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Intelligent Systems Chooses IBM to Help Deliver On Demand Solutions to Meet Retail Industry Customer Needs

Company Joins IBM PartnerWorld Industry Networks; Combination Delivers Complete Item-Level RFID Solution & Services

Intelligent Systems announced that it has joined IBM's PartnerWorld Industry Networks. The company, a division of MeadWestvaco Corporation, can now take advantage of IBM's sales, marketing and technical expertise to develop and deliver on demand solutions that meet customer requirements in the retail item-level RFID industry.

Intelligent Systems has also achieved IBM Ready for Store Integration Framework (SIF) Validation. IBM Ready for SIF Business Partners have completed technical validation for their store application running on IBM's open standards-based middleware.

U.S. retailers lose an estimated $50 billion annually from out-of-stocks and an additional $31 billion annually due to shrinkage, according to industry research. Intelligent Systems' item-level RFID solution streamlines inventory management, reducing this financial impact and improving customer service for retailers. Studies have shown that a centralized item-level RFID solution such as this can increase sales and lower costs by reducing out-of-stock by as much as 50 percent, and cutting restocking time by as much as 65 percent.

"With IBM as a strategic partner, Intelligent Systems is uniquely qualified to deliver tangible business results to retailers investing in RFID from both a solution and services standpoint," said Robert Locke, president, Intelligent Systems. "Combining IBM's extensive retail integration experience and consulting services with our networked, item-level RFID solution means that retailers can cut costs, increase productivity and improve customer service -- and they can do it with some of the most trusted and most innovative companies in retail."

Intelligent Systems' innovative networked approach to item-level RFID provides a cost effective, flexible solution that can support hundreds to thousands of antennas with as little as a single reader, opening up new possibilities in store operations. By building antennas into standard fixtures (new or retrofit) and using a patent-pending approach to control them, Intelligent Systems dramatically reduces the number of electronic components required, and thus the cost, as compared to conventional multiplexing approaches.

"Customers in the retail industry are seeking open solutions designed to meet their specific business challenges," said Buell Duncan, general manager, ISV & Developer Relations, IBM. "Working with Intelligent Systems through PartnerWorld for Industry Networks will help us better serve our joint retail customers."

The IBM PartnerWorld Industry Networks provide ISVs with comprehensive business insight, technical resources, networking opportunities, and marketing and sales support designed to help them reach more customers and close deals faster. Participants in the PartnerWorld Industry Networks can team with IBM to bring on demand solutions to market more easily and to ensure these solutions meet specific industry needs, reflecting how customers buy technology today. ISVs who have attained one or more Industry Optimized competences have successfully integrated with on demand IBM infrastructure software and hardware and demonstrated success with customers in the industries they note.

ISVs can sign up for PartnerWorld Industry Networks at www.ibm.com/isv.

About Intelligent Systems

For retailers and other consumer-facing organizations that want to manage product inventory more effectively, Intelligent Systems, a division of MeadWestvaco Corporation (NYSE: MWV), constructs enterprise-wide RFID networks that deliver unmatched visibility from distribution center to point of sale. Unlike other RFID technologies that stop at the stock room, Intelligent Systems completes the RFID "last mile" by tracking items from the store room to the store shelves and the point of sale. By giving each item a unique identity and location, Intelligent Systems' solution allows retailers to monitor what products are selling and how quickly; what types of products are most likely to be lost or stolen; and what promotional offers and how well. Intelligent Systems' technology has been developed to take advantage of the open-architecture features of the EPC Network, and supports the vision of low-cost ubiquitous RFID pursued by EPCglobal and its other subscribers. For more information, please visit www.is-mwv.com or email info@is-mwv.com.

Distributed by Market Wire