RBS/RATEX Direction Update Larry G. Daniels, CSP, EVP/COO RATEX Business Solutions, Inc Hickory Road, Suite 10 Plymouth Meeting, PA (800) x 4128

Outline for Session… High-level overview of the year since meeting last in Vancouver Cover RATEX enhancements to be released in soon R7.70. Overview significant RATEX redevelopment project now underway. Provide general planning parameters for the year ahead.

The Past Year in Review… A challenging and unpredictable year on many fronts. Operations of RBS remain stable at the Plymouth Meeting facility. Solid staff, application training, development, etc. Cooperative marketing effort provided significant new interest. Market indicators prompted a new focus on our product research & development.

RATEX Release R7.70… A significant portion of RATEX maintenance clients are now on R7.x level. Next RATEX R7.70 includes: Serialized inventory in GM. Gift card support in POS*Liberty. GM EDI support w/The Douglas Stewart Company and NACSCORP/Ingram-Micro. Extended Database support for catalogs w/Matthews Medical Books and J.A. Majors. Cumulative group of patches and bug fixes since R7.x originally issued.

Store-Vendor Integration Focus… EDI development for book and general merchandise categories remained a key development effort. Product catalog opportunities expanded within the Extended Database for store buyers. Refocus on PUBNET as potential vehicle to new vendors and services. EDI work has stabilized and becoming smaller part of overall effort College Store

RATEX Redevelopment Project… Concept of redevelopment was originally researched and reviewed with the RBS Board in But most technology/tools for multi-value rapid application and graphical product development were not-yet ready. Feasibility of undergoing a project of the size and complexity of legacy RATEX seemed too risky at that time. Continued with assessment of potential vendor partners and tools none-the-less.

Pulling the Trigger… Market indicators in late-2002 suggested the time was right to redevelop RATEX. Tools for GUI MultiValue connection, particularly w/UniVerse, matured well beyond screen-scrappers. Rapid application development for 4GL code conversion feasible. Approval to go ahead by the RBS Board in early 2003.

Selection of Partner/Tools… Field of prospective development partners and tools was narrowed to three: OHM’s Wade. Stamina’s Visage. Avexxis’ AvRAD/Delphi. MultiValue and development consultant was engaged to prototype and provide independent assessment. Avexxis was selected from criteria outlined. Combined RBS/Avexxis project team commenced RATEX redevelopment project in May 2003.

Purpose/Scope of Project… Convert all “legacy” RATEX modules to consistent 4GL (excluding POS*Liberty in first phase of project). Provide a common look and feel in both character and GUI user interfaces to RATEX. Combine redundant areas of applications such as course adoptions and book inquiry. Completely redesign small set of applications such as accounting and mail-order. Support new 127x40 character based density and 1024x768 graphical screen option.

Requirements of Project… Maintain the full set of functionality and general process flow of legacy RATEX. Obtain the benefits of supporting character- based and graphical user interface options. Minimize RATEX clients conversion factors: Utilize large portion of existing hardware. Support existing user BP’s without conversion. Minimize the number of data file changes. Minimize the overhead for client seats both in terms of dollars and hardware/software upgrades. Allow clients the opportunity to obtain and utilize the AVRAD rapid application development tools.

Redevelopment Timeline… The RATEX redevelopment project is a cooperative effort between RBS and Avexxis organizations as follows: 5/03 project design & team formation. 7/03 first preview of project at the RUG Conference. 8/03 plan and project final review by board. 10/03 & 11/03 regional meetings to preview and provide first system conversion detail. 1/04 provide initial developer training on AvRAD. 1/04 begin integration of redesigned applications. 3/04 full system demonstration at NACS CAMEX. 6/04 installation of beta code at test stores.

RATEX Graphical Menu Preliminary Example…

Character Based to Graphical User Interface Preliminary Examples…

Frequently Asked Questions… Q. Will this be a new release or upgrade? A. A significant new release of the RATEX system for a TBD fee reduced for existing RBS/RATEX clients. Q. Will there be new maintenance agreements? A. Likely yes using a new value-for-value mode. Q. Will RBS continue to develop legacy RATEX? A. No, other than bug fixes it will end at R7.70. Q. Will RBS continue to support legacy RATEX following the release of the redeveloped system? A. Yes, for a period of time but there will be a sunset. Q. How can I get more detailed information? A. RBS clients will begin receiving newsletter updates on the project later this summer with progressively more detailed information.