Baan - the global provider of B2B collaborative commerce solutions and a unit of Invensys Software Systems, a division of Invensys plc - has announced a major order for its iBaan solution from Tokyo Electron America, Inc., (TEA), the US subsidiary of Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL). TEL is the leading provider of advanced equipment technology for global semiconductor manufacturing and has ordered the iBaan E-Procurement and iBaan Decision Manager products as part of an ongoing investment in the iBaan Internet-enabled solutions. The iBaan products provide TEL with enhanced business intelligence and online procurement functionality and can help to improve the visibility of key supply chain information and enhance collaborative commerce with customers and suppliers.

TEL will be the first implementation of the new version of iBaan Decision Manager in the US, which will be rolled-out at Tokyo Electron America headquarters. iBaan Decision Manager will help the company take advantage of the hidden intelligence and trends locked in its transactional databases, and will provide support for enterprise-wide tactical decision-making. iBaan E-Procurement will help TEL reduce lead times, improve cost control, and connect requisitioning employees/requisitioners, buyers and suppliers in a single, web-based, secure online buying environment. A workflow-based approval engine will provide buyers and managers with better visibility on the goods being purchased, while increasing their ability to handle more orders in less time. The iBaan Decision Manager Template for E-Procurement can also help TEL analyse the indirect material spend and find opportunities for contract negotiation improvements that will in turn, lead to further cost savings for the company.

“Baan has enabled us to gain greater visibility of our entire enterprise, providing us with the crucial ability to communicate and respond quickly and easily to our customer needs,” commented Robert Oberwetter, Application Development Manager for TEL. “With iBaan Procurement and iBaan Business Intelligence Suite, we are taking a further step towards fully integrated, web-enabled solutions that can be simply customised and developed to fit our business processes. This means that we know at any moment of any day what the company is doing.

“The introduction of iBaan E-Procurement will help us to achieve greater visibility of the order tracking process, with both requestors and approvers better aware of the status of an order. We anticipate that it will help us to cut our processing costs, reduce undesirable maverick procurement, improve productivity and enhance the quality of information throughout the procurement process. iBaan Decision Manager will assist us in extending the information available for key decision-making by providing reports and analysis in a range of areas such as vendor ratings, sales performance, project monitoring, resource utilisation analysis or inventory movement,” added Robert Oberwetter.

Tom Capinski, Industry Director, Electronics at Baan said: “With increased pressure to maintain a competitive edge in a marketplace where intense competition is driving shorter product life cycles and requiring faster speed to market, electronics organisations have to take advantage of Internet-enabled technology to streamline business processes and enhance their collaboration with customers, partners and suppliers. Tokyo Electron America is a pioneer in the deployment of this technology through iBaan, and has already implemented iBaan E-Sales earlier this year to support their unassisted web-based selling process. With Baan customers representing five out of the top ten manufacturers in the Electronics Contract Manufacturing industry, Baan is ideally positioned for continued success.”

iBaan E-Procurement and iBaan Decision Manager are part of the new iBaan suite of Internet-enabled solutions. iBaan combines proven Baan technology with significant new developments to enable customers to take significant steps towards seamlessly integrating systems and processes. It provides end-users with personalised and easy-to-use information, and empowers businesses to collaborate with their customers and suppliers over the Internet.

About Tokyo Electron
TEL, established in 1963, is a leading supplier of innovative semiconductor and LCD production equipment worldwide. Product lines include coater/developers, oxidation/diffusion furnaces, dry etchers, CVD systems, sputtering systems (PVD), wet cleaning systems, and test systems. In Japan, TEL distributes other leading edge semiconductor equipment tools, such as metrology tools or process control systems. In addition, TEL distributes high quality computer systems, semiconductor devices and electronic components of other leading suppliers, as well as computer network-related products from around the world.

To support this diverse product base, TEL has strategically located research & development, manufacturing, sales, and service locations all over the world. TEL’s revenues for the last fiscal year exceeded 720 billion yen, or more than 5.8 billion dollars. TEL is a publicly held company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
http://www.tel.co.jp/

About Baan
Baan helps companies to compete in the 'networked economy' with its ever-increasing demands for more information, integration and collaboration. Through its powerful new iBaan suite of Internet-enabled solutions, Baan is ideally placed to support organisations in the manufacturing, logistics, service and engineering industries as they move to integrate their complex processes, collaborate more closely with customers and partners, and provide employees with build-to-order shop floor data and supply information. Baan has more than 15,000 customer sites worldwide, and is part of the Invensys Software Systems Division - a global leader in the provision of e-business/automation solutions.

For more information, please visit http://www.baan.com/

About Invensys plc
Invensys is a global leader in the Automation and Controls industry. With its head office in London, England it operates in all regions of the world through four focused divisions – Software Systems, Automation Systems, Power Systems and Control Systems. With approximately 80,000 employees, the company’s products and services range from advanced control systems and networks for automating industrial plants and controlling the environments of buildings, to electronic devices and controls found in residential buildings and light commercial applications, plus complete power systems for the telecommunications and information technology industries.

For more information, please contact:

Alex Bell, IBA
PR for Baan
Tel: + 44 1780 721433
abell@iba-europe.com

Mindy Russell
Marketing Communications Manager
Tokyo Electron
Tel: 512 424 1533
mrussell@aus.telusa.com

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