RNS Number:8505M
Systems Union Group PLC
26 June 2003







26 June 2003

    A new era in manufacturing as MAPICS and Systems Union Group join forces

 New strategic partnership offers world-class financials to global organisations

SunSystems, the core product of Systems Union Group and one of the world's
leading providers of global business and financial management solutions has
formed a strategic alliance with MAPICS, the largest global provider of extended
enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM) and
supply chain management (SCM) solutions focused exclusively on the manufacturing
industry around the world.

The SunSystems product's global, low total cost of ownership and low risk
implementation proposition makes it a very attractive solution for third party
application vendors seeking to embed a proven financial and business management
capability into their solution set. In a contract worth a minimum of $1.5m (USD)
in royalties to Systems Union over a three year period, SunSystems will be
integrated into the MAPICS SyteLine ERP solution and targeted at global
manufacturers in industries such as industrial equipment, electronics,
fabricated metals, automotive and furniture and fixtures.

Tom Westerlund, vice president of solutions management at MAPICS commented: "The
alliance with SunSystems represents a significant development in our strategy to
deliver enterprise wide solutions to our expanding customer base. Global
manufacturers are increasingly looking to us to provide them with complementary
applications that will enhance their understanding of business performance,
improve the flow and quality of management information and ultimately promote
profitability. SunSystems is a perfect addition to our SytelLine ERP solution.
It has a proven track record as one of the world's leading financial solutions
and offers multi-currency, multi-lingual capabilities as well as advanced
reporting and analytical tools to aid in the understanding of business
performance and enhance the strategic decision making process."

The solution, SyteLline Advanced Financials powered by SunSystems will enable
large, multi-site and multinational enterprises to more effectively capture the
complex financial data generated across the enterprise and will provide
stakeholders with immediate access to accurate information in a timely and cost
effective manner.

Paul Coleman, chief executive officer of Systems Union Group plc said. "MAPICS'
excellent track record of providing practical manufacturing solutions and
creating significant operational efficiencies for its customers made it a
natural partner for Systems Union. The combination of both solutions will be
very powerful and it is another excellent example of our commitment to building
a global network of OEM partners. By leveraging the strengths of SunSystems
MAPICS will be able to address the unique international financial requirements
multi-national manufacturers face and provide a more complete global financial
solution for its customers."


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