3i and ITG's US$8.5 M Investment Accelerates Firium's Expansion Exercise

Demand chain management is experiencing exponential market growth and eCRM-enabled wealth management services is expected to dominate the Asian financial services sector

Singapore, 2 April 2001 - Firium, a Business TechnologistSM focusing on demand chain management (DCM) solutions for the financial services, and retail and distribution sectors in Asia Pacific, has attracted US$8.5 million fresh funding from the 3i Group and the Internet Technology Group (ITG). 3i, an international venture capital player, has followed up its US$2 million investment in the company last year with another US$2.6 million, while Singapore mainboard-listed ITG has put in US$5.9 million, its first investment in Firium.

"We are thrilled that 3i and ITG believe and share our vision as we redefine demand chain management and set a new pace in business technology," said Firium's founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jusuf Sjariffudin. "Building on our success in Asia, we are focusing our business on two specific sectors - financial services and retail and distribution - and targeting strategic acquisitions in new markets such as Thailand and the Philippines this year."

The investment completes Firium's second round of financing which will be used for regional expansion, including opening of regional offices, recruitment and acquisitions.

Formerly known as Jatis Solutions, Firium has demonstrated strong financial performance since its inception in 1997, weathering the Asian financial crisis to achieve a compounded annual growth rate of over 140%. While investors are now cautious about investing in technology companies, both 3i and ITG are confident of Firium's long-term potential.

Commented Alastair Morrison, Director, 3i Group, South East Asia: "Globally, the market for demand-supply chain management is growing from US$25.3 billion in 1999 to US$139.8 billion by end 2004 (IDC). Firium is well positioned to capitalise on this opportunity to emerge as a regional leader in the DCM space. Firium's long-term potential, market timing and strong management team supports 3i's strategy in Asia to invest in the most ambitious companies."

Koh Boon Hwee, Executive Chairman, ITG, added that the strength of Firium's management team was a key consideration in ITG's decision to invest in the company. "They are clearly passionate about their business, and have a strong technology and global consulting experience background - but so do all their competitors. What we saw as a compelling edge was their strategic business intelligence, technology expertise, combined with their deep knowledge of the sectors they serve. This elevates Firium from being just another IT solutions provider to an e-business transformation agent, delivering tangible business results. It already has the proven track record to showcase, having secured significant projects from MNCs who are known to usually prefer global consulting names."

Business Technologist(SM) of Choice

Projected to grow by 170% in revenue this year, Firium has built on a steller MNC customer and partner network with global brands like Motorola, Prudential, ABN Amro and Tops Ahold, among others, in its client portfolio. Its partners include technology leaders such Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Onyx Software, BEA Systems, Art Technology Group, Progress Software, EXE Technologies, Microsoft and eGain. Firium has been appointed by Oracle, the largest supplier of software for e-business, as a client partner to provide data centre services, applications deployment and facilities management services in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

"We are impressed by Firium's understanding of Oracle's complete E-business Suite, and their strategic approach to implementing our technologies to deliver business results quickly and cost-effectively," said Keith Budge, Managing Director, Oracle Singapore. "Firium's clear knowledge of technology and business, backed by the resources available to them as part of the Oracle Partner Programme, will enhance their ability to meet our mutual customers' needs."

Budge added: "Oracle will continue to work together closely with Firium to provide an integrated approach for our clients to build customer-focused processes at key stages of their business cycle. We believe this is a powerful strategy for successful e-business in Asia."

Redefining Demand Change Management

According to a survey by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in March 2001, most Chief Information Officers (CIOs) rate marketing or customer analytics software, CRM software, e-commerce initiatives and ERP software or ERP upgrades to have the highest Return On Investment (ROI).

"The business trend is shifting from supply chain management or SCM, which focuses on reducing internal costs, to DCM, which aims to generate revenue through creating demand, then managing and responding to it in the most effective way. While businesses will continue to need SCM solutions such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), order processing and stock control applications, there will be an increased importance on DCM applications for Business Intelligence, CRM, personalisation and datamining. The customer relationship management (CRM) market - a fast-growing part of DCM - will alone account for over US$22 billion by 2003 (Aberdeen Research)," stated Koh.

Added Sjariffudin: "Firium is redefining DCM by focusing on the customer as the heart of all business activities and processes. This includes integration of all internal business processes and supportive collaboration with all demand chain partners including distributors, resellers and retailers. DCM enables businesses to expand their customer base and widen their strategy for managing these relationships through e-commerce technologies. For businesses in retail and distribution, e-enabling the entire demand chain - from marketing, payment, management of internal processes to delivery - means more than wider customer reach. Full integration of traditional/offline and online distribution channels will enable these businesses to effectively plan and forecast demand, then automatically replenish ahead of customers' needs. In today's competitive market, CPFR or Collaborative Planning-Fulfillment & Replenishment will be a key strategy for locking in customer loyalty."

In the financial services sector, Firium sees strong growth potential in wealth management services.

"Almost every financial institution in the market has a financial planning solution for customers now," Sjariffudin continued. "Competition is keen, and will be intensified in the future when consumers will be able to monitor and manage their investments with different financial institutions from one self-service wealth management point. iPlan, Firium's web-based financial-planning solution, is designed to help financial institutions make this a reality. We are already implementing our iPlan offering in the market and are convinced that eCRM-enabled wealth management services is the future - today."