Foster Farms Selects Blacksmith Applications' Contract, Trade, and Deduction Management Solutions

Lawrence, MA (February 13, 2006) – Blacksmith Applications, Inc., the leading provider of contract, trade, and deduction management solutions for the foodservice and consumer goods industry, announced today that Foster Farms, the leading poultry producer in the Western United States, has selected Blacksmith Applications to manage its trade spending across its retail and foodservice divisions. The solutions will provide standardized, automated processes for centralized program creation and approval, billback and claim validation, deduction resolution, and profitability reporting.

"With the rapid growth of our business comes an increase in the volume and complexity of our customer programs and trade deals. It's imperative that we control and manage our trade spending as profitably as possible because volumetric growth doesn't always equate to bottom line growth. We felt that we could not wait any longer to move to a more contemporary system," said Bob Wangerien, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Foster Farms. "The key decision factor for us was the Blacksmith organization - we believe they are the best partner for us to move forward with in designing improved business processes and adopting industry-wide best practices. On the front end, Blacksmith will provide an integrated approach to planning and evaluation across our business lines. On the back end, we need actionable and insightful analytics into our customer and program profitability. Blacksmith's FORGE^SM and SHIELD^SM solutions will allow us to do all of this, in addition to driving our adoption of the best practices and process improvements that their team will deliver within the project."

"This will enable Foster Farms to consolidate all of their promotional activity -- operator, distributor, retailer and wholesaler - and provide visibility into customer performance and profitability," said Paul Wietecha, President, Blacksmith Applications. "Foster Farms understands the importance of seeing the 'big picture' of moving decisions closer to the customer. Having a proven solution that effectively manages the full cycle from planning and evaluation to deduction resolution and analytics will allow them to act more quickly and intelligently on opportunities on a daily basis."

Blacksmith's FORGE^SM application streamlines the contract and trade management lifecycle, from contract creation, approval, and notification to billback validation, payment calculation and reconciliation to reporting and analysis. 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. Blacksmith's SHIELD^SM application automates the entire deduction resolution process for manufacturers by integrating with FORGE^SM and by utilizing a centralized deduction repository, resolution workflows, scorecards and reminders, and correspondence templates. SHIELD^SM allows manufacturers to prioritize, investigate, follow up on, and clear deductions more quickly and efficiently, thus providing a more accurate account of trade spending and profitability.

About Foster Farms
Foster Farms is the leading poultry producer in the Western United States. Based in Livingston, California, the company has remained a family-owned business since its founding in 1939. Foster Farms branded fresh chicken is always locally grown on farms it owns or operates in each of its markets (California, Oregon and Washington). Foster Farms specializes in producing high quality fresh chicken products that are all natural with no preservatives or sodium-based additives, in addition to a full line of other delicious poultry products. The company produces and delivers premium quality poultry products to retailers, warehouse clubs and foodservice customers throughout the West.

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 provides solutions for companies such as ConAgra Foods, H.J. Heinz, Flowers Foods, Pactiv Corporation, and McCain Foods. Blacksmith Applications is headquartered in Lawrence, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.blacksmithapps.com or call 1-866-572-9299.