SPE.L Regulatory News (SPE)

16 Oct 2007 14:38

Sopheon, the international software and services company,announced today that Beiersdorf AG, a leading manufacturer of skin andbeauty care products, has deployed Sopheon's Accolade product lifecycle management (PLM) system to support the company's implementationof an enhanced, integrated process for developing and launching newproducts. The solution is also being used to strengthen productportfolio decision-making and reporting. £ Founded in Hamburg, Germany in 1882 by pharmacist Carl Beiersdorf,Beiersdorf's original product patents were for bandages and woundcoverings. By the turn of the century, the company had expanded intoconsumer skin care and beauty products. Today Beiersdorf is a $7Bglobal producer of regionally branded consumer goods withapproximately 100 locations and more than 17,000 employees. Thecompany has a reputation for strong customer and product focus, anorientation that has helped, for instance, make NIVEA(R) thebest-selling body care brand in the world. £ Cosmetics is a highly competitive, global industry. It is alsoamong the fastest-moving markets in the consumer goods sector. Thelife of a typical cosmetic product is only about four years, whichmeans that ongoing, rapid innovation is a prerequisite to achievingsustained business growth. Beiersdorf is addressing this imperative asa core aspect of its consumer business strategy, labeled "Passion forSuccess." The strategy calls for the company to focus on fewer butmore significant innovations and deliver them to market faster.Beiersdorf has long regarded continuous improvement of its new productdevelopment processes as a key factor in maintaining brandsuperiority. £ Beiersdorf's adoption of Accolade has allowed the company toadvance not only its processes for product creation, but its portfoliomanagement capabilities as well. One principal benefit of the systemis that it has given the cross-functional teams engaged in productdevelopment across the Beiersdorf organization a common platformthrough which to access and share project data. The result has beengreater transparency and an improved ability to track the progress ofprojects in the developmental pipeline. Accolade has also helped toraise the efficiency and accuracy of portfolio reporting andstrengthen the company's portfolio management and decision-makingprocesses. £ Sopheon partners, Sopheon Vertriebs GmbH and Sopheon BusinessApplications GmbH, were responsible for the sale, implementation andsupport of Accolade at Beiersdorf. Dieter Jaeger, chief executiveofficer of Sopheon Vertriebs GmbH, said, "Beiersdorf has commanded atop position in the international personal care market for many years,and innovation-led product development has been a hallmark of theirsuccess. When we were introduced to Beiersdorf, they already had inplace a standardized, global product development process anchored inbest practices. With Accolade, we were able to give them a single,user-friendly software system that integrated the management of thatprocess with portfolio management and comprehensive decision-support.Beiersdorf chose Accolade because it could match their specific,demanding process requirements. They have subsequently embraced itbecause it has proven that it helps to ensure superior processperformance." £ Accolade(R) is a registered trademark of Sopheon plc. £ NIVEA(R) is a registered trademark of Beiersdorf AG. £ All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the soleproperty of their respective owners. £ About Beiersdorf AG £ Founded in Hamburg, Germany in 1882 as a small pharmacy,Beiersdorf has grown to become a global company of branded consumergoods with approximately 100 affiliates. Since its founding,Beiersdorf has concentrated on skin and beauty care. Beiersdorf isfocused on dynamic regions that have above-average developmentalpotential, including Asia, South America and Eastern Europe.Beiersdorf is particularly focused on China, Russia, Brazil and India.Beiersdorf products include NIVEA(R), Eucerin(R), Curad(R),Labello(R), 8x4(R), JUVENA(R), la prairie(R), atrix(R) and FUTURO(R).For more information, please visit www.beiersdorf.com. £ About Sopheon £ Sopheon (LSE:SPE) is an international provider of software andservices that help organizations improve the business impact ofproduct innovation. Sopheon's solutions automate and govern theinnovation process, enabling companies to increase revenue and profitsfrom new products. Sopheon is listed on the AIM Market of the LondonStock Exchange and on the Euronext in the Netherlands. For moreinformation, please visit www.sopheon.com. Copyright Business Wire 2007