Southborough, Mass. - February 10, 2004 - ViryaNet (NASDAQ: VRYA), a leading provider of integrated mobile and Web-based software applications for workforce management and the automation of field service delivery, today announced that Publix Super Markets, Inc., the largest employee-owned supermarket chain and one of the 10 largest-volume supermarket chains in the United States, has gone live with ViryaNet Service Hub to automate its service operations.
Publix implemented ViryaNet Service Hub for Retail Maintenance Management, which includes modules for Mobile Workforce Management, Service Scheduling, Service Supply Chain, and eRepair, to schedule, dispatch, and optimize its workforce, improve its management of equipment assets and spare parts inventory, and automate many of the tasks associated with general store maintenance.
"We are not just implementing a software package. Publix is improving fundamental core business processes. We are solving complex business problems and expect a significant return on our investment. The ViryaNet Service Hub for Retail Maintenance Management software will serve as the foundation for all maintenance activities at Publix for years to come, stated Lee Brunson, Director of Community Affairs, Publix Super Markets, Inc. "Throughout the project, Publix's I/T staff
and business users have found ViryaNet's professional services team to be responsive to our needs, committed to knowledge transfer, and focused on our company's success. We are very pleased with the implementation project as well as with the results of the ViryaNet Service Hub product." Continued Mr. Brunson, "In addition, the Web and mobile-based ViryaNet applications will enable us to better manage our entire field service community, including internal technicians,
external maintenance suppliers, customer service representatives, dispatchers, maintenance coordinators, department and corporate managers, and many others."
"This was a wide-ranging project, encompassing many departments, hundreds of users, hundreds of business processes, and ERP purchasing, financial, and some legacy application interfaces," stated Dave Duncan, Vice President of Facilities, Publix Super Markets, Inc. "The scope of the project was both broad and deep, and fundamentally changes and improves our ways of initiating, delivering, and managing service. The ViryaNet and Publix teams have defined and embedded the
retail industry's best practices in Service Hub for Retail Maintenance Management."
"This successful implementation at Publix is a showcase for ViryaNet Service Hub in the retail industry," stated Win Burke, president and CEO, ViryaNet. "Our collaboration with the Publix team resulted in the development of a world-class product, consisting of business processes, screens, and workflows, designed specifically for the management of maintenance operations for retail enterprises and grocery store chains similar to Publix. We are very excited about our
partnership with Publix as a springboard for our efforts in this growing market."
About Publix
Publix is owned and operated by its more than 120,000 employees, with 2002 sales of $15.9 billion. Currently Publix has 802 stores in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee. The company has been named one of Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" for five consecutive years. In addition, Publix's dedication to superior quality and customer service is recognized as tops in the grocery business, most recently by an American Customer Index
survey. For more information, visit the company's Web site,
www.publix.com.
About ViryaNet
ViryaNet is a provider of software applications that improve the quality and efficiency of an organization's service operations. ViryaNet's flagship product - the award-winning ViryaNet Service Hub - combines the power of the Internet, the freedom of wireless technologies, and the resources of ViryaNet's deep service expertise to help companies improve workforce scheduling, dispatching, and activity reporting; customer contract and entitlement automation; and asset,
logistics, and depot repair management.
Customers in the utility, telecommunications, grocery and retail, high-technology manufacturing, HVAC, and other industries use ViryaNet Service Hub to transition complex service business processes into a manageable, scalable Internet operation, with the goal of increasing service revenues, decreasing service costs, and maximizing customer satisfaction.
Safe Harbor Statement
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding ViryaNet's expectations, beliefs, intentions, or strategies regarding the capabilities of its products, its relationships with its customers, its customer purchases, its future
operational plans and objectives including integration of other businesses, its future business prospects, its future financial performance, its future cash position, and its future prospects for profitability. All forward-looking statements included in this document are based upon information available to ViryaNet Ltd. as of the date hereof, and ViryaNet Ltd. assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties,
which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These and other risks relating to ViryaNet's business include market acceptance of and demand for the Company's products, risks associated with a slow-down in the economy, risks associated with the financial condition of the company's customers, risks associated with competition and competitive pricing pressures, risks associated with increases in costs and operating expenses, risks in technology
development and commercialization, the risk of operating losses, risks in product development, risks associated with international sales, and other risks that are set forth in ViryaNet's Form 20-F, dated July 15, 2003, and the other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as the date
hereof. ViryaNet disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
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