with Lawson Business Intelligence, which helps organizations create virtually unlimited types of reports to meet the specific needs of departments and managers.

“Controlling costs is one of the most challenging business issues facing healthcare and public sector organizations,” said Keith Lohkamp, product strategist, Lawson Software. “Lawson Contract Management works with existing Lawson applications, such as Lawson Strategic Sourcing and Lawson Procurement, to help customers minimize supply costs, which typically make up an organization’s largest expense after employee compensation. It helps simplify sourcing, contract creation, enforcement of pricing on purchases, and ongoing management of contracts.”

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