HCKT Hackett Group Inc

Answerthink, a division of The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCKT) focused on providing and supporting SAP� solutions, today announced the successful go-live implementation of EzMed�, a qualified SAP Business All-in-One partner solution for the medical device industry at Joerns Healthcare, Inc. (Joerns). Joerns, located in Steven Points, WI, is a leading provider of advanced healthcare products and services for the long-term care industry. As a manufacturer of medical beds, furnishings, repositioning equipment, and wound management products, Joerns wanted to increase their strong position in the industry and maintain a reliable supply chain, keep strict inventory controls, manage regulations and enhance the overall customer experience. Joerns selected SAP and Answerthink to help in this effort. �We are a mid-size company with global reach and aspirations of a true industry leader,� said Partha Biswas, Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Joerns Healthcare. �Complexity of business processes and stiff competition describe our business landscape. Solutions from SAP not only meet virtually all of our functionality requirements, but they also position us well to meet our current and future challenges in a cost-effective manner. SAP�s vision and consistency of strategic execution made them an obvious choice for us.� After a comprehensive ERP software evaluation process, Joerns chose SAP solutions based on the need to meet demanding growth and business management objectives. After the SAP selection, Answerthink was contracted to lead and manage the effort based on a track record of successful implementations for mid-market customers. Answerthink enabled Joerns' vision to install a platform for full and powerful functionality to meet current and future business needs. On June 2 of this year, the implementation of SAP solutions at Joerns successfully went �live� on time and on budget. The implementation included the SAP ERP Release 6.0 application and EzMed, a qualified SAP Business All-in-One partner solution designed for medical device companies. Diligence, collaboration, and commitment of the Joerns and Answerthink implementation team contributed to the success of the project. According to Answerthink Managing Director John McGrath, �We were delighted to have the opportunity to partner with Joerns in this mission-critical business step. Without the use of our EzMed solution, we could have never achieved what we collectively did in a short period of time. The combination of our solution and the dedicated team members from both organizations were the keys to success. Coupled with solutions from SAP, Joerns is now well-positioned to assume the growth it anticipates in the years to come.� EzMed is based on best practices from SAP and customized for growing companies in the medical device industries. It is part of Answerthink�s EzLifeSciences� family of preconfigured solutions that are designed specifically to help life sciences companies achieve goals unique to their industry. About Answerthink Answerthink (www.answerthink.com), has achieved gold-level status as an SAP channel partner that develops and offers qualified SAP Business All-in-One partner solutions � industry-specific software, implementation, and training packaged solutions. By leveraging the best practices database of The Hackett Group, Answerthink�s help clients improve performance and maximize returns on SAP software investments. Answerthink is a division of The Hackett Group and has offices in the United States and India. About Joerns Healthcare Joerns Healthcare (www.joerns.com) is a leading provider of advanced healthcare products and services for the long-term care industry. Joerns manufactures medical beds, furnishings, repositioning equipment, and wound management products and is located in Stevens Point, WI. SAP and all SAP logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries. EzMed is a trademark of Answerthink.