Reading Bakery Systems Earns 2008 Summit Award at Consona User Conference

LAS VEGAS, INDIANAPOLIS and Robesonia, Pa., October 16, 2008—Consona Corporation (Consona), a worldwide leader in providing customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services for companies of all sizes, today announced at its premier user conference, Consona Connect, that Reading Bakery Systems (Reading), a Robesonia, Pa.-based producer of machines and systems for bakers of pretzels and snack foods and Encompix ERP user, is the 2008 recipient of the software provider’s Transformation Award.

The Transformation Award, part of Consona’s annual Summit Awards, honors a customer that has been able to either reinvent its business or achieve a strong return on investment in a relatively short period of time. Recipients of the award submit both qualitative and quantitative data that illustrate how the solution has impacted the customer’s business model or overall business performance. Award recipients display significant business improvements and changes, such as unprecedented customer satisfaction levels, the introduction of new products and services, or increased sales.

Reading is composed of two divisions: Reading Pretzel & Snack and T.L. Green Biscuit and Cracker. Together, these sectors offer a variety of processing lines capable of producing a broad range of snack products, such as cookies, crackers, fabricated potato chips, and pretzels. The company builds “unit” machines—such as dough-mixing and forming machines, cutters, dispensers, ovens, dryers, conveyors, and more—and also assembles machines and associated equipment into complete turn-key production lines.

Until recently, Reading was relying on homegrown programs that were unable to provide the information and control the company needed for effective operation and growth. As a result, Reading ended up developing its own procedures and writing its own programs to address these deficiencies. Eventually, Reading recognized the need for a new system that could manage a challenging combination of requirements, including complex job scheduling functionality, costing and financial management, engineering and test planning and scheduling, and a fully-indented bill of material, with tight integration between its CAD and ERP systems.

Since the implementation of Encompix ERP, with a custom-developed CAD-ERP integration solution from Encompix, Reading has reaped many concrete returns from access to current, accurate information on all of its jobs at all times, enabling the company to make decisions based on real data. Such benefits include:

- A 68 percent increase in revenue during the first year, with minimal increase to staff.

- More effective management and decision-making.

- Significantly improved visibility into costs and purchase orders.

- Accurate and useful scheduling and loading information, including the ability to quote realistic delivery dates and keep promises.

“Out of the box, Encompix was going in the right direction,” said Chip Czulada, Reading’s CFO and director of operations. “We were worried about the shop floor guys learning the new system, but it went surprisingly well. Encompix ERP has definitely contributed to our improved productivity—we could implement the solution and accomplish our goals. With other systems, it would be a long, painful task.”

“It is our pleasure to honor Reading with a Summit Award for their absolutely outstanding achievements," said Jeff Tognoni, CEO of Consona. "Reading stands as an example of the dedication it takes to gain maximum return on a business system investment. The growth and success this company has achieved with our support reminds all of us at Consona why we're in business."

About Consona Corporation
Consona Corporation (Consona, formerly known as M2M Holdings Inc.) is a worldwide leader in providing customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services for companies of all sizes. Consona is dedicated to becoming a valued business partner by helping each and every customer continuously improve business processes over time. Toward this mission, Consona invests in the people, processes, technology and tools needed to provide its customers with a unique combination of customer care; product fit; a broad range of consulting, IT and business services; and industry expertise. Consona serves more than 4,500 customers worldwide and across a variety of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, financial services, health care, high tech, and local government. Battery Ventures and Thoma Bravo jointly own Consona. For further information, visit www.consona.com, e-mail info@consona.com, or call (888) 8 CONSONA.