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RUTHERFORD, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 23, 2003--AXS-One Inc.
(AMEX: AXO), a leading provider of e-business solutions, today
announced that Thomas Cook, a major UK Tour Operator, has signed an
agreement to pilot AXS-One's new AXSPoint(R) electronic invoice
delivery service to travel agents.
The new AXSPoint service, which has been approved by the Civil
Aviation Authority (CAA), a UK regulatory body for use by tour
operators holding an Air Travel Organiser's Licence (ATOL), will
eliminate the need for tour operators to issue hard copy invoices to
travel agents, thereby providing tour operators such as Thomas Cook
Holidays with potential savings of up to 80 percent on their annual
invoice distribution costs.
For travel agents involved in the Pilot program, invoices will
now arrive electronically on the same day as dispatch. The AXSPoint
service will offer travel agents the ability to automatically match
and reconcile invoices to bookings, thereby reducing administration
costs and allowing quicker turn-around of invoices to the agent's
customer.
"The AXSPoint service will significantly enhance the service we
provide to our travel agent customers and the service they provide
their customers in turn," commented Manny Fontenla Novoa, Chief
Executive Officer, Thomas Cook (UK). "The speed and efficiency of
electronic distribution will reduce our costs considerably while
benefiting agents and customers alike."
Commenting on the development, Mark Donkersley, Managing
Director, AXS-One UK, said: "While Thomas Cook is the first tour
operator to pilot this system, we are receiving strong interest from
other tour operators and travel agents. The issuing of paper
invoices has been expensive to tour operators and agents alike in
terms of money, time and customer service. Today, this activity
costs the regulated tour industry over $25 million per year and we
are currently working with the leaders of this sector to bring them
on board our system. By providing these services electronically, and
securely, we save them a considerable amount of money, while at the
same time adding value to each part of the distribution chain and
generating recurring revenue streams for AXS-One."
The AXSPoint e-invoicing solution is based on AXS-One's
intelligent self-service technology and is being offered to all tour
operators in the UK as a hosted service operated from a secure
location in London. All confirmation invoices and related documents
issued by the participating operators will be archived in a central
vault and delivered electronically to UK travel agents on a same-day
basis.
Prior to the development of the AXSPoint service, UK tour
operators were required by the CAA to issue hard copy invoices to
travel agents and clients, which in 2002, amounted to approximately
28 million physical invoices. AXS-One has worked closely this year
with tour operators, travel agents and the CAA to design a system of
electronic invoicing that meets the requirements of all parties.
John Rade, President and Chief Executive Officer of AXS-One,
Inc., commented: "This is the latest of our hosted transaction-based
offerings and follows hosted offerings in Australia and South
Africa. This is a natural for us and takes advantage of the process
management improvements inherent in our AXSPoint products.
Transaction based hosted offerings provide highly predictable
revenue streams over periods of several years. They are an excellent
complement to our traditional upfront licence fee model.
Additionally, this offering provides a real win for the tour
operators allowing them to provide enhanced services to their
customers at lower costs to them - it is a true 'win-win.' This is
what the sensible use of Information Technology is all about."
About AXS-One:
AXS-One is a provider of supply chain management solutions for
service industries that extend the finance function and allow
organizations to work collaboratively with their partners,
suppliers, employees, and customers while preserving investments in
existing systems. AXS-One has implemented high-volume,
interoperable, scalable and secure business solutions for the global
2000. Its Web Services-based technology has been critically
acclaimed as best of class. AXS-One has approximately 250 employees
in offices worldwide, including Australia, Canada, Singapore, United
Kingdom, United States, and South Africa. AXS-One was founded in
1978, and is based in Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.A.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Such
statements are only predictions and actual events or results may
differ materially. All forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties, including, without limitation, the risks detailed in
the company's documents and reports filed from time to time with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
AXS-One, the AXS-One logo, "Access Tomorrow Today," AXSPoint, and
TransAXS are registered trademarks of, and e-Cellerator, AXS Desk,
"AXS-One Collaboration FrameWorks," SMART, and Tivity are trademarks
of, AXS-One Inc., in the U.S. All other company and product names
are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
companies.
CONTACT: AXS-One Inc. Bernard Cassidy,
201-372-6231 bcassidy@axsone.com
Investor Contact: Hayden Communications Matt Hayden,
760-487-1137 matt@haydenir.com
Press Contact: Brighter PR Steve Dunne, + 44 0207 603
2168 steve.dunne@brightergroup.com
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