LogicaCMG: RFID on the Threshold of European Breakthrough
LONDON, April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The key findings of an international study undertaken by LogicaCMG (LSE: LOG.L - news - msgs) ADVERTISEMENT


reveal that Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) is high on the agenda for European retailers, food manufacturers and logistic service providers. A majority of the companies interviewed in the Netherlands, UK, Ireland, Germany, France and Belgium, gave RFID top priority in terms of planned IT investment.

RFID is seen as the successor to barcoding. By using RFID it is possible to electronically identify and track objects, such as supermarket goods, without time delays or the need for human intervention. As a result, supply chain logistics are more streamlined and efficient and this ultimately leads to lower costs and higher revenues.

The study shows that half of the 50 companies interviewed in Europe have or are planning to deploy RFID pilot projects throughout 2004, with the vast majority planning to start implementing the technology within the next three years. A number of major retailers, such as Tesco (LSE: TSCO.L - news - msgs) (UK) and Metro (Germany) will initiate large-scale rollout of RFID. Whilst these projects will be finalised by 2007, the research indicates that companies will not begin to tag consumer products until 2008 when prices of tags will have naturally lowered. The focus for the moment is on Returnable Transport Items (RTIs), such as crates and pallets. The tagging of these RTIs will be standard as of 2005. The research highlights when and how RFID will be used on a large scale for RTIs within European retail supply chains. Due to the large variety of RTIs in retail supply chains, the management, recording and administration is both complex and labour intensive. RFID is set to eliminate these concerns.

Since RFID will have great impact on the processes and IT systems of companies, it is necessary that they thoroughly prepare themselves. The use of RFID with RTIs will only take place if the financial benefits are greater than the cost of implementation. The cost/benefit analysis part of the research showed that based on a tag price of 50 eurocents the handling cost per pallet could decrease by 8.5%. This leads to a payback period of between two and three years.

A majority of companies that have trailed RFID prefer the EPC (Electronic Product Code) network as standard for information exchange and UHF (Ultra High Frequency) as frequency. In the short term there are a number of issues that should be solved before RFID can be broadly adopted. First, the EPC network has not been finalised yet. Second, limitations in European legislation mean that the use of UHF technology is currently restricted. Finally, the software to integrate RFID in the existing IT infrastructure is not mature yet. LogicaCMG anticipates that by the end of 2004, the main issues will be resolved. As volume deployments will increase in the next few years, the cost of RFID tags will be naturally lower.

Paul Stam de Jonge, Director Sales and Marketing of LogicaCMG: 'The research shows that we are on the threshold of a breakthrough of RFID technology in the European market. The quick introduction of the EPC network is key for the broad acceptance and implementation of RFID. For this reason we, together with many organisations within the sector, have put a lot of effort in the definition of the EPC network."

Since the whole supply chain is involved, the RFID implementations of the large retailers in 2005 will have a great impact on the food manufacturers, logistic service providers and retailers. According to Paul Stam de Jonge 'the RFID implementations will lead to an irreversible process in the retail market. In the short term, it is therefore of the up most importance for companies to gain knowledge and experience with RFID'.

About RFID technology

RFID technology is based on a relatively simple concept. It consists of two elements that communicate through radio transmission - a tag and a reader. The tag contains a small chip and an antenna and can be placed on any object. The information on the tag, such as an identification number, can be transmitted to an RFID reader over a distance of a few meters. The readers are placed in various locations throughout the supply chain. RFID allows objects to be electronically identified and followed throughout the complete distribution chain.

There are two main reasons for the application of RFID technology in RTIs. On the one hand it allows RTI pool organisers and logistic service providers to electronically follow the RTIs. On the other hand it allows manufacturers and retailers to follow and identify products. Both reasons result in a higher cost-effectiveness.

The dominant position of the retailers in the supply chain means that they have a leading role in the uptake of RFID. The study shows that retailers are particularly interested in tracking at an individual product level. Tagging at pallet level is not as crucial as they are often only used to transport the goods to the distribution centre, as opposed to throughout the entire supply chain.

NOTES TO EDITORS
About the research
- The research is an initiative of LogicaCMG in close co-operation with
EAN Netherlands and ECR D-A-CH and is sponsored by Checkpoint Systems (NYSE: CKP - news) ,
Euro Pool System, Intermec, Omron, Zetes, SAS and Container
Centralen A/S
- The geographies researched were the Netherlands, UK, Ireland, Belgium,
France and Germany
- The study consisted of 50 in-depth interviews with potential users of
RFID technology (retailers, manufacturers, logistics service providers
and RTI pool organisers) as well as extensive desk research
- As it is expected that Returnable Transport Items (RTIs) will be fitted
with RFID relatively quickly, the study focused on the application of
RFIDs in pallets, crates and containers within the supply chain

About LogicaCMG

LogicaCMG is a major international force in IT services and wireless telecoms. It provides management and IT consultancy, systems integration and outsourcing services to clients across diverse markets including public sector, telecoms, financial services, energy and utilities, industry, distribution and transport. Formed in December 2002, through the merger of Logica and CMG, the company employs around 20,000 staff in offices across 34 countries and has nearly 40 years of experience in IT services. Headquartered in Europe, LogicaCMG is listed on both the London and Amsterdam stock exchanges (LSE: LOG; Euronext: LOG). More information is available from www.logicacmg.com.

About EAN Netherlands

EAN Netherlands plays an active and leading role in the promotion and implementation of the global, open EAN-UCC standards for automatic identification and electronic communication in the Netherlands. EAN Netherlands is a non profit organisation, with 5.800 member companies from 30 industry sectors, and is a member organisation of EAN International www.ean.nl.

About ECR D-A-CH

Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) is a joint initiative by manufacturers, retailers and other partners in the supply chain. ECR aims to improve processes and provide consumers with optimum quality, service and variety of products at the best price www.ecr.de.

LONDON (AFX) - Shares in LogicaCMG PLC were 2.5 pct higher in midmorning
deals as Deutsche Bank urged clients to buy into the Anglo-Dutch IT group on the
back of recent weakness, dealers said.
The broker said the shares have underperformed the sector by 6 pct in the
past two weeks, which it regards as "unwarranted".
In a bullish note, Deutsche said concerns over growth in the UK were
"misplaced" as it gave a positive assessment of the group's German prospects and
Wireless division.
At 10.28 am, shares in Logica were 4-1/2 pence higher at 174-3/4.
rn/ra

it seems you eat lots of chillis
you sound very bitter for some reasons ,i was very sincere in my offer and for free.

1 October 2004, LogicaCMG: Negotiations with EDP in Portugal

LogicaCMG has today been informed by Electricidade de Portugal (EDP) that it
has been selected as their preferred outsourcing partner. This will include the
acquisition of a majority interest in Edinfor, their IT services subsidiary. We
look forward to finalising our due diligence and contractual agreements with
EDP over the coming weeks and ensuring a smooth and beneficial transition for
Edinfor employees, customers and partners.

LogicaCMG to buy 60 pct of Electricidade de Portugal's IT unit Edinfor UPDATE
AFX


(Adding analysts' comments)

LONDON (AFX) - Anglo-Dutch IT services company LogicaCMG PLC said it has been selected as Electricidade de Portugal's preferred outsourcing partner in a deal that will include the acquisition of a 60 pct stake in Edinfor, EDP's IT services subsidiary.

The company gave no terms, since it wants to complete due diligence and contractual agreements with EDP over the coming weeks.

Miguel Viana, an analyst at Espirito Santo Research, values the stake at 142 mln eur.

A LogicaCMG spokesman said the deal would give the company an 'Iberian footprint' and access to over 600 highly trained energy utility experts.

The deal will allow EDP to reduce its costs with IT services and to reduce net debt through the disposal of a non strategic business, Viana of Espirito Santo said.

Cazenove analysts said in a note after EDP said last night it was in the final stage of exclusive talks with LogicaCMG that Edinfor's margins will be lower in the future since it had been allowed to earn a high margin from its parent while part of the EDP group.

Although the situation has been corrected to some degree before the announcement, the price LogicaCMG pays must reflect the rate of future profitability, they added.

In 2002, Edinfor's margin was 14.9 pct compared with an average of 8 pct at European peers.

A premium takeover rating might be justifiable given the opportunity for LogicaCMG to use Edinfor as a platform of expansion into Portugal and Spain, although these benefits would accrue gradually, the Cazenove analysts said.

LogicaCMG was up against the US' Electronic Data Systems Corp in the auction.

There were originally 10 companies in the bidding.

oliver.wagg@afxnews.com

ow/jc

Merrill Lynch
The broker reiterates its buy rating for LogicaCMG

I am just about into profit with this one so any positive news is good - thanks azhar

OK its now down 4% and I am again losing - even so just about more buuys than sells. The tidy will turn - "its only Logic!"

Optimistok IMO I think these will be trading around 250-300 within six months.

Invitation to Global Aviation RFID Forum 2004
MUNICH, Germany, October 8 /PRNewswire/ --

Global Aviation RFID Forum ; October 20, 8:30 am - 5:30 pm, Munich

Arabella Sheraton Grand Hotel, Arabellastrasse 6, 81925 Munich, Germany

- Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is working ADVERTISEMENT


intensively on advancing radio frequency identity (RFID) technology in the aviation industry.

- Airbus Spares Support and Services in Hamburg, Germany, already uses RFID technology to optimize the global use of its service and repair facilities (tool cycle management). Airlines benefit from faster availability and aircraft manufacturers from enormous cost advantages.

- This is the world's only solution for installing RFID chips in flying aircraft parts as required in the aviation industry. The effects of metal on the radio frequencies used in RFID present particularly difficult challenges for the solution.

- The technology and system solution to make it possible is provided by the consulting, software development, and system integration company LogicaCMG (LSE: LOG.L - news - msgs) .

- Under the lead of LogicaCMG, Airbus, and others, the aviation industry is establishing an important precedent for other sectors.

- RFID tags with integrated chips and mini antennas that can be tracked over short distances by radio waves are considered a megatrend in numerous industries, including logistics, commerce, and manufacturing (supply chain management).

The Global Aviation RFID Forum is sponsored by Airbus and Boeing.

Additional Information: www.globalaviationrfidforum.com

11 Oct 2004
ATLANTA, Georgia, October 11 /PRNewswire/ --

- LPA Will Enable Banks to Cater for All Future Demands for Payments
Services

LogicaCMG launched today the LogicaCMG Payments Architecture (LPA). This
strategic approach to reengineering payments operations enables banks around
the world to transform their payments businesses delivering high quality
services to customers at a significantly lower operational cost.

Across the whole of the payments industry, there is a growing recognition
that fundamental transformational changes are needed that place new and
different requirements on models of operation and technical architecture.
Marginal enhancement to existing operations and supporting systems has
resulted in today's system complexity and an inability to meet the challenge
of providing a flexible, scalable payments business.

With more than 30 years experience of implementing innovative payments
infrastructures and commercial payments processes, LogicaCMG is uniquely
equipped to support organisations through the analysis, design and
implementation of transformational change.

The LPA applies to all payments systems and processes, high and low
value, simple and complex, and covers all participants in the payments value
chain. It provides flexibility, high levels of automation and rapid
differentiation in payments services.

Under the LPA banner, LogicaCMG provides solutions and market leading
services to central banks, clearing houses and global, regional and domestic
banks. For central banks there is the award-winning real time growth
settlement (RTGS) and Government securities settlement systems. For
commercial banks there is innovation in liquidity management, electronic
invoicing, payment pricing and cash reporting. And in financial messaging,
LPA includes solutions for reporting, corporate connectivity and message
bulking.

The solutions and services that LogicaCMG has recommended for many years
are available as demonstrable solutions with live customers. To this we add
our global experience in implementation of major change programmes to deliver
the safe and progressive transformation of existing payments infrastructures.

Nick Caplan, international managing director of LogicaCMG's global
financial services business, said: "LPA brings together our market knowledge
and implementation experience in a model for the transformation of payment
businesses. It truly builds on LogicaCMG's understanding of the payments
industry to deliver a payments infrastructure that can meet the demands of
customers and regulators now and into the future."

LogicaCMG will be exhibiting at Sibos 2004 (stand D068) where LPA will be
a focus. Additionally at Sibos, Terry Quigley, head of global financial
messaging, LogicaCMG, will moderate the seminar 'Payments services in the
digital world. Are you getting what you pay for?' on 12 October at 14:00. If
you are attending the show and would like to speak to LogicaCMG and discuss
the LPA, please contact Matt Harris or Pete Hendrick on +44-(0)20-7429-7000
or email.

LONDON, October 11 /PRNewswire/ -- LogicaCMG will demonstrate its leadership
position in the transportation
industry, through the strength of its mobility solutions, at this year's
Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress, taking place in Nagoya,
Japan from 18 to 22 October. The company is supporting the congress from its
offices in Japan located in Osaka and Tokyo.



LogicaCMG will share ITS Netherlands' stand 3048-2, Hall 3. Two
particular areas where it will detail its expertise in the mobile solutions
market are Mobile Ticketing and Mobile Traffic Services (MTS).



On Thursday 21 October, 11:00 - 12:30, LogicaCMG will give a presentation
entitled Cooperation and Traffic Management with its Dutch customer, the
province of Noord-Brabant, on the successful deployment of its Mobile Traffic
Services (MTS) solution. Following an initial pilot scheme in November 2003,
Noord-Brabant has extended its use of MTS to the whole region for the next
two years. The presentation will showcase how the service has delivered
reliable information on travel times and vehicle speeds on the entire road
network. Using a GSM network, LogicaCMG's MTS provides historical and/or real
time traffic information enabling the province of Noord-Brabant to inform
motorists of the traffic situation, recommend alternative routes or apply
measurements for leading the traffic over the road network more efficiently.



In addition, LogicaCMG will make a presentation entitled: Sustainability
- Funding Sources and Mechanisms, 14:00 - 15:30 on Thursday 21 October.
LogicaCMG will highlight the benefits and long term impact of mobile traffic
services, cell broadcast emergency alerting, GSM-rail developments and
Galileo based positioning for road user charging. LogicaCMG will focus on
sustainable business models and transition paths to scale from regional
pilots up to nation-wide implementations.



Cees de Wijs, Director Wireless Enterprise Solutions at LogicaCMG
commented; "With Mobile Traffic Services and Mobile Ticketing LogicaCMG can
provide solutions for governments, consumers and business users alike -
enabling significant time and cost savings. LogicaCMG's systems integration
track record coupled with its global reach enables it to provide unparalleled
support to global corporations in their use of these innovative services."




To request a meeting with a LogicaCMG spokesperson at the ITS World Congress,
please contact Pete Hendrick or Cathy Owen, Band and Brown, +44(0)20-7419-7000,

Wednesday October 13, 12:00 PM
LogicaCMG Announces a Global Alliance With Dovetail Systems
ATLANTA, Georgia, October 13 /PRNewswire/ -- LogicaCMG (LSE: LOG.L - news - msgs) Advertisement

announced today a global marketing and licensing agreement with Dovetail Systems to transform the payments processes, operations and infrastructure of commercial banks.

LogicaCMG and Dovetail have identified that banks needing to transform their payments operations require a safe and progressive method to deliver business value, renovate current business processes and technology. These changes need to be based upon existing operational capabilities. This alliance brings the complementary skills and strengths of both companies together to implement their shared vision quickly, efficiently and with minimum risk. The risk of change is substantially reduced by implementing a step-by-step change, rather than the one-time 'big bang', which many competing technologies demand.

Visitors to Sibos 2004 can see this capability demonstrated at the LogicaCMG and Dovetail stands (LogicaCMG - D068, Dovetail - G126). The combination of the two companies' strengths provides multi-currency payments processing functionality, capable of operating in both the US and European environments.

LogicaCMG's All Payments Solution, part of the all-embracing LogicaCMG Payments Architecture (LPA), combines technology from Dovetail with its own components and those from other providers, to enable banks to exploit the changing economics of the payments business.

Nick Caplan, international managing director of LogicaCMG global financial services said "We welcome the addition of Dovetail Systems to the range of providers we have selected in our payments solutions. Banks which have defined a strategy to grow their payments business will need an adaptable cost-effective infrastructure capable of satisfying customers' demands for new services and the ever-growing burden of regulation in a cost-effective manner. With Dovetail's capability to deliver increased straight through processing, this alliance provides a platform to meet the challenge."

Richard Little, Chairman of Dovetail, added, "By working with LogicaCMG we can leverage their expertise and reputation for delivery to time and to budget to help banks around the world to transform their payments operations. Our shared approach in managing an effective payments business enables distributed functionality resulting in reduced costs, empowered staff and an improved contribution to profitability."

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/041013/250/f4gyj.html

LONDON, October 15 /PRNewswire/
LogicaCMG today announced that it has signed an GBP 8.1 million five year contract with EDF Energy in the UK.

The deal covers the delivery of IT services, consultancy and support for two critical areas of EDF Energy's business - the electricity distribution network (the UK's largest), and its back-office SAP systems.

Following a competitive bid, LogicaCMG was selected to provide
applications management and support for all EDF Energy's Networks Branch
business systems. The service is flexible to meet the changing demands of EDF
Energy's electricity distribution network, which serves more than a quarter
of the UK's population.

LogicaCMG will be responsible for controlling, monitoring and
maintaining key network applications to ensure they are always operational
for more than 3,500 staff in the branch.

As part of the deal, LogicaCMG will also be responsible for
all EDF Energy's SAP support requirements across the company. This integrated
back-office software includes the IT systems used to manage Work Management,
Materials and Warehouse Management, Procurement, Finance and HR requirements.

Benefits to EDF Energy include:

- Operational cost savings

- Experienced support of key business critical applications

- Helping to provide a high quality customer service

The key challenge will be in maintaining key applications to
make sure the electricity distribution network is served to the highest
safety standards, ensuring that there is no down-time and making operational
changes to improve service and performance.

Director of IT Andy Hooper said: "A highly reliable
performance is essential when it comes to systems that support the power
distribution network. In effect we are helping to keep the lights on.
LogicaCMG's proposition meets our demanding requirements at a realistic
price.

LogicaCMG's commercial approach is linked to continuous
improvement which means that EDF Energy's payment for services can be made in
inflation-linked instalments in proportion to the company's IT spend over the
period of the five year contract.

Jim Yeats, UK managing director for Energy and Utilities at
LogicaCMG said: "This is a very important win for LogicaCMG and our EDF
Energy client team, which have worked closely with EDF Energy to build strong
relationships and trust - delivering a service that matches the needs of the
customer."


http://www.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/20041015090000nd037.html

Union Telephone selects LogicaCMGs next generation multimedia messaging infrastructure

19 October 2004

LogicaCMG has secured a contract with Union Telephone Company to deploy its Next Generation Multimedia Messaging Service Centre (MMSC) and Wireless Service Broker (WSB) solutions. These will enable Union Telephones subscribers in Wyoming, north western Colorado and eastern Utah to have access to new value added services such as picture messaging and WAP services.


LogicaCMGs MMSC is a part of its Next Generation Messaging solution, which offers an integrated environment for key data services such as SMS, MMS, WAP and voice and video messaging. The high-performance, high availability solution provides the scalability necessary to maintain the quality of service users expect from MMS services. Critical functions such as transcoding, which ensures an optimum end-user experience by adapting the multimedia messages to different handsets, underpin the high levels of service delivered by LogicaCMG.


Alan Marchant, CIO and director of Billing, Union Telephone, said: Its great to be working with LogicaCMG to deliver a broader range of services to our customer base. Using this technology will enable us to expand our service options across our network, all delivered efficiently and at a high standard. We were already a customer of LogicaCMG and wanted to continue to offer our customers the highest quality and most competitive service offering. The best technology fit and the fact that LogicaCMG has such a strong heritage in the MMS marketplace were key factors in choosing them over the competition.


DeWayne A. Nelon, president of LogicaCMGs telecoms business in North America, said: Wireless carriers achieve significant revenues by providing high-quality MMS services. We are playing a valued role in supporting companies who want to enter and compete effectively in this marketplace. Im very pleased were extending our relationship with Union Telephone Company by providing the ability to deliver further value added services to its customers.


http://www.logicacmg.com/pressroom/press_releases/press_releases.asp?display=detail&id=1030

LogicaCMG wins order from Amsterdam hospital
AFX


AMSTERDAM (AFX) - LogicaCMG PLC said it won an order to implement an electronic patient status system for the Academic Medical Hospital in Amsterdam.

The project is expected to start this month, with full implementation taking about three years. LogicaCMG will use the EMD/EPD software of MI Consultancy for the project.

A spokesman for the company said the order is worth 'millions'.

amsterdam@afxnews.com

cjs/cmr

Institutions have started building on their holdings

http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/20041020170000P6D48.html

NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTERESTS IN SHARES

THE CAPITAL GROUP COMPANIES, INC. 51,367,180 increased to 7.00%
http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/20041028120000P0E38.html

Phoenix provides a range of managed and network services, data center hosting, systems management, and help-desk services to IT services clients including LogicaCMG (LSE: LOG.L - news - msgs) , IBM (NYSE: IBM - news) , and Syntegra.

In its most recent financial year ended March 2004, Phoenix made an operating profit before amortization of 10.8m pounds ($19.5m), compared to a profit before amortization of 9m pounds ($16.3m) in 2002, on revenue that grew 10.6% to 58.3m pounds ($105.5m), of which 50.6m pounds ($91.6m) was from continuing operations.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/041028/221/f5gmt.html

Next year end (to be reported) 31 - Dec - 2004

Tuesday November 2, 02:44 PM
LogicaCMG Appoints New International Managing Director for Energy and Utilities
LONDON, November 2 /PRNewswire/ -- LogicaCMG (LSE: LOG.L - news - msgs)

today the appointment of Jim Tapper as international managing director for its energy and utilities line of business. Jim joins from Novera Energy Europe where he was managing director.

At LogicaCMG Jim will be responsible for the strategic direction and solution development of the company's worldwide activities in the energy and utilities sector. In 2003 this sector contributed GBP272 million to the group revenues.

Commenting on his appointment Jim said, "This is an exciting challenge. LogicaCMG has been at the heart of some of the most dramatic changes seen in the energy and utilities sector. I believe that the next few years will see a greater demand for the expertise and experience which the company has developed."

Jim has over 20 years experience in the energy and utilities sector holding senior positions with companies such as Accenture (NYSE: ACN - news) and the International Energy Agency in Paris

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/041102/250/f5skt.html