Blacksmith Applications Deploys Contract and Trade Management Application at ConAgra Culinary Business Unit

Lawrence, MA (September 27, 2005) – Blacksmith Applications, the leading provider of contract, trade, and deduction management solutions for the foodservice industry, announced today that it has successfully deployed FORGE^SM, its automated contract and trade management solution, at ConAgra Culinary Business Unit. This enterprise-wide implementation and rollout will enable ConAgra to consolidate all operator and distributor trade spending activities and processes within one centralized, standardized system, thus enabling a single view of total customer spending.

Blacksmith’s FORGE^SM streamlines the contract and trade management lifecycle, from contract creation and approval to billback validation and payment. By utilizing standardized program templates, profit-based program approvals, and line-item billback validations, manufacturers can increase their speed to market, execute strategic, profitable deals, and gain the necessary visibility into their trade spending, while eliminating “double-dipping”, overspending, and inefficient manual processes.

“With the consolidation of all of our operating companies under one ConAgra umbrella, it has become imperative that we unify and standardize all business processes and systems to ensure the utmost efficiency, productivity, and profitability of our sales force and broker efforts,” said Paul Peitzsch, Senior Financial Officer, ConAgra Culinary Business Unit. “One of the most significant areas of concern for us, and one of our biggest challenges, is the management of our customer trade spending. With so many individuals and departments involved in not only the sales process but also with billback validations and the payment of claims, we needed to have one easily-accessible location with one common view of all customer deals and all customer trade spending for both operators and distributors. Blacksmith provided exactly that – a single repository of all customer programs and a complete and accurate view of our trade spending as a whole and not as individual business units. With FORGE^SM and the improved business processes it provides, we’re now armed with accurate data and information to make strategic decisions that will help drive volume but also drive it profitably. And we’ll stop leaving money on the table that is not truly earned by the customer.”

“With so many divisions within ConAgra and so many customers and varying, complex programs within those divisions, it was very difficult for the right hand to know what the left was doing when it came to creating and approving deals and paying customer claims. And with margins already being as low as they are in foodservice, there was an even greater chance of reducing those margins by not being able to make educated business decisions based on all of the facts and numbers,” said Paul Wietecha, President, Blacksmith Applications. “Now, by allowing numerous areas of the business to share information, communicate more quickly and efficiently, and base customer deals off of the profitability of a program and its individual products, ConAgra can respond to the customers’ requests faster, negotiate mutually-beneficial deals, and ensure favorable bottom line results. With the savings that will be realized and the knowledge they will gain from using our application, they will be able to reinvest those dollars into programs and sales and marketing initiatives that will continue to grow all areas of their business across all product portfolios.”

About Blacksmith Applications

Blacksmith Applications is the leading provider of contract, trade, and deduction management solutions for the foodservice industry. The company’s solutions enable foodservice manufacturers to more effectively and profitably manage national account contracts, operator deals, distributor trade programs, and deductions. Blacksmith helps eliminate expensive, inefficient processes and reduce contract and deduction management costs, complexities, and overspending. The results are increased speed to market, improved visibility into customer and product performance, and controlled trade spending – all enabling increased revenue, more strategic and profitable decision making, the appropriate deployment of resources at all levels of sales and marketing, and greater overall profitability. Blacksmith Applications is headquartered in Lawrence, Massachusetts.For more information, visit www.blacksmithapps.com or call 1-866-572-9299.