2006-10-17 CHEP chooses Cactus Commerce to develop Global Track & Trace RFID Solution

Microsoft Gold Certified RFID systems integrator helps leading logistics company extend the benefits of RFID to their customers
OTTAWA, ON and LOS ANGELES, CA, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ - Cactus Commerce
Inc., a leading provider of software and services for e-business, today announced that it has been chosen by CHEP(TM) to develop the first commercial application of an RFID solution for product AND asset tracking that extends the business benefits of RFID to customers worldwide,
including those in the automotive, consumer packaged goods and retail industries.
CHEP, the global leader in pallet and container pooling services serving many of the world's largest companies, wanted to provide real time visibility to its customers for their products as well as CHEP's reusable assets in the extended supply chain. The read event data generated across disparate locations will be transformed into a series of actionable reports that will benefit the customer's bottom line.
"Our focus is on enabling visibility across all the touch points in the supply chain," says Puneet Sawhney, Global Program Manager, RFID, CHEP, "We wanted to use a solution that is scalable, easily deployable, standards-based and offers lowest total cost of ownership. We also wanted to ensure that the front end for data capture and reporting was
user-friendly and provided easy customization to meet the needs of our different customers around the world."
To help CHEP achieve this goal, Cactus Commerce is building CHEP's track and trace solution on top of the Microsoft BizTalk RFID platform, which will be part of BizTalk Server 2006 R2, to manage the RFID equipment and transactions, enabling data capture and transfer to other systems.
"Cactus' solution takes advantage of the RFID capabilities in Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2 to offer broad compatibility between backend systems and hardware systems alike," says Jean-Yves Martineau, CTO and Founder of Cactus Commerce, "Cactus and Microsoft offer a single, unified RFID solution, which is critical in promoting supply chain efficiency on a global scale."
"Customers have a growing need for better connectivity across their supply chain in order to drive efficiency and obtain a real-time view of their processes," said Burley Kawasaki, group product manager for BizTalk Server at Microsoft Corp. "We are pleased to work with Cactus Commerce to help customers reduce complexity associated with the management of
intelligent RFID hardware, and gain increased agility through BizTalk's RFID functionality."
Cactus Commerce delivers solutions for the retail, manufacturing and logistics industries as part of the Microsoft Smarter Retailing initiative, a framework designed to improve customer service and selling opportunities through solutions that can more easily provide a single, consolidated view of customer and product information whenever and wherever it is needed.
This includes software tools that empower people to drive enhanced supply chain efficiency and trading partner collaboration, and easily manage the adoption of transforming technologies such as Global Data Synchronization and RFID.
Cactus Commerce and Microsoft Corporation will be on stage with CHEP at the EPCglobal U.S. Conference in Los Angeles, CA for an Interactive Workshop Session on Thursday, October 19 from 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM, that will discuss this Global Track and Trace solution. The session, C2: Asset Management: The ROI of Asset & Product Tracking, will teach attendees how to identify ROI through examining individual business areas that can reduce costs through an EPC/RFID infrastructure.

About CHEP
CHEP is the global leader in pallet and container pooling services serving many of the world's largest companies. The company has more than 7,700 employees and operates in 44 countries. Combining superior technology and an asset base of more than 280 million pallets and containers, CHEP offers its customers exceptional value, a platform that enables reduction in customer product damage, and an environmentally sustainable logistical
solution. Supply chains served include consumer goods, produce, beverage, and the automotive industry. With global partners that include Procter & Gamble, SYSCO, Kellogg's, Kraft, Nestle, Ford and GM, CHEP is known for Handling the World's Most Important Products. Everyday. For more information about CHEP, please visit: http://www.chep.com.

About Cactus Commerce
Cactus Commerce is an e-business software and services company with over 10 years of experience integrating Microsoft solutions. Cactus Commerce is a founding member of the Microsoft RFID Partner Advisory Council (PAC) and an active member of EPCglobal. Experienced in delivering vertical solutions, Cactus is actively working with large Retailers,
Manufacturers and Logistics companies such as CHEP to utilize RFID event data in critical business processes and systems in order to accelerate business decisions and provide new insights to all levels within the supply chain. Cactus solutions for e-Commerce, Enterprise Collaboration & Integration and Supply Chain Management enable companies to collaborate
electronically with business partners, taking full advantage of their existing and future Microsoft technology investments. For more information, please visit http://www.cactuscommerce.com .