Welcome to the IMS e-NEWS.

We will be bringing you this newsletter on a monthly basis as a FREE service from IMS. Please feel free to circulate it to friends and colleagues whom you think will benefit or be interested in receiving this newsletter.

CONTENTS:

1. ARTICLE: E-commerce ROI
2. CASE STUDY: Veridicom a Bio-Signature Technology
3. IMS NEWS: Seminars, Trade Shows and Jobs
4. EDITORIAL: Observations From The Trenches **NEW**
5. ABOUT IMS

1. ARTICLE: E-commerce ROI

In this issue we are going to discuss the hard benefits of e-Commerce - ROI

When the initial discussion about implementing an e-commerce system comes up, there is always the discussion of -- will it pay? So we decided to write a quick article that outlines the benefits and other company's ROI - hopefully this will help you make your decisions.

When an organization is considering implementing an e-Commerce system, the initial idea may not be very attractive to the final decision-makers because current set-up costs may be much higher than perceived benefits. Not everyone believes EC will add value to the business. In order to indicate how the benefits outweigh the costs it is important to have performed a cost benefit analysis.

Calculating the costs associated with e-Commerce is a simple task compared to quantifying benefits. Hard number benefits which can be obtained are those associated with revenue generation - sales, fees collected for services, and cost savings - reduced printing, volume, and reduced costs in the customer service department. Benefits, which are more difficult to quantify but equally important, include marketing value, new business opportunities, sales leads, better customer and supplier relationships, enhanced communications, and corporate image.

Calculating ROI is more of guess than an exact science due to the vast array of business functions e-Commerce involves. According to a recent survey of Datamation readers, the number one reason many organization have not implemented an EC system is because of the high costs associated with these systems. Traditional ROI methodologies lack what is needed to measure such a wide variety of casts and benefits. The only area providing hard numbers is direct sales. Electric commerce offers many benefits to which a cost saving figure cannot be attached. Another key is to link ROI to bottom line concerns of senior management such as cost savings, increased productivity and gaining a competitive advantage.

Since ROI is so hard to calculate, I thought it would be better if you heard another's experience:

Chrys Barnes knew she had a problem. As head of procurement for sprawling Los Angeles County, she oversees an organization that bought $650 million in goods and services last year using paper forms--and had no unified purchasing system. Buyers responsible for stocking the county's offices, hospitals, and jails tap into more than 25,000 suppliers. "We buy everything from chicken to condoms," Barnes says. The process was so chaotic that one office might order pencils, not knowing that thousands sat unused in a county warehouse. The launch of Web-based buying sites by some suppliers only raised the potential for pell-mell purchasing. "We couldn't just turn people loose to place orders over the Internet," she says.

Barnes bet on a high-tech solution. In tandem with the county's overhaul of its mainframe-based finance system, she constructed a $2 million Internet-based procurement program. Now, buyers with browser-equipped desktop PCs can surf a countywide network and comparison shop among approved suppliers linked over the Net.

Routine purchases are O.K.'d using rules built into the software, while special items get routed to managers for their approval. Orders and payments are all electronic. The comparison-shopping alone could save the county up to 5% on prices--adding up to tens of millions of dollars a year. And better inventory management will let the county reap a $38 million windfall over the next five years from closing its central warehouse. "We're seeing tremendous savings," Barnes crows ----- Business Week, Companies are using Net tech to forge new partnerships and pile up eye-popping savings

Questions/comments, please e-mail us at editor@imssoft.com.

2. CASE STUDY: Veridicom

We are very happy to include Veridicom (http://www.veridicom.com) as a newly signed e-commerce client. Veridicom is breaking new ground with the introduction of its exciting new technology, bio-signatures for encryption and verification. Their fingerprint sensors, peripheral devices, and software products provide developers, OEMs, and integrators with the enabling technology to create personal authentication solutions for information and personal security applications. Veridicom's identification solution includes the robust FPS100 digital fingerprint sensor and Veridicom's proprietary Software Suite. Both are based on an open architecture, permitting seamless integration and flexible solutions.

IMS was contracted by Veridicom to add e-commerce to their existing site. The project will be implemented in 3 phases.

Phase 1: Affiliate Program
Phase 2: Business to Business Sales
Phase 3: Business to Consumer Sales

With phase 1 currently underway, Veridicom has already signed its first affiliate: IBM. IMS will be setting up a system whereby IBM will include a Veridicom logo on their site that will link directly to the Veridicom Web site. People who click on this link will be taken to a special page created specifically for the IBM viewers. These people will be able to see exclusive products and have special product pricing. During this phase, IMS will be setting up all the databases, shopping carts, and shipping links for the implementation of future sections of the site. Once phase 1 is successfully deployed, Veridicom will be actively seeking additional participants for their affiliate program.

To reach Veridicom's next target audience, OEM's and VAR's, IMS will add a business-to-business section to the site. Business-to-business customers will use a special login to enter the site and will be offered special pricing and will be able to use related business-to-business forms.

The project will conclude with Phase 3, the business to consumer phase. This stage will allow the site to manage a retail business within the same Web site. Included in phase 3 will be retail prices and an end-user checkout form.

Veridicom will provide the graphics and content section of the site and the e-commerce section will be created to maintain the same continuity as the main Web site.

3. IMS NEWS: Seminars, Trade Shows and Jobs

This summer IMS is planning to initiate a series of free educational seminars on e-Commerce. The seminars will encompass a forum that will provide answers to questions such as why implement an e-commerce system? Technically, what do you need to consider before you start initiating your e-commerce system? Marketing, what will you do once your e-commerce site is up? And technical background to aid you as you enter the Internet arena as well as networking opportunities. For more information or to sign up, call Susan Hwang @ (818) 784-6890 or e-mail susan@imssoft.com.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last month IMS signed up an exciting new client. This client is pioneering their industry by spearheading an e-business model for the industry. We wish we could tell you more but due to the sensitivity of the project we are under NDA (non-disclosure) to divulge any information until the launch of the site. But let us assure you, this is a very exciting project and we were thrilled to get it.

4. EDITORIAL: In the Trenches

This month we are introducing a new section called "In the Trenches" an editorial from our people in the field. Every other issue we will be bringing you excerpts on the things we see while out attending trade shows and speaking with clients.

TRADE SHOWS, TRADE SHOWS, TRADE SHOWS

This last month has been extremely busy as IMS attended two tradeshows. The Annual Catalog Conference in Chicago, and the e-Business Expo in San Jose. Both were great shows for IMS, and I found them interesting in different ways.

THE ANNUAL CATALOG CONFERENCE, Chicago May 17-19.
This show was interesting as it was more of an educational conference with exhibits than your typical tradeshow. I was pleased to see that they had an entire track of the conference devoted to e-Commerce. It was great to see how far the catalog industry has come in a few short years with regards to e-Commerce. When IMS first began moving into the e-Commerce arena very few catalog companies would even consider looking at the Web as a means by which to do business. This industry has now changed drastically and refocused its energy on the information superhighway. I was delighted by the attendee's level of expertise and enthusiasm.

E-BUSINESS CONFERENCE AND EXPO - June 8-10.
The attendees for this show differed much from that of Chicago. We received a number of high-level executives looking for ways to put their business online. There was representation from a wide range of industries, from Silicon Valley start-ups to "10,000 LB gorillas" (American Express). We had many people who didn't sell product but sold services asking us how to set up an e-business. Those attendees that did want to sell product wanted to sell them in all types of ways; shopping malls, magazines, TV and much much more. Everyone was trying to find the best e-commerce solution for their business. Many of our known competitors where there and it was a great comparing notes with our competition (of course we came out ahead). Many people we spoke with were excited about the scope of our capability as well as our long experience in setting up complex systems. We are very excited about some of the prospects that came out of this show and will be making some official announcements soon. Watch this newsletter to find out more.

Craig Banner
Internet Services Group

5. ABOUT IMS

Information Management Systems Inc. (IMS) has been a developer of mission-critical business solutions since 1980. The client list includes large corporate entities like CompUSA, Insight Direct, HiVal and Computer Gate. Since its inception, IMS has become a worldwide solutions provider with three operating divisions; IMS Internet Services Group, IMS Language Group, and IMS Applications Group.

The IMS e-Commerce solution is based on a tool-set called the Open Commerce Integration Suite. This tool-set provides clients with a secure order processing network, a Web-based storefront, along with a 24/7 network operations center with complete failover capabilities. With two offices (Los Angeles and Dallas) and over 40 computer professionals, IMS offers it's clients hundreds of years of aggregate experience in systems design, database integration and interface design. The head office is located in a company- owned building, in Sherman Oaks, CA. Supported by the office in Dallas, it develops, markets and supports its own business application software.

To subscribe, please send an e-mail to newsletter@imssoft.com with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.