As malls lose renters, their business models will change. Aivars lode avantce

Shopping malls cater to shifting demographics

By Ilaina Jonas

NEW YORK | Tue Nov 27, 2012 11:26am EST

(Reuters) - Macerich Co (MAC.N) isn't usually in thebusiness of hosting religious processions in its mall parking lots.

But when it allowed a Good Friday event featuring a costumed Jesus, prisoners and Roman guards at a Phoenix mall last year, hundreds of shoppers turned out from the heavily Hispanic community, where re-enactments of the Stations of the Cross are a major occasion.

The response proved to Macerich that its program to attract the surrounding population to its malls was working.

A small but growing number of real estate owners and developers are tapping into the same demographic change U.S. politicians have begun to recognize.

Two ethnic groups - Hispanics and Asian-Americans - are expected to see their population and buying power soar in the coming years. And several demographic experts project that non-Hispanic whites will be a minority nationally by 2040 or 2050.

If mall and shopping center owners fail to adapt to the changing demographic make-up of the country, they risk seeing their properties become mausoleums of a less-diverse American past.

"It's a bunch of guys trying to build for a (white) world that's no longer growing. But there are those individuals out there that are seeing the growth in different ways. They're picking it apart and making some big money off of it," said James Chung, president of strategy and research firm Reach Advisors.

Many developers focusing on ethnic shoppers have come to the rescue of dying malls and shopping centers throughout the United States.

In California, Primestor Development is transforming the 850,000-square-foot Baldwin Hill Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles into an Hispanic-focused mall, plowing in up to $40 million for renovations. Further south in Irvine, Diamond Development Group has created Diamond Jamboree, with small service-oriented tenants, such as doctors' offices, anchored by an Asian food market. In Atlanta, a vacant 220,000-square-foot furniture store has been converted into Global Mall, the largest U.S. mall targeting consumers whose roots are in southern India.

DESERT SKY BRIGHTENS

Macerich is in the forefront of large, publicly traded mall owners courting the growing numbers of ethnic shoppers. Two years ago it teamed up with Legaspi Co, a consultant and operator of Hispanic-oriented malls, to help Desert Sky Mall. Occupancy at the Phoenix mall had fallen to 77 percent from over 90 percent as the demographic make-up of its trade area shifted.

Several changes were made, including converting a vacant Mervyns store into a mercado - Spanish for market - with scores of small shops and stands. Occupancy at the mall is now back up to 90 percent.

With the success of Desert Sky, Macerich and Legaspi Co President José de Jesús Legaspi created Vanguardia, a program that includes marketing and renovations to transform malls before their occupancy suffers.

"We aren't about to let good real estate go that way," Macerich Executive Vice President Eric Salo said.

José de Jesús Legaspi started more than 30 years ago helping retailers reach Hispanic shoppers. His company operates or has a stake in four malls and is eyeing a 700,000-square-foot mall in Oklahoma City.

Transforming struggling malls has a lot to do with marketing, including using bilingual staff, sending out direct mail in both English and Spanish, and hosting events like Mexican Independence Day.

MORE THAN DIM SUM AND CHIMICHANGAS

When building its Asian-focused, grocery-anchored shopping centers, Diamond Development followed the engineering workforce, which includes a heavy concentration of Asians. It found thatrestaurants were in demand, and leases had to include clauses prohibiting restaurants from copying each other's specialties.

But it takes more than adding a dim sum restaurant or chimichangas to the food court to attract the growing U.S. Hispanic and Asian populations.

Primestor, which has built or redeveloped more than 80 Hispanic-focused malls, shopping centers and strip malls, uses research from Pew Hispanic Center and the U.S. Census, and conducts town hall meetings to discover the types of retailers an area lacks and to gauge demand.

"We're not in the build-it-and-they-will-come mentality," said Arturo Sneider, Primestor's chief executive. "We're in the build-it-improve-it-because-they're-already-here mentality."

Developers of malls and shopping centers aimed at Hispanic Americans say they often change the facilities' physical appearance, transforming dull, fortress-like malls into festive, colorful shopping centers. Because Latino families tend to be larger, developers broaden the corridors and make common areas bigger; because such families tend to be younger, there is more demand for shoe and clothing stores - for growing children.

Third-generation Hispanic Americans add another consideration. Like the American mainstream, they want the latest consumer electronics and tend to like restaurants, such as Chipotle Mexican Grill, that are popular with their mainstream peers, Sneider said.

NO SUCH THING AS A CHINESE TIE

But what works for some ethnic groups doesn't necessarily work for others. Seoul Plaza, a Korean marketplace billed as a "mall within a mall" in Baltimore's Security Square Mall, did not fare well in competition with other Asian markets in the area. Many stores closed, and the plaza has been up for sale since 2010.

In targeting Asian-American shoppers, merchants selling soft goods such as clothing and toystend to find the going tough, said Steve Zuckerman, project manager at Diamond Development.

"The reason for that is there's really no such thing as a Chinese necktie," Zuckerman said. "A Chinese guy, if he wants to save money, he's going to go to Ross, Walmart. If he wants to spend money, he'll go to Bloomingdale's or Nordstrom."

The Macerich-Legaspi Vanguardia program has been implemented at six of Macerich's 59 malls, and aspects of it have been employed to some degree at a few others.

"There's been enough financial success here that we're going to continue to invest in this," Macerich's Salo said. "It's good business."

(Reporting By Ilaina Jonas; Editing by Ben Berkowitz and John Wallace)

Fanboi droves use iPads to buy more iPads on Black Friday

Online shopping on thanksgiving grew 17% over last year. Continued disruption occurring for brick and mortar business’ and their suppliers. Aivars lode avantce

By | Paul Kunert 26th November 2012 16:28

Fanboi droves use iPads to buy more iPads on Black Friday

Grey Thursday may have meant red ink for festive figures

Free whitepaper – Gartner: Secure Web Gateway Malware Detection Techniques

Apple's iPad was used by one in every 10 online shoppers on Black Friday, according to IBM's Holiday Benchmark report.

Continuing the trend of opening the supposed sales extravaganza earlier, online shopping grew 17.4 per cent on Thanksgiving compared to the same day a year earlier and Black Friday online sales were up 20.7 per cent.

More Reading

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Nearly one-quarter of all net shoppers used a mobile device to browse for a gift and purchase, up from 14.3 per cent in 2011... and a staggering 10 per cent of total online traffic originated from Apple iPad users, many of whom were no doubt looking to buy an iPad 2.

"The iPad generated more traffic than any other tablet or smartphone, reaching nearly 10 per cent of online shopping," said IBM, adding that the Apple slab accounted for 88.3 per cent of all "tablet traffic".

Infographic via IBM newsroom.

The fanbois were clearly out in their droves, because the iPhone (8.7 per cent) was the next most searched upon device followed by Android (5.5 per cent).

According to figures from comScore, $1bn was spent online during Black Friday, a 26 per cent rise but a total of $11.8bn was splashed in the holiday season (between 1 to 23 November), up 16 per cent.

Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg and his mates will be less than pleased to hear that "shoppers referred from social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube" generated just 0.34 per cent of all online sales on Black Friday, a decrease of more than 35 per cent from 2011.

But while the peak sales day was a business booster for web traders, it was not perhaps what hard-pressed bricks-and-mortar retailers were hoping for to cover the red ink in their P&L accounts.

The number of folk visiting stores was up 3.5 per cent to 307.67 million on the day after Thanksgiving - the peak sales day for the year - but the amount of greenbacks going through the tills fell 1.8 per cent to $11.2bn.

"Black Friday continues to be an important day in retail," said Bill Martin, founder at ShopperTrak, which coughed the estimates.

But he said that this year retailers brought forward opening hours to midnight on Thanksgiving Day in anticipation of happy shoppers full of turkey and booze engaging in a spending frenzy.

This could have skewed the numbers, the retail analyst warned. "So while foot traffic did increase on Friday, those Thursday deals attracted some of the spending that is usually meant for Friday," said Martin.

Punters in America's midwest did their best to help out ailing retail outlets with footfall up nearly 13 per cent. Traffic in the west, south and northeast regions climbed 11.3 per cent, 8.7 per cent and 7.6 per cent respectively.

This is the first dip in figures provided by ShopperTrak since the recession hit in 2008 and caps off a challenging 2012 for the retail sector in Europe and the US.

Best Buy shuttered a bunch of big box stores in the UK at the start of the year and subsequently in the US, typifying the tough ride that even the largest players experienced.

In Blighty, the future of veteran retailer Comet is still up in the air, with administrator Deloitte still seeking a buyer willing to take on more than a handful of stores. ®

Mobility disruption: A CIO perspective

Mobile will definitely disrupt many business’s due to the power that is available in a smart phone and tablet. Aivars Lode avantce

Mobility disruption: A CIO perspective
Enterprise mobility is poised to fundamentally change the IT landscape. Here’s an overview of the opportunities and some early lessons on how to manage the associated security risks, costs, and organizational challenges.

SEPTEMBER 2012 • Janaki Akella, Brad Brown, Greg Gilbert, and Lawrence Wong

Chief information officers are no strangers to change. Mainframes, personal computing, and the Internet have all transformed the world of business technology for both enterprises and technology vendors. Now, CIOs see the next disruption coming fast.

Source: Business Technology Office

Mobility—rising from its humble beginnings—is on a roll, driven by ever-higher-performing smartphones, tablets, and other devices enabled by 3G and 4G networks, as well as an explosion of innovative applications. Indeed, we believe that enterprise IT is on the brink of a revolution that promises to boost productivity by expanding office functionality beyond the brick-and-mortar location. There are opportunities galore, but cost, governance, and security challenges must also be reckoned with.

A steep adoption trajectory

The mobility landscape is, in many ways, similar to that of the Internet of the late 1990s, which was driven by consumer adoption and constant innovation. Consumers use mobility extensively in their personal lives and are demanding it in their professional lives. When we recently surveyed 250 CIOs on their mobility strategies, 56 percent reported strong demand from employees to support a wide range of mobile devices. Seventy-seven percent of CIOs were planning to allow staff to use personal mobile devices to access company data and applications. Almost all the CIOs said they expected to deploy more than 25 mobility applications in the next two years.

Mobile-device innovations are being introduced at a frenetic pace, with new categories and subcategories (for example, enterprise-focused tablets) emerging every few months. With each innovation comes a new set of uses and opportunities. Thirty percent of the CIOs we surveyed said laptops could be replaced by tablets in the coming years.

Supporting the mobile revolution is a broad set of cloud-based applications that enable mobile devices to overcome many of their inherent limitations and allow users to access their content, regardless of the storage capacity of their devices. Cloud-based enterprise applications enable ubiquitous access to critical enterprise resources, such as customer relationship management (CRM).

Business cases for mobility

Mobility can serve business in four primary areas:

Employee communication. Greater access to e-mail and calendars, as well as voice, video, and messaging applications, will enhance employee-to-employee communication. The chance to have spontaneous mobile videoconferences is one example.

Out-of-office productivity. Remote access to content and applications allows workers to take full advantage of their out-of-office time. Providing mobile access to CRM, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and executive dashboards, for example, enhances employee productivity in core business areas. For workers whose on-the-clock time is out of office by design (for instance, members of sales and field forces), mobile IT enhances their productivity by bringing office assets to the field in ways never before possible. While laptops have enabled some mobility in the past, “anywhere access” and cloud-based applications have dramatically increased the benefits.

This goes for administrative tasks as well. An employee can do his expense reporting, for example, before even returning from a business trip by using his mobile phone to submit electronic receipt images.

Sensor networks. Smart sensors can automate or control processes and systems, making them more efficient. Sensors can also give products new capabilities and spark novel business models. In health care, for instance, sensors used or worn by patients continuously report changes in health conditions to physicians, who can adjust treatments or proactively engage the patient when appropriate.

A new channel to customers. Mobile IT isn’t just good for productivity. By increasing the number and depth of touchpoints, mobility innovations can allow businesses to engage their customers in fundamentally new ways.

The challenge for CIOs

Mobility has the potential to greatly improve business performance, but in our experience, it comes with three major challenges.

Security. Security is the primary barrier to broad mobile deployments within the enterprise: 45 percent of the CIOs that we surveyed viewed security as a major challenge.

In previous mobility deployments, organizations could manage risks by providing employees with a single supported and secured device that could access the company’s information assets. Now, most workers carry a smartphone or tablet for both personal and business uses. This proliferation of wireless devices extends the reach of the company’s wired information infrastructure. But by doing so, the information also becomes more vulnerable to breaches, despite recent improvements in mobile-device-management solutions and device security. Among the risks: lost or stolen devices with sensitive data stored on them.

Companies with successful mobile strategies tend to involve corporate security staff early in strategy development, embed security as a core component of the mobile architecture, and develop clear mobile policies that balance user demand with security requirements. Some companies are making this trade-off by limiting which applications can be locally installed on mobile devices. At some companies, for example, ERP systems can be accessed but not locally installed, which ensures that data do not leave the premises.Cost. Mobility is expensive—41 percent of CIOs cited cost as a critical challenge. The costs of the actual devices and connectivity vary but are typically between $600 and $700 annually for an iPad or comparable tablet. Included in this are infrastructure costs that include technical components such as mobile-device management, expanded e-mail capacity, and help-desk support. These costs typically total $150 to $250 annually per device. Application costs will vary greatly, depending on the number and type of applications and the way they are enabled for mobile.

Businesses can manage the cost issue by adopting a tiered approach that focuses application investment on the user segments and use cases that create the most value, while providing only basic services to the broader user population. This will maximize value while being responsive to consumer demand and providing the foundation for new use cases to emerge. Some enterprises have implemented this approach by allowing all employees to bring their personal devices and providing them with only basic enterprise applications, such as e-mail and the company directory. Most application resources are then available to focus on the highest-value segments; they can, for instance, provide salespeople with devices and a set of customized applications that help drive revenue.

The way enterprises enable their application portfolios for mobility affects cost. IT functions should work with their software vendors to understand and shape their mobile capabilities. For mobile use cases that cannot be efficiently addressed with commercial applications, companies have three options. Developing new mobile applications generally provides the best user experience but is expensive. An alternative for Web-enabled applications is access through a mobile browser, potentially with an interface optimized for mobile. Virtual-desktop integration is a good option for the “long tail” of applications that are occasionally used on mobile devices because there are limited or no application changes required. For core applications, on the other hand, usability issues limit the appeal of this approach.

Governance. Mobility poses unique management challenges. It doesn’t clearly fit within any traditional IT silo, as it affects application development, business processes, infrastructure, and operational processes. Significant changes will be required in each of these areas. One example is that IT and business leaders may need to reprioritize the application portfolio on the basis of mobility needs. Mobility also requires a flexible strategy that can be adjusted regularly to adapt to changes in the mobility landscape, for example, the introduction of Windows-based tablets. Addressing these challenges requires an active, cross-functional governance structure.

One leading company established a mobility “core team” consisting of four members, each representing a specific area: the business, IT applications, IT infrastructure, and IT policy. The team was responsible for conducting semiannual strategy and policy refreshes, as well as coordinating implementation of the strategy, for example, through ongoing pilots. The core team reported to the enterprise CIO each month and was empowered to make significant changes within the IT organization. Beyond the core team, mobility became a key component of the overall IT governance council, which was responsible for prioritizing mobility expenditure across the enterprise.

Mobility is the new IT frontier, and the race is on to fully reap the potential benefits. To do so, CIOs (and the technology companies that serve them) will need to address challenges and concerns so that they can deliver a set of secure and reliable services in an environment of constant complexity and change. 

Micro Anvika goes titsup after Olympics fails to save its shops

Globally the effects of online shopping are being felt. Aivars Lode, Avantce

By | Paul Kunert 24th September 2012 15:33

Micro Anvika goes titsup after Olympics fails to save its shops

Calls in the receivers, keeps biz open in bid to sell it as going concern

The directors at Tottenham Court Road outfit Micro Anvika have called in the administrators after more than 28 years in business, The Channel can reveal.

The firm appointed IP and business advisor Re10 on 17 September but continues to trade out of its three premises - two on TCR and one in Newcastle - albeit with fewer staff.

More Reading

Micro Anvika shutters stores, axes staff in fight for life'Perfect storm' drives electronics stores to EXTINCTIONMicro Anvika seeks channel props for CVA rescue planMicro Anvika forced into cash-only tradingHarrods blings up Android tablet, quintuples price

Gary Rupping, manager at Re10, confirmed it is talking to several interested parties about offloading the business "as a going concern".

"The directors didn't want to go down this road [of administration]. It took more than 25 years to build this business, they have significant emotional investment in it, not to mention financial," said Rupping.

The recession, costly overheads and the migration of shoppers from the traditional model to the online world were primarily to blame for Micro Anvika's troubles, said Re10.

"The final nail in the coffin was the Olympics - the directors expected an uptick [in store footfall] but that didn't happen," said Rupping.

He revealed that some of the 50 staff employed by the retailer had already been made redundant, but was unable to confirm numbers.

The writing was on the wall for Micro Anvika last November when credit insurers, nervous about the lacklustre retail sector, removed lines, forcing the retailer to trade with suppliers on a cash-with-order basis.

Micro Anvika's management then called in Re10 last Christmas; the advisor then proposed a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) rather than the last resort - administration.

The CVA was approved in May after Micro Anvika shuttered more than half its stores and made redundant over 60 per cent of the 140-strong workforce in a bid to prove it could regain economic viability.

As part of the CVA, creditors were offered a 32 pence-on-the-pound offer on debts totalling £2.7m to be paid back over five years. The CVA terms ended once Micro Anvika entered administration.

Continued consolidation of players Aivars Lode, Avantce

8/27/2012 9:00:00 AM Trimble to Buy TMW Systems for $335 Million Trimble Navigation said Monday it has signed an agreement to acquire TMW Systems for $335 million, bringing the transportation software provider together with PeopleNet Communications Corp., which Trimble purchased last year. Executives with the companies told Transport Topics they will remain separate units and continue working with all current partners. They also will more closely integrate TMW’s products with PeopleNet’s onboard computing and fleet communications services. The all-cash deal will be financed through Trimble’s existing credit facility. TMW’s most recent 12-month revenue was about $96 million, Trimble said in a statement, and said the deal would add about 12 to 14 cents per share to its adjusted 2013 earnings. David Wangler, TMW’s president and CEO, said joining with Trimble gives TMW an opportunity for growth that “we didn’t have as a stand-alone,” including more access to the construction and agricultural segments. The companies have worked together for about a decade and TMW is PeopleNet’s largest technology integration partner, said Ron Konezny, general manager of Trimble’s transport and logistics division. Konezny founded PeopleNet, Minnetonka, Minn., in 1994, and started in his current role for Trimble in December. At that time, Brian McLaughlin was promoted to president of PeopleNet from chief operating officer. Outside North America, Trimble, Sunnyvale, Calif., has a presence in Europe, Australia and India. TMW’s website says 77 of the largest 100 for-hire fleets use its software, based on the 2011 TT100 list. TMW, Beachwood, Ohio, celebrates its 30th anniversary next year. It purchased Appian Logistics Software in 2011, Innovative Computing Corp. in 2009 and Maddocks Systems in 2006. By Neil Abt News Editor

-- 
Timothy G Taylor
President
Network FOB
(239) 330-4751

Continued consolidation of players. Aivars Lode Avantce

8/27/2012 9:00:00 AM

Trimble to Buy TMW Systems for $335 Million

Trimble Navigation said Monday it has signed an agreement to acquire TMW Systems for $335 million, bringing the transportation software provider together with PeopleNet Communications Corp., which Trimble purchased last year.

Executives with the companies told Transport Topics they will remain separate units and continue working with all current partners.

They also will more closely integrate TMW’s products with PeopleNet’s onboard computing and fleet communications services.

The all-cash deal will be financed through Trimble’s existing credit facility. TMW’s most recent 12-month revenue was about $96 million, Trimble said in a statement, and said the deal would add about 12 to 14 cents per share to its adjusted 2013 earnings.

David Wangler, TMW’s president and CEO, said joining with Trimble gives TMW an opportunity for growth that “we didn’t have as a stand-alone,” including more access to the construction and agricultural segments.

The companies have worked together for about a decade and TMW is PeopleNet’s largest technology integration partner, said Ron Konezny, general manager of Trimble’s transport and logistics division.

Konezny founded PeopleNet, Minnetonka, Minn., in 1994, and started in his current role for Trimble in December. At that time, Brian McLaughlin was promoted to president of PeopleNet from chief operating officer.

Outside North America, Trimble, Sunnyvale, Calif., has a presence in Europe, Australia and India.

TMW’s website says 77 of the largest 100 for-hire fleets use its software, based on the 2011 TT100 list.

TMW, Beachwood, Ohio, celebrates its 30th anniversary next year. It purchased Appian Logistics Software in 2011, Innovative Computing Corp. in 2009 and Maddocks Systems in 2006.

By Neil Abt

News Editor

Globalization and the Income Slowdown

Traceability in the supply chain is no longer a nice to have but regulated. Aivars Lode

Globalization and the Income Slowdown

By DAVID LEONHARDT

August 21, 2012, 7:22 AM

When I write about income stagnation apart from the Great Recession, I typically rely on a trio of explanations: Globalization, technology, and health care.
Competition drives down costs. Shoppers understand this, intuitively. One reason that flat-screen TV prices have fallen so much in the last ten years is that so many electronics companies have gotten efficient at making them. Similarly, competition for jobs in tradable goods and services — manufacturing that could be done in China; retail that’s simpler on Amazon — competes down the price employers pay workers in those industries. It makes many workers borderline-replaceable and nothing borderline-replaceable is expensive. Those forces drove down wages, and employer-side health care costs gnawed at the rest of it.

In my exchanges with economists so far, globalization is certainly among the most commonly cited factors for the income slowdown. American workers today face vastly more competition from foreign workers — especially foreign workers who earn much less money than the typical American — compared with past decades.

Benjamin Friedman — a Harvard professor and the author of the ambitious economic history “The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth” — told me that he would put global competition and technological change at the top of his list of causes, with the education slowdown (which, he noted, interacted with technological change) and cultural norms not far behind. Mr. Friedman pointed to Lucian Bebchuk’s research on soaring executive pay as an example of how much norms had changed.

In his next bucket of importance, Mr. Friedman listed health costs, an innovation plateau, the minimum wage, family structure and immigration. Immigration, he said, largely affects workers at the bottom end of the income spectrum.

Stephen S. Roach, the longtime Morgan Stanley economist and China expert who now teaches at Yale, offered a list with some strong similarities to Mr. Friedman’s. Mr. Roach put global competition, the educational slowdown and the innovation plateau at the top of his list, followed by automation, deregulation, rising health costs, immigration and the falling minimum wage.

He also said that the supply chain explosion — “rapid growth of integrated global production platforms that squeeze labor income at all stages of the production process” — deserved a place on the list. I’d probably argue that the supply chain was a subset of either globalization or automation, but I see why someone else might list it as a separate factor.

Mr. Thompson, in his post, included a chart — of employment by sector — that underscored the importance of globalization:

Employment by Industry Since 1939

Chart courtesy of Derek ThompsonEmployment in each sector by year, in thousands.

As he notes, only one line defies the business cycle and just keeps going up: education and health care. He writes:

What do those sectors have in common? They’re all local. You can’t send them to Korea. As Michael Spence has explained, corporations have gotten so good at “creating and managing global supply chains” that large companies no longer grow much in the United States. They expand abroad. As a result, the vast majority (more than 97%, Spence says!) of job creation now happens in so-called nontradable sectors — those that exist outside of the global supply chain — that are often low-profit-margin businesses, like a hospital, or else not even businesses at all, like a school or mayor’s office.

This chart measures jobs, not incomes. I think it’s possible that parts of other sectors have delivered big average pay gains (most likely, the high-skill jobs) even if overall employment in those sectors hasn’t grown as fast as in education and health care. I also wonder how much technological innovation explains these lines: education and health care are notoriously inefficient sectors. But no matter how you look at the picture, globalization seems to be one of the biggest changes that has accompanied the great American income slowdown.

Prominent Global Logistics Service Provider To Offer Expanded Web-Based Logistics Solutions With Descartes’ DeliveryNet Technology

Prominent Global Logistics Service Provider To Offer Expanded Web-Based Logistics Solutions With Descartes’ DeliveryNet Technology

WATERLOO, ONTARIO, September 19, 2000 — The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSGX), (TSE:DSG), a leading provider of global Internet logistics technologies, announced today that Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R), a leader in logistics and transportation management solutions worldwide, has selected Descartes’ DeliveryNet technology to strengthen its global logistics solutions. Ryder was this year named the number one third party logistics (3PL) provider for the third consecutive year in the annual Inbound Logistics "Top Ten Excellence Survey.” With the Descartes logistics network technology, Ryder will offer its global clients rapid connectivity between trading partners for Web-based visibility throughout the supply chain and optimized logistics processes.

“We selected Descartes’ DeliveryNet technology as a backbone for customer fulfillment networks that we manage for our clients because Descartes is a leader in logistics network technology on a global basis,” said Gene Tyndall, Ryder’s Executive Vice President of Global Markets & e-Commerce. “Ryder is a global Company serving clients with global supply chain logistics challenges. Descartes has proven its ability to deliver high-performance, flexible, scalable logistics network technology to enable solutions for logistics challenges of leading organizations worldwide.”

“Our success is measured by our ability to quickly and uniquely respond to complex individual client needs,” said Bill Horrocks, Ryder’s Vice President of Solutions Design and Implementation, Worldwide. “The flexibility and logistics network visibility from Descartes’ DeliveryNet technology supports the minute-by-minute management of logistics activity taking place throughout our clients’ fulfillment networks. The DeliveryNet technology also builds a store of logistics transaction information that we can use to evaluate supply chain designs, trading partner collaboration and emerging trends. We can use this detailed logistics information to continuously bring added value to these logistics services that we provide our clients.”

“As a top third party logistics provider, Ryder brings the highest quality transportation and supply chain logistics solutions to its customers,” said Aivars Lode, Group President at Descartes. “Ryder’s selection of Descartes’ DeliveryNet technology yet again reinforces Descartes as a top technology provider for leaders in the transportation and logistics industry. We are pleased to have the opportunity to deliver added value and efficiency to Ryder and its suppliers and clients.”

Ryder will be strengthening its suite of technology-enabled supply chain logistics services with Descartes’ DeliveryNet technology. This includes expanded track & trace, dynamically optimized routing and scheduling, distribution center optimization and proactive alerts and notifications when delays are expected anywhere along supply chains.

About Ryder

Ryder provides a continuum of leading-edge supply chain logistics and transportation management solutions worldwide. Ryder's solutions range from full-service leasing, commercial rental and programmed maintenance of vehicles to integrated services such as dedicated contract carriage and carrier management. Additionally, Ryder offers comprehensive supply chain solutions, lead logistics management services and e-Commerce solutions that support clients' entire supply chains, from sourcing of inbound raw materials through distribution and delivery of finished goods. Ryder serves client needs throughout North America, in Latin America, Europe and Asia.
Descartes is a leading provider of end-to-end logistics technologies that facilitate B2B e-commerce. Descartes' e?fulfillment software and exchange solutions enable companies to create high-speed, high-performance fulfillment networks called DeliveryNets. DeliveryNet technologies empower organizations to deliver reliable, responsive customer service in a profitable manner and to create innovative new products and services.

For more information about Ryder, visit http://www.ryder.com.

About Descartes

DeliveryNet technologies leverage Descartes’ Internet-based Global Logistics Network, an open, worldwide network of shippers, receivers, carriers, logistics service providers, e-marketplaces, vertical portals and transportation exchanges. The result is a global e-fulfillment information infrastructure that provides cost savings and revenue opportunities for businesses that need to manage physical product movement.

Descartes products are licensed today by more than 850 companies in 35 vertical industries in over 50 countries worldwide. For more information about Descartes, visithttp://www.descartes.com.

All registered and unregistered trademarks mentioned in this release are the property of their respective owners.

###

This release contains statements that may relate to expected revenue from and transaction volume of Descartes customers, performance of Descartes’ DeliveryNet solutions, market dynamics and other matters that may constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results may differ from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements as a result of factors discussed in the section entitled, "Risk Factors" in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Ontario Securities Commission and other securities commissions across Canada.

Hansol CSN And ATR Korea Select Descartes To Create Federated Logistics Network Of Korean National Interest

Hansol CSN And ATR Korea Select Descartes To Create Federated Logistics Network Of Korean National Interest

Descartes’ DeliveryNet solution will optimize Hansol CSN’s home delivery and third party logistics networks for two of the company’s major divisions: CSClub.com andLogisClub.com. CSClub.com is Korea’s largest online shopping mall, commanding approximately 36% market share and carrying over 150,000 SKUs. LogisClub.com isKorea’s largest logistics portal, with an existing network of over 120 forwarders, 1000 member trucks, 14 of its own distribution centers, and existing relationships with most of the major Korean ocean and air carriers. Hansol CSN is part of the diversified Hansol Group, one of the top 11 business groups in Korea, with interests in chemicals, paper, electronics, and telecommunications.ATR Korea intends to provide Descartes’ DeliveryNet solution to major industries in the Korean marketplace. It is forming a consortium to bring major manufacturers, logistics companies, banks and new business entities together into one federated network. Several major companies are expected to join the new ATR Korea consortium, including LG International Corp., a US$54 billion business group with a network extending over 120 countries.“Hansol CSN and ATR Korea plan to build a federated logistics network of national Korean interest, with Descartes providing the infrastructure to optimize logistics processes and extend the reach of Korean businesses and their customers through the Global Logistics Network,” said Aivars Lode, President at Descartes. “The Network together with Descartes’ DeliveryNet solution will accelerate the launch of Korean companies into the global marketplace, creating ever broadening opportunities for global logistics collaboration and new revenue streams.”Hansol Logis Club: http://www.logisclub.com

Major Korean Companies Join Forces to Create Optimized Logistics Network with Descartes’ DeliveryNet Solutions

WATERLOO, ONTARIO, June 1, 2000 — The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DSGX), (TSE:DSG), a leading provider of global Internet logistics solutions, announced today that Hansol CSN, owner and operator of Korea’s largest online shopping mall and logistics portal, and ATR Korea, a provider of advanced technologies and resources for logistics, banking, ASPs and networks, intend to work together with Descartes to create a federated network of Korean national interest. Hansol CSN has signed a definitive agreement to license Descartes’ DeliveryNet solution for the creation of this network. ATR Korea has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, moving toward a definitive agreement for their participation in this federated network. Descartes’ DeliveryNet will be licensed on a transaction fee basis. This network will empower Korean industries to extend their logistics infrastructure and market opportunities beyond Koreaand into the global marketplace.

Hansol CSN to Extend Home Delivery and Third Party Logistics Networks

“Descartes is a global leader in e-fulfillment worldwide, with the logistics infrastructure and global logistics connections that can further the success of our home delivery and third party logistics businesses,” said Hong-sik Kim, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hansol CSN. “Descartes’ DeliveryNet solution will allow us to rapidly connect to the many trading partners in our logistics network and strengthen our ability to offer profitable delivery services to our customers. We can also drive greater efficiencies throughout our logistics processes with the ability to monitor, analyze and control logistics activities and conduct paperless transactions between our trading partners and customers.”

ATR Korea to Optimize Logistics for Consortium in Korea

“ATR Korea and Descartes’ Internet logistics solutions will give us the ability to rapidly move goods throughout global and local supply chains, creating greater logistics efficiencies through technology and new revenue streams through collaboration with other companies within the ATR Korea exchange and across the Global Logistics Network,” said D.H. Kang, Senior Vice President, e-Venture Division, LG International Corp. “Descartes’ technology will allow us to optimize the logistics network, rapidly connecting our trading partners and providing global visibility and greater control over logistics.”

“With Descartes’ Internet logistics infrastructure and transportation and logistics solutions, we are offering participants of the ATR Korea exchange the real-time information infrastructure and a set of optimization solutions that will bring value to their logistics processes, including global visibility throughout the supply chain for all trading partners,” said Andrew Youn, President and Chief Executive Officer, ATR Korea. “Descartes will also extend the reach of ATR Korea by providing access to the Global Logistics Network via its Internet logistics infrastructure. This extended reach will create new opportunities for global collaboration, generating new revenue streams and greater geographic coverage for ATR Korea’s customers.”

Major Korean Industries Gain Access to the Global Logistics Network

The Global Logistics Network is a federated community of shippers, receivers, carriers, logistics service providers, e-marketplaces, vertical portals and transportation exchanges. It enables participants to leverage public community connections over a technology-based network while maintaining full control of their own private logistics community. The result is an open, vendor-neutral global e-fulfillment network that provides cost savings and revenue opportunities for businesses that need to manage physical product movement.

Participants that connect to the Global Logistics Network through Descartes’ DeliveryNet solutions can deliver a choice of e-fulfillment services, such as real-time visibility of orders, dynamic route optimization, real-time transportation sourcing, merge-in-transit, online transportation exchange and Internet tools for contracts negotiation and rate checking, and delivery personalization and yield management. Descartes’ DeliveryNet solution together with the Global Logistics Network enables logistics organizations to connect new customers, tap into new markets and rapidly deploy new e-fulfillment service bundles, capturing time-to-market advantages. The Global Logistics Network is designed to produce network effects and global economies of scale for all participants.

About Hansol CSN

Hansol CSN Co., Ltd., is exploring new service markets on the basis of its parent company’s (Hansol Group) state-of-the-art information system and global sales network. Both at home and abroad, the company is providing high value-added services by building covering storage, freight loading and unloading, forwarding and related information. Hansol CSN will embrace new e-commerce and e-service systems to create a distribution and manufacturing system that continually increases customer satisfaction.

Hansol CSN is a leading company in Korean e?commerce. Hansol CSN operates the Hansol CS Club, an Internet shopping mall, and the Hansol Logis Club, a service devoted to domestics, international and cyber-logistics. Hansol CSN’s domestics logistics division covers such tasks as corporate logistics management, a logistics agency, multiple freight shipment, and a joint logistics business among other companies. The international logistics division deals with the importing/exporting of raw materials, collective international freight shipment, a consolidated international air cargo center operation, and an international logistics agent business. The Hansol CS Club boasts the highest number of members in the Korean cyber-shopping industry. The CS Club has ushered in the age of state-of-the-art international shopping in Korea.

The Hansol Logis Club, the first enterprise of its kind to apply the “cyber concept” to the logistics business, has made noteworthy strides of development. Its aim is to achieve a ‘convenient world’ in which people can receive the products and services they want from anywhere in the world just by clicking their PC mouse.

Hansol CS Club: http://www.csclub.com

About ATR Korea

ATR Korea is a provider of advanced technologies and resources for logistics, banking, ASPs, and networks. ATR is creating a leading consortium of major businesses in Korea, including conglomerates, logistics and e?commerce companies.

About Descartes

Descartes is a leading provider of end-to-end logistics solutions that facilitate B2B e-commerce. Descartes' e?fulfillment software and exchange solutions enable companies to create high-speed, high-performance fulfillment networks called DeliveryNets. DeliveryNet solutions empower organizations to deliver reliable, responsive customer service in a profitable manner and to create innovative new products and services.

DeliveryNet solutions leverage Descartes' Internet-based Global Logistics Network, an open, worldwide network of shippers, receivers, carriers, logistics service providers, e-marketplaces, vertical portals, and transportation exchanges. The result is a global e-fulfillment information infrastructure that provides cost savings and revenue opportunities for businesses that need to manage physical product movement.

Descartes products are licensed today by more than 850 companies in 35 vertical industries in over 50 countries worldwide. For more information about Descartes, visitwww.descartes.com.

All registered and unregistered trademarks mentioned in this release are the property of their respective owners.

This release contains statements that may relate to expected revenue from and transaction volume of Descartes customers, performance of Descartes’ DeliveryNet solutions, market dynamics and other matters that may constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results may differ from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements as a result of factors discussed in the section entitled, "Risk Factors" in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Ontario Securities Commission and other securities commissions across Canada.