Sabert Corporation Selects Blacksmith Applications for Contract Management and Trade Spending Management

Lawrence, MA (March 30, 2006) – Blacksmith Applications, Inc., the leading provider of contract, trade, and deduction management solutions for the foodservice and consumer goods industry, announced today that Sabert Corporation, one of the leading suppliers of disposable plastic food packaging to the foodservice industry, has selected Blacksmith Applications and their FORGE^SM and SHIELD^SM solutions to manage its trade spending, operator contracts, and distributor trade deals.

"Trade promotions continue to grow and are an important cost and line item with our business. To effectively manage this growth, we needed a state-of-the art trade spending system that would provide the functionality, and more importantly, the information we require to make educated, strategic decisions," said Gary Ziznewski, Chief Financial Officer Senior Vice President, Finance and Logistics, Sabert Corporation. "We chose Blacksmith for two primary reasons - their extensive industry knowledge and experienced staff and their ability to grow with us and with the foodservice industry. It's important for us to have one standardized trade solution for our business, but it's equally important for us to have a progressive partner with whom we can leverage their knowledge base from numerous implementations as well as from consultative engagements with other manufacturers in our industry. The improved business practices and processes that they can deliver on a long-term basis are vital to our growth."

"Managing trade spending is becoming more complex everyday for not only Sabert, but for the industry as a whole. Billbacks have been rapidly increasing, communicating effectively has become more difficult, and being able to respond in a timely manner to customers' program requests and needs has proven more challenging than in the past," said Bob LeBlanc, Executive Vice President, Blacksmith Applications. "By streamlining their trade spending processes with user-friendly tools as ours and by employing industry best practices, Sabert will have the power and flexibility to effectively manage all of their customer programs while meeting their sales targets and sales force objectives. They'll be able to execute profitable deals, control and maximize their trade spending, and accurately evaluate and pay out on billbacks."

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. 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 Sabert Corporation
Sabert Corporation, headquartered in Sayreville, New Jersey, is one of the leading suppliers of disposable plastic food packaging to the foodservice industry. Sabert is known in the industry for its high-quality, innovation and superior customer service.

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.