Flowers Foods Goes Live with FORGE^SM -- Blacksmith Applications Contract & Trade Management Solution

Lawrence, MA (February 21, 2006) – Blacksmith Applications, Inc., the leading provider of contract, trade, and deduction management solutions for the foodservice and consumer goods industry, announced today that Flowers Foods, one of the largest producers of fresh baked goods in the United States, has gone live with the successful implementation of FORGE^SM, Blacksmith's contract and trade management solution.

"Flowers was in a position where they needed to be absolutely certain that they selected a solution that would be easily implemented, but also universally adopted by their large and wide range of user types. With over 3,000 current users of FORGE^SM, we were able to demonstrate the user-friendliness of our application and the success of it across the industry," said Paul Wietecha, President, Blacksmith Applications. "Because of the implementations and consulting that we do with so many food manufacturers, we were also able to work closely with Flowers to evaluate their current trade spending processes and provide best practices that give them an added advantage in their space."

Blacksmith's FORGE^SM application streamlines and standardizes 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. SHIELDSM 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 Flowers Foods
Flowers Foods has become one of the largest producers of fresh baked goods in the United States. Headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, Flowers Foods began as a local provider of fresh bread and grew to become one of the largest bakery operations in the nation. Flowers has annual sales of more than $1.5 billion, and its products, including several well-known brands of bread, are distributed nationally.

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.