Vertical Solutions Inc. Press Release

Vertical Solutions, Inc. (VSI), a leading developer of Customer Relationship Management software, announces that its customer, General Binding Corp. (GBC), a developer of document finishing equipment based in Northbrook, IL, has won the 2006 CRM Innovator Award from Gartner, Inc. This is the eighth annual presentation of the CRM Excellence Awards from Gartner, Inc., the leading provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry. The award was presented last week at the Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit, in Chicago, IL. GBC delivered a presentation at the Summit outlining its winning CRM strategy, which included the implementation of VSI’s PowerHelp CRM, a web-based suite of solutions that enable companies to completely manage their customer-support and field-service processes and enhance their ability to penetrate, retain, and manage their customers.

GBC’s 175 field technicians handle more than 100,000 requests for service a year, and manage more than 30,000 service contracts. The company deployed VSI’s PowerHelp CRM Field Service solution in the fall of 2005. The technology enabled the company to capture additional data to extend customer support and improve product design and manufacturing quality.

“We are extremely proud of winning Gartner’s 2006 CRM Innovator Award,” says Tim Spencer, Vice President, Technical Service & Support, GBC. “PowerHelp CRM - Field Service was a real leap for us, and enabled us to have a more productive and efficient field organization.”

“GBC worked hard to revamp its entire field service processes, and we were proud to be part of its solution,” says Ron Wegmann Sr., CEO of Vertical Solutions. “We commend Tim Spencer and his team for winning this prestigious award from Gartner.”

Gartner analysts chose the CRM Innovator Award winner from submitted applications. Projects were evaluated on how well the candidate demonstrated a particularly impressive level of creativity and innovation in their CRM initiatives, including leveraging innovating technologies and strategies to solve “old problems.” The criteria used in evaluating CRM Excellence Award candidates included components defined in Gartner’s Eight Building Blocks of CRM: CRM vision, CRM strategy, valued customer experience, organizational collaboration, CRM processes, CRM information, CRM technology, and CRM metrics.

By developing technology based on two decades worth of experience in field service and support, VSI’s PowerHelp CRM, with its unified architectural design, provides a “closed loop” process that leverages and consolidates critical sales, contact center, and field service information across the enterprise. An integrated mobile solution extends the competitive advantage to the field with quick, efficient, and timely information that enhances the customer experience. PowerHelp CRM customers include ABB, GBC Division of ACCO Brands, Rubbermaid, and Mitsubishi.