VWR INTERNATIONAL, INC. ENHANCES CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITH GRIDNODE'S PARTNER INTEGRATION SOLUTIONS Leading global distributor enhances service offerings with RosettaNet integration to customer community, saving hundreds of thousands annually Redwood City, CA, April 1, 2003 – GridNode, the leading provider of extended enterprise businessware, today announced the successful business processes automation of RosettaNet-based integration solutions for VWR International, Inc., a leading global distributor of scientific supplies with worldwide sales of more than $2.5 billion. VWR is a company of the Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany Group. VWR’s market leadership in the field of distribution has been forged through years of unwavering commitment to exceeding the total quality requirements of external and internal customers. The company’s continued adoption of leading-edge technology to better service customers and achieve greater internal operational efficiencies underscores this philosophy. In line with this strategic directive, VWR selected GridNode’s GridTalk communications software to automate previously batch-based EDI transactions with RosettaNet protocol and processes to gain the benefits of secure, real-time business-to-business process automation. To date, VWR has realized dramatic return of investment from the rapidly scalable implementation, which had a low total cost of ownership. Evaluating the success of this initiative based on metrics with one of their key global trading partners, VWR has estimated tangible savings and extended benefits around data accuracy and greater customer response speed in their business transactions. “Since VWR has thousands of trading partners in a variety of different industries, it is necessary for us to work with flexible and reliable communication technology solutions for our mission critical internal and external needs. GridNode met our need for outstanding expertise and quality, when they enabled us with robust RosettaNet out-of-the-box business automation solution in just three days. We have been continually impressed by GridNode’s domain expertise and implementation professionalism,” said Mary Ann Donlon, Manager of Electronic Integrations, VWR International. “VWR’s ability to implement RosettaNet in such an expedient manner is a testament to the overarching value of the standard. With this ease and speed of deployment, any trading community can now achieve total business integration and 100% partner enablement using industry standards such as RosettaNet,” said CheeTong Leow, Managing Director, GridNode. About GridNode GridNode provides businessware for extended enterprise management and web services. Using a highly-optimized, distributed architecture for B2B integration and collaboration, GridNode's peer-to-peer (P2P), XML-based product suite enables critical supply chain data to be exchanged, synchronized and analyzed in real-time via the Internet infrastructure, reliably and efficiently. GridNode's software complies with latest industry standards and enhances existing enterprise information systems, such as ERP, SCM and CRM. GridNode also offers a robust, affordable and scalable RosettaNet Basics-compliant solution for enterprises of any size to connect directly to their trading partners. More information about the company and its products can be found at www.gridnode.com. About VWR International, Inc. VWR International is a global leader in the distribution of scientific supplies, with worldwide sales of more than $2.5 billion. VWR's business is highly diversified across a spectrum of products and services, customer groups and geography. The company offers more than 750,000 products, from more than 5,000 manufacturers, to over 250,000 customers throughout North America and Europe. VWR's primary customers work in the pharmaceutical, life science, chemical, technology, food processing and consumer product industries. Other important customers include universities and research institutes; governmental agencies; environmental testing organizations; and primary and secondary schools. VWR International affiliates operate in 18 countries and employ over 6,000 people. The company's mission is to deliver excellence in the distribution of scientific supplies. The VWR International Group is headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania. For more information: Lee Kiew Puan GridNode Pte Ltd +65 6 848 5848 kiew.puan.lee@gridnode.com