ATLANTA — April 28, 2004 — Inovis, a provider of business commerce automation solutions, today announced the availability of its next-generation services network, powering Inovis’ value-added network (VAN) and outsourced managed services focused on trading partner management. In addition, Inovis’ new customer self-service portal, inovisworks.net, will serve as the support control center for all Inovis customers.

Inovis empowers suppliers and retailers to optimize profitability and simplify the complexity of their trading partner communities through a range of business commerce automation solutions, including VAN communication and electronic data interchange (EDI) transformation services as well as Internet EDI software and hosted managed services. The service and process enhancements powered by the services network combined with new control, visibility and customer service features reduce the cost and complexity of trading partner management.

"With many of our transactions with customers flowing across the Inovis VAN, Inovis has proven itself as a trusted and valued partner," said Marla Cooper, e-commerce administrator for Ashley Furniture. "We are already enjoying the benefits of enhanced document tracking features, as well as visibility and reporting capabilities, allowing us to witness our network activity firsthand."

Control Center for VAN and Managed Services
For customers leveraging the Inovis VAN or managed services, the new services network provides a powerful engine for end-to-end control and visibility of business-to-business transactions and trading partner relationships. By enabling real-time, Web-based access to all trading partner commerce activities, users have the business intelligence and reporting capabilities necessary to conduct business with trading partners and manage the status of these relationships in real time.

The following new and enhanced features available in the new services network foster increased control and predictability in trading partner communities:

• New and improved document tracking — Deep document visibility of the meta data and business processes associated with trading partner activity increase visibility into trading relationships by enabling users to search and retrieve sent documents and raw XML or EDI data.
   
• Self-service provisioning — Provisioning capabilities enable the addition of services such as adding mailboxes or trading partners.
   
• Real-time reporting capabilities — The ability to derive analytics from exportable online reports and receive real-time status updates promotes supply chain optimization because users are able to make decisions based on metrics.
   
• Real-time production resolution — Rapid identification of errors and the ability to manage and resolve document and network connectivity issues based on exception increases the productivity of users and improves satisfaction among trading partners.

Innovative Customer Portal
Replacing Get2Connect.net as Inovis’ new customer portal, inovisworks.net is available to each of Inovis’ 20,000 customers and serves as the single interface for all Inovis interactions. The inovisworks.net portal provides round-the-clock customer support for all of Inovis’ offerings, including VAN and managed services as well as software solutions. New online productivity features for customer support include enhanced document tracking, reporting and administration capabilities.

For VAN and managed-services customers, the inovisworks.net portal provides real-time information detailing how well Inovis is meeting predefined service levels. Software customers can use inovisworks.net to manage their users and licenses and download the latest software versions as they become available. Other highlights include a new searchable knowledgebase providing information about Inovis products and services and resolutions to common trading partner management challenges.

“The development of inovisworks.net and the new services network represents a significant investment in a solution of its kind in the marketplace and offers a competitive advantage for customers,” said Ilaria Derr, president and chief operating officer at Inovis. “Regardless of the means by which customers choose to communicate with trading partners, Inovis helps simplify their trading partner relationships and make them more profitable through real-time visibility and communications.”

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