Gloucester, Mass., January 20, 2004 — TradeStone Software, a pioneering leader in collaborative e-sourcing software that enables companies to mainstream international trade as a key part of their business, today announced the completion of its executive management team, and a large customer win at Ocean State Job Lot. Under the seasoned direction of CEO Sue Welch, the TradeStone management team is creating next- generation collaborative e-sourcing software for Global 2000 companies.

TradeStone Software was founded in 2003 by e-sourcing trailblazer Sue Welch, whose previous companies – IMC Systems Group and RockPort Trade Systems – delivered such industry firsts as PC-based import software in 1984 and Windows-based sourcing software in 1994. Based on the experience gained over two decades of developing global trading software, the TradeStone management team has developed a new and innovative e-sourcing system with breakthrough capabilities.

"Companies today are still struggling to find and implement a platform that supports their strategies to build a truly world-class global sourcing organization," said Sue Welch, President and CEO of TradeStone Software. "As our economy globalizes, a competitive advantage in global trading and rapid collaboration can be the difference between market success and failure. The management team at TradeStone has been developing these solutions for nearly 20 years and we know what it takes to give customers what they need to succeed."

TradeStone Wins at Ocean State Job Lot

Along with the completion of the executive management team, TradeStone also announced today that it had been awarded a significant contract to implement its new global e-sourcing solution at off-price retailer Ocean State Job Lot.

Ocean State Job Lot sells electronics, housewares, lawn and garden items, stationery supplies, gourmet foods, sporting goods, toys, pet supplies, home decor, computer supplies and seasonal items. With 69 stores throughout New England, a typical Ocean State store stocks more than 4,000 items, many of them imported from a wide array of offshore suppliers. Because Ocean State provides "opportunistic" merchandise – which changes frequently based on availability – it was vital that the retailer have a global e- sourcing system that enables it to move quickly while dealing with a large variety of small suppliers.

"In evaluating e-sourcing software, we quickly found that most existing solutions were complex, inflexible, and required extensive training," said Hisham Aharon, CTO at Ocean State Job Lot. "TradeStone's software suite stood apart from the pack, helping us to leverage our existing IT infrastructure and business processes while enabling quick, easy and seamless collaboration with our international suppliers."

TradeStone Software Assembles World-Class Executive Management Team

TradeStone Software's executive management team consists of:

Sue Welch, President and CEO, founded TradeStone Software to deliver on her vision of global trade that has been honed through over 20 years of in-the-trenches experience. Sue got her start in the early 1980's working as an import manager for Zayre, when she realized there was a real need to automate international trade processes. Sue started her first company in 1984 (IMC Systems Group) to provide technology solutions to the international market and automate the import operations of global organizations.

After IMC's management was taken over by its VC investors, Sue founded her second company, RockPort Trade Systems, which became the number one global sourcing and supply software package in the world, with Global 2000 customers including Home Depot, JC Penney, Unisys Computer, Timberland and UPS. RockPort Trade Systems was acquired by QRS in 2000 for over $100 million, and Ms. Welch turned her attention to consulting with organizations to help them implement global sourcing strategies. In 2003 she launched TradeStone Software, whose solution is already in use with major retailers.

Sue is a frequent speaker on global trade automation and has addressed numerous organizations including a full delegation of the World Trade Organization, the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade, the ICC, and the National Retail Federation.

Ann Diamante, Senior Vice-President Products and Services, heads up TradeStone Software's global sourcing practice, which offers consulting, product design, custom modification and integration services. Ann is also part of the executive team involved in the development of the company's international finance reconciliation software.

Prior to joining TradeStone, Ann directed the world-wide development and services teams at RockPort Trade Systems and QRS Corp., where she was responsible for the development and deployment of the dominant sourcing and supply application used by Fortune 500 companies to manage their complex global supply chains.

Ann has an extensive background in the retail industry, having held diverse executive positions in retail merchandising, private label development, and operations for some of the largest retailers in the U.S.

Jack Zakarian, Chief Technology Officer, sets the company's technology direction and addresses the technical issues involved in software development, custom modification and integration services offered by TradeStone Software.

Prior to joining TradeStone, Jack was the CTO and co-founder with Sue Welch of RockPort Trade Systems. Jack has extensive experience in computer technology with a primary focus on systems for international trade, specifically in the supply chain and global sourcing arenas. He has been the system architect for numerous Fortune 500 companies, small-to-medium sized enterprises and application service providers. Jack's areas of expertise include Web applications, client/server, distributed processing and relational database systems. He graduated with a B.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.B.A. from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany.

Kamal Anand, Vice-President of Engineering, leads TradeStone Software's product development and technology strategy. Kamal plays an instrumental role in ensuring that TradeStone builds quality products that are differentiated and aligned with market opportunities.

Prior to joining TradeStone, Kamal was the Director of New Products with QRS Corporation. Kamal came to QRS from RockPort Trade Systems, where he was responsible for the development of the QRS sourcing applications used by Fortune 500 companies to manage their complex global supply chains. He has extensive experience in software development with a primary focus on enterprise systems specifically in supply chain and global sourcing. Kamal's areas of expertise include enterprise applications, software development methodologies, object-oriented design, Web services and Internet technologies, distributed processing and relational database systems.

Kamal graduated with a M.S. from Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire and a Bachelor of Technology from the Institute of Technology BHU, Varanasi, India.

Nancy Karlson, Director of Sales, has overall responsibility for sales for the organization.

Prior to joining TradeStone, Nancy was with QRS where she spearheaded the application sales efforts for the company's sourcing and event management products. Nancy joined QRS as part of the RockPort Trade Systems team, a company acquired by QRS in 2000. At RockPort, she was Regional Sales Manager for the Northeast Region where she established a successful track record of partnering with major retail clients, including Saks, Talbots, Lenox and American Eagle Outfitters.

Nancy came to the supply chain industry after seven successful years selling into major financial institutions at First Call Corporation, a subsidiary of Thomson Financial. She is a graduate of Boston University.

About TradeStone Software, Inc.
TradeStone Software enables retailers and manufacturers to plan, design, collaborate on and purchase goods from across the world as easily as from across the street. TradeStone's Unified Buying Engine uses Web services technology to layer across an organization's existing infrastructure while its modular software fills in buying process gaps to provide a single view, access and interaction across the entire procurement process. The first and only complete solution for global sourcing, product lifecycle management, and unified order management, TradeStone's intuitive "No Training" technology helps people throughout the supply chain to collaborate globally, enabling users to focus on speeding innovative products to market. Marquee customers include American Eagle Outfitters, The Children's Place, Deutsche Woolworth, Ocean State Job Lot, Pacific Alliance and Federated Department Stores. TradeStone Software is based in Gloucester, Mass. and can be found on the Web at www.TradeStoneSoftware.com.

Contact:

Tania Stockbridge
TradeStone Software
978-281-3723
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