Second annual IBS Pharma customer forum votes standardization issue most important

Participants at the 2nd IBS Pharma GSE conference discussed current and upcoming challenges faced by pharmaceutical wholesale distributors

STOCKHOLM, November 20, 2009 – International Business Systems (STO: IBS B) the leading application supplier for wholesale and distribution, today publishes a report from the second annual IBS Pharma customer forum held in Hamburg earlier this quarter. The user group was held in Munich and focused on communication and information exchange throughout the pharmaceutical supply chain, with keynote speeches from Monika Derecque-Pois, Director General at GIRP (Groupement International de la Répartition Pharmaceutique Européenne), Gerald Lassau, Director Software Solution at Knapp AG, Andreas Varesi, Managing Director of Technomar and Andy Bailey, Chief Marketing Officer at IBS AB. “What was especially important for me today was our host's public commitment to the long-term development of IBS Pharma for the German market”, said Karl-Heinrich Meyer, Managing Director at C. Krieger & Co. Nachfolger GmbH & Co. KG, Koblenz. “Among all the consistently interesting presentations I was particularly fascinated by the one given by the Italian corporate user Ragusa Remo Farmaceutici: they are active in additional business areas that are not part of pharmaceutical wholesale in Germany, for example parallel imports. And yet they cover all that with one and the same industry-specific solution which is IBS Pharma." "These days the power lies on the demand side, and not with the provider", said IBS Global Chief Marketing Officer Andy Bailey. "This shift in the industry means that distribution has become an important competitive factor in an industry that needs to overcome particular challenges." For a full report of the conference you can download it as a White Paper from http://www.ibs.net (English version) or a German version from http://www.ibs.net/de For more information, please contact: Oskar Ahlberg, Senior Vice President of Communications, IBS AB Tel: +46-70-244 24 75 oskar.ahlberg@ibs.net German press contact: ars publicandi GmbH Martina Overmann Schulstraße 28 D-66976 Rodalben Tel.: +49/6331/5543-13, Fax: -43 MOvermann@ars-pr.de www.ars-pr.de Author: Andreas Becker About IBS IBS specialises in differentiating companies from their competitors on the strength of their distribution operations. Founded in 1978, IBS has over 30 year’s experience of distribution in industries ranging from automotive and electronics to paper, publishing and pharmaceuticals. This deep understanding of distribution models and best practices is embodied in IBS’ global distribution system, which is enhanced with local expertise to create a unique system for each IBS client. More than 4,000 companies in 40 countries rely on IBS to improve their distribution operations – enabling them to achieve both increased profitability and higher valued services to the channel. IBS B share is listed on NASDAQ OMX First North Exchange Stockholm. For more information, please visit www.ibs.net About Leopold Fiebig Leopold Fiebig GmbH & Co. KG, headquartered in Rheinstetten, is an independent, privately run full-line distributor with a history of more than 100 years. The 85 employees of the medium-sized pharmaceutical wholesaler provide pharmacies in Southwestern Germany with prescription medicine, OTC drugs and various lifestyle products. The company covers an area stretching from Idar-Oberstein to Müllheim, from Primasens to Schwäbisch Hall. In their state-of-the-art logistics centre, where some 80,000 items are continuously in stock, Fiebig reaches an automation degree of 90% in the logistics area. As a result, up to 2,400 orders can be processed per hour, with a maximum throughput time of just 15 minutes from receipt of order to loading of goods. Please refer to http://www.fiebig.de for more information.