August 28, 2001

Inex Partners Oy outsources its SAP-based IT-systems to Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Finland Oy

Inex Partners Oy and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Finland Oy (CGE&Y Finland Oy) have entered into a significant agreement on June 21, 2001, according to which CGE&Y Finland Oy will take the responsibility of Applications and Infrastructure Management of Inex Partners Oy´s IT-systems. In addition to this, companies have made a frame agreement regarding the IT-systems Development Services. The agreement´s duration is 3 years and presents value of several million euros.

"We have been cooperating with CGE&Y Finland Oy in a traditional, project based way for over 10 years now, when it comes to Applications and Infrastructure Management. Now we want to clearly increase the added value in our cooperation and therefore we take this step towards the new, active partnership, where Inex buys high usability in SAP-based IT-systems environment," states Kari Kiviharju, IT Manager of Inex Partners Oy.

According to CGE&Y Finland Oy -Country Manager Markus Sell, CGE&Y holds already now a clear market leader position in Finland both in Development area and Applications & Infrastructure Management for SAP-systems in logistics and retail sector. "Our key account strategy aims at long term partnerships. We have been working on Inex Partners Oy´s SAP projects since 1997. This agreement means in practice, that CGE&Y is handling the SAP-system of the most efficient sourcing and -logistics company in the Nordic Region. More significant is probably the fact that this SAP-system is one of the biggest in Europe in terms of the amount of transactions. Our agreement is a clear outsourcing type of partnership, where we take the responsibility of Applications Development, Management and Infrastructure Management," describes Markus Sell.

The SAP-based systems of Inex Partners will have a centralised Help Desk, which will cover both Applications and Infrastructure Management, and it will also be supporting other IT partners of Inex. This mode of operation aims at fast information flow and continuous development of the system´s functionality.

"The sourcing and logistics solutions and IT-systems supporting them are nowadays clearly business driven. Therefore, it is very important also to measure and follow up them from the business perspective. It cannot be achieved by the traditional, project based IT services buying. In a partner model, which is based on long term perspective and results, it is possible to define the responsibilities clearly and also link the systems development optimally to the daily operations and utilise the feedback from the whole network," clarifies Kari Kiviharju the requirements set for the IT-systems Management of today´s sourcing and logistics business.

For further information, please contact:

Inex Partners Oy, IT Manager Kari Kiviharju, tel. +358-20 44 111

Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Finland Oy, Country Manager Markus Sell,

tel. +358-9-452651

Inex Partners Oy

Inex Partners Oy is specialised provider of sourcing and logistics services for the retail trade sector. Its clients include three major retail chains in Finland, S-Group, Tradeka and Elanto. Inex Partners Oy employs 2000 people in Finland and its revenue in 2000 was 1.5 billion euros.

More information at www.inex.fi

Cap Gemini Ernst & Young

Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is one of the largest management and IT consulting firms in the world. The company offers management and IT consulting services, systems integration, and technology development, design, and outsourcing capabilities on a global scale to help businesses continue to implement growth strategies and leverage technology in the new economy. The organization employs more than 60, 000 people worldwide and reports global revenues of about 8.5 billion euros (2000 pro forma).

More information about individual service lines, offices, and research is available at www.cgey.com