Lawson M3 Analytics Helps Bring Quick Business Intelligence Benefits to Manufacturers and Food and Beverage Producers

Innovative application delivers meaningful business intelligence capabilities in a matter of days rather than months

April 21, 2009 –Lawson Software (Nasdaq: LWSN) today provided an update on one of its latest product sets brought to market – Lawson M3 Analytics, Analytics for Manufacturing, and Analytics for Food & Beverage. The first companies using the solution are already demonstrating why the application is a good fit for manufacturers and distributors looking for a fast, user-friendly business intelligence solution. Among the first customers is U.K.-based Pork Farms Ltd., which implemented the solution in just ten days. The company selected the new Analytics solution for rapid implementation and its industry-specific business intelligence content to help support better decision making. Lawson provided this update during the 2009 Lawson Conference and User Exchange (CUE), which opened April 20 in San Diego.

Lawson M3 Analytics helps manufacturers and distributors simplify deployment of a complete package of business intelligence tools for users of Lawson M3 applications. The applications include 70 pre-configured key performance indicators (KPIs) and 50 pre-built scorecard reports commonly used by manufacturers and distributors. Sample KPIs include day sales outstanding, inventory turnover, delivery performance and gross margin percentage. Sample scorecards highlight critical data such as sales versus budget, supplier performance, production variances and customer debt.

Pork Farms, a leading bakery company in the United Kingdom is already gaining business benefits following its fast implementation. “We chose Analytics for Food & Beverage because it’s a fast, affordable way to get business intelligence to help manage our business operations,” said Alan Webster, CIO for Pork Farms. “In this tight economy, it’s more important than ever that we implement low-cost, high-value solutions that help provide rapid business benefits to our organization – and make us stronger and more competitive. With these Lawson applications, we were able to be up and running in just ten days, helping us manage our operations and customer service levels in a timely manner.”

By packaging a specific set of KPIs and scorecards for companies, Lawson gives customers a more complete, measurable view of their operations in a few short weeks. Such a comprehensive approach to business evaluation has essentially been beyond the reach of many companies until now.

“Lawson M3 Analytics can really be thought of as 'business intelligence made easy' for manufacturers and distributors, delivering value for our customers in a shorter amount of time," said Dean Hager, senior vice president of product management for Lawson. “Manufacturers and distributors can use these products to help them manage their businesses more strategically and effectively without having to spend a lot to get it.”