Showroom Solutions and Brandwise Announce Merger

LAKEWOOD, Colo.-- Showroom Solutions, Inc. (SSI), Lakewood, CO and Brandwise, Inc., Boston, MA, the leading providers of Sales Force Automation, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and business analysis tools for manufacturers and sales agencies in fragmented wholesale industries (including gift, home furnishings, lighting, craft and specialty toy), announced today that they have signed an agreement to merge companies. The new company will be headquartered at the current SSI office in Lakewood, Colorado, and will maintain satellite offices in Boston and Atlanta. The company will temporarily operate under the name Brandwise SSI, Inc.

"We see this as a great opportunity to streamline operations and offer unparalleled service to our customers. Two established companies were creating conflicting solutions and standards within the industry. This merger allows our companies to focus energies toward defining standards, increasing efficiencies and improving connectivity between thousands of manufacturers and hundreds of agencies using our combined technologies," says Mark Bellissimo, CEO Brandwise SSI.

Suppliers will benefit from the standardization of information flow from all agencies, regardless of whether they are customers of Brandwise SSI. "It is our intention to create 'open standards' which we believe will benefit the entire industry," adds Bellissimo. Additionally, suppliers will benefit from more efficient order processing related to higher quality product information in the sales channel and better end-to-end solutions. This enhanced order processing combined with Brandwise SSI's industry-specific, data-driven CRM capabilities and powerful business analysis and reporting tools will drive increased sales and profitability.

"We are excited about the opportunities this merger will present. We have been working with Brandwise for the past two years and are thrilled with the impact their SalesOptimizerTM has had on our ability to get the right information to the right sales staff at the right time. Recently we have been utilizing OrderNetTM as our integrated solution for bringing orders in electronically from a variety of sources including EDI. This merger will result in a more cost effective and streamlined approach to this critical aspect of our business," says Bob Kiersznowski, vice president of sales & marketing at DEMDACO.

In the coming months Brandwise SSI will integrate their current technologies to maximize the performance of existing product offerings, while developing new products that will continue to improve customer efficiency. The newly-formed entity will ensure that retailers can also benefit from this merger by having better access to industry-specific information provided by suppliers and their sales representatives, which should increase turn-rates and margins.

Todd Litzman, president, Brandwise SSI, will be responsible for day-to-day operations of the combined companies. "We will pool the talents and technologies of both companies, which will eliminate significant duplication. This will allow us to provide a higher level of service, expand product offerings, and accelerate the implementation of existing products into the industry. For example, agencies will have increased access to additional electronic information including invoices, order status, and customer credit information via the web, laptop, or mobile device," says Litzman.

"The merger of Brandwise and Showroom Solutions makes perfect sense for the industry. Showroom Solutions has the best software package in the industry for showroom sales, road sales, and back office sales management and accounting. Brandwise has the best software in the industry for vendor sales communication and analysis. Together, they have it all. Our needs as reps and vendors for information connectivity have never been greater. Finally, we have a major player in the technology solutions business that understands the needs of our industry, and can provide us with sophisticated, state-of-the art information services," says Robin Kert, owner, Southeast Marketing.

"In the end, we believe our combined talents will have a very positive impact on the industry. Our ultimate goal is to provide the products and services that will make our customers more productive and profitable," says Litzman.

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