Arc International Standardizes on Business Objects
SAN JOSE, Calif. - July 7, 2004 - Business Objects (Nasdaq: BOBJ; Euronext Paris ISIN code FR0004026250 - BOB), the world's leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced that Arc International has made BusinessObjects™ its enterprise business intelligence standard. European-based Arc International is the world leader in tableware with more than US$1.5 billion in revenue and 17,000 employees worldwide.
Arc International is pursuing a growth strategy through the acquisition of an international network of production facilities, and by integrating European and North American wholesalers as subsidiaries. Arc International has standardized on BusinessObjects to support this expansion.
“We are now faced with an increasingly competitive environment,” said Jean-Michel Clerget, IT Director at Arc International. “This means identifying the most profitable places to invest and reacting quickly. We need a fully integrated business intelligence tool capable of covering all our needs, from operational reporting to strategic management dashboards. It was in this context that we opted to use BusinessObjects as a corporate standard for all our business intelligence projects in all our departments and subsidiaries. The first 600 users took to the software immediately and we have saved nearly a month on our information distribution process.”
User independence and satisfaction were among the main reasons Arc International chose to standardize on Business Objects solutions. Today, Business Objects solutions are used by all of the Group's business functions, including sales & logistics, human resources, senior management finance, marketing, technical services, and production. The management team at Arc International also uses BusinessObjects™ Dashboard Manager to access key performance indicators such as turnover, tonnage, and order book status.
About Arc International
Founded in 1825, the small traditional glassworks in Arques in the north of France has been gradually developed over the years. In 2000, it became the Arc International Group, the world leader in tableware. In 2002, the group generated worldwide turnover of US$1.5 billion. It now employs a worldwide workforce of 17,000 in production and distribution subsidiaries in France, Spain, the USA, Italy, the UK and China. Arc International produces 6 million items every day and creates 800 new designs every year for items including plates, dishes, glasses, crystal ware and vases. To appeal to consumers throughout the world, Arc International has built up and continues to develop a portfolio that includes the Luminarc, Cristal d'Arques, Studio Nova, Mikasa, Salviati and Arcoroc brands.
About Business Objects
Business Objects is the world's leading business intelligence (BI) software company. With more than 35,000 customers worldwide, including over 80 percent of the Fortune 500, Business Objects helps organizations gain better insight into their business, improve decision making, and optimize enterprise performance. The company's business intelligence platform, BusinessObjects™ XI, offers the BI industry's most complete and trusted platform for performance management, planning, reporting, query and analysis, and data integration. BusinessObjects XI includes Crystal Reports®, the industry standard for enterprise reporting. Business Objects has built the industry's strongest and most diverse partner community, and also offers consulting and education services to help customers effectively deploy their business intelligence projects.
Business Objects has dual headquarters in San Jose, Calif., and Paris, France. The company's stock is traded on both the Nasdaq (BOBJ) and Euronext Paris (ISIN: FR0004026250 - BOB) stock exchanges. More information about Business Objects can be found at www.businessobjects.com.
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