Tompkins Associates Aligns with Great Plains to Extend Supply Chain Management Expertise

Raleigh, NC, November 20, 2000—Tompkins Associates, the leader in Total Operations consulting, integration and implementation, announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Great Plains (NASDAQ: GPSI), the leading e-business solutions provider. Tompkins Associates will provide consulting and implementation services to Great Plains partners, value added resellers (VARs), consultants and solution developers who sell, support and develop integrated products for Great Plains' e-business solutions, as well as customers in the areas of Total Operations and logistics for the Great Plains Supply Chain Series. The partnership with Tompkins Associates allows Great Plains and its partners to fulfill customer demand for its integrated supply chain management solution with implementation services provided by Tompkins.

Under the partnership agreement, Tompkins will be certified in the Great Plains Supply Chain Series, a solution that is jointly developed with Logility, an industry-leading supplier of supply chain planning, collaboration and execution applications. Tompkins will leverage its deep domain expertise, best practices and business process consulting and design to ensure high satisfaction for Great Plains' partners and customers. Great Plains will expand its delivery capacity through full cycle implementations of its supply chain management solution using Tompkins' 200 professionals located worldwide. Tompkins, Great Plains and its partners will jointly market the combined solution to prospective customers.

"Time-to-benefit is critical for success in today's fast-paced e-business environment. Our relationship with Tompkins expands the capabilities of our partners, allowing them to focus on their areas of knowledge between our back office, CRM, e-commerce and supply chain management -more- applications. By utilizing Tompkins' proven practices, those partners lacking internal supply chain experience can provide integration and implementation expertise essential for success. The end result is a total solution with high returns for our mutual customers," said Lynne Stockstad, vice president of e-business at Great Plains.

"We are seeing strong demand from midmarket customers for a fully integrated back office, CRM, e-commerce and supply chain management solution. By combining Tompkins' operations best practices and Great Plains e-business solutions, we provide a complete end-to-end solution that delivers measurable results, better performance and real value to Great Plains partners and our mutual customers," said John Spain, Senior Partner, Tompkins Associates.

SmarterKids.com (Nasdaq: SKDS), the leading online educational store, has implemented Logility Voyager Solutions integrated with Great Plains' eEnterprise and has utilized Tompkins Associates' efillSM fulfillment solution to achieve its goals of delivering the best possible customer experience and preparing early for the holiday 2000 season. "Perfect fulfillment is a crucial component of our overall strategy for providing the best possible customer experience," said Rich Secor, chief information officer and vice president of IS for SmarterKids.com. "Our superior fulfillment systems and operations will enhance customer satisfaction and improve SmarterKids.com's competitive advantage. We partnered with the best companies to ensure highest performance."

Exclusively authorized partners will deliver the Great Plains Supply Chain Series that will be fully integrated with eEnterprise, addressing the demand for collaboration within the enterprise, as well as between and among external trading partners. The Supply Chain Series will be released in phases with the first phase initially available in the first half of 2001.

About Great Plains
Great Plains (Nasdaq: GPSI) offers e-business solutions that interconnect business communities. These e-business solutions automate processes among financials, distribution, enterprise reporting, project accounting, electronic commerce, human resources and payroll, fixed assets, manufacturing, sales and marketing management, and customer service and support functions. Great Plains' solutions are sold and implemented by a unique worldwide network of independent partner organizations that share the company's commitment to lasting customer relationships. Named four times to the "Top 100 Companies to Work for in America" list, Great Plains has more than 2,000 team members worldwide. More information about Great Plains can be found at www.greatplains.com.

Media Contact:
E-mail Myra Schwartz or call 919-876-3667.

See Also:
Company Fact Sheet