SPE.L Regulatory News (SPE)

12 Sep 2006 07:00

Embargoed: 0700hrs BST, 12 September 2006 Orangina Initiates Group-wide Implementation of Sopheon's Accolade Solution Leading European Soft Drink Producer Deploys Software System to Facilitate Better, More Profitable Innovation MINNEAPOLIS and LONDON ¡â€š¾ Sept. 12, 2006 ¡â€š¾ Sopheon, the international softwareand services company, announced today that Orangina Group, one of the largestsoft drink producers in Europe, is deploying Sopheon's Accolade product lifecycle management system to strengthen governance of the company's innovationprocess and increase the business returns from new products. The group-wideimplementation will encompass head-office sites and research-and-development (R&D) facilities in France, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands.Stagnito's 2006 annual survey of R&D in the beverage industry found thatbeverage producers are continuing to focus on new product innovation as aprincipal way of increasing market share. The study determined that 47 percentof soft drink manufacturers can develop a product in less than six months.However, it also found that, overall, only half of the products emerging from R&D are commercialized, and one of every three soft drinks reaching themarketplace fails.Orangina Group is the number one soft drink producer in France, and the thirdlargest player in the European market. Its products are sold in 60 countries tomore than 500 million consumers. Sopheon's Accolade will allow Orangina tostrengthen the governance of its innovation process by providing decisionsupport and controls that enable more informed prioritization of productdevelopment projects. It will also ensure consistent alignment of resourceswith the most commercially promising product opportunities."We chose Sopheon's solution because we believe it can help us fast-track ourinnovation process," said Fergus Chapman, Group Marketing Capabilities Managerat Orangina. "Accolade's ease-of-use, flexibility, and powerful reportingcapabilities simplify the innovation process and, in doing so, theyoperationlize it. As a result, we can concentrate on the innovation itself, andreduce the time spent on processes. Accolade enables us to focus on the `what'rather than the `how' of innovation.""Orangina Group's business success reflects the company's long-standingstrategic emphasis on profitable innovation," said Mike Connolly, Europeandirector for Sopheon. "Accolade will provide them with the support they need todevelop the right priorities, strategies and activities to achieve maximumbusiness impact from their innovation efforts. Orangina Group's rationale foradopting our solution is an affirmation of Accolade's emergence as the processgovernance solution of choice among food and beverage companies that arelooking to innovation as a primary source of business value."Sopheon Accolade‚® is a registered trademark of Sopheon plc.Orangina‚® is a registered trademark of Orangina Group.All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the soleproperty of their respective owners.About OranginaOrangina Group is the number three player in the European soft drinks market.Its principal products are carbonated soft drinks, mineral waters and stilldrinks. Its main brands are Schweppes, Orangina, TriNa, Oasis and La Casera,which account for around 75% of sales. Other brands include Pampryl, Gini andVida. Products are sold across Continental Europe, with some sales in the UK,parts of North and West Africa and the Middle East.About SopheonSopheon (LSE: SPE) is an international provider of software and services thathelp organizations improve the business impact of product innovation. TheSopheon Accolade‚® product innovation process and portfolio management systemautomates gate- or phase-based product development processes and providesstrategic decision support that allows companies to increase revenue andprofits from new products. Sopheon is listed on the AIM Market of the LondonStock Exchange and on the Euronext in the Netherlands. For more information,please visit www.sopheon.com.Arif Karimjee, CFO Sopheon plc Tel : + 44 (0) 1483 685 735 Ben Simons Hansard Group Tel : + 44 (0) 207 245 1100 Frank Jansen Citigate First Financial Tel : + 31 (0) 205 754 024ENDSOPHEON PLC