Paris, May 11th 2005 – Maporama International today announced the launch of a new offer with Baracoda, a leading provider of communication wireless solutions for the automotive industry.

Thanks to this offer, companies using the Bluetooth Baracoda B-Box can position their vehicles all around the world, realizes proximity searches around intervention or deliveries points and calculates trips for their teams. All these features are available 24/24 7/7 on Maporama Explorer from an Internet browser.

GSM + GPRS + GPS + Bluetooth = B-Box

Baracoda recently launched the B-Box, the first telematic device covering all the range of wireless communications: GSM, GPRS and Bluetooth associated to the GPS positioning technology. Easily integrated in all types of vehicles, the B-Box recovers the GPS location data to send them to Maporama Explorer thanks to the GPRS/GSM network.

Besides providing geographic coordinates of the vehicles, a wide range of critical information is sent through the B-Box. Thanks to the integrated Bluetooth technology, the B-Box communicates with any types of peripheral devices providing this wireless technology, for instance the wireless bar code scanner BaracodaPencil. An example: a delivery man gets to his customer, scans the bar code of the package with his Bluetooth BaracodaPencil and automatically transfers his GPS location/position along with the identifying code of the package to Maporama Explorer.

Take advantage of the B-Box with Maporama Explorer

Maporama Explorer recovers all the data provided by the B-Box and makes it available to the staff manager. He can see on his Internet browser the real-time position of vehicles on a detailed map as well as the status of different missions.

Moreover, Maporama Explorer integrates a service of turn-by-turn itinerary map in order to determinate the shortest itinerary between two addresses and to optimize the road-network itinerary of the teams on the field. The staff manager also benefits from a service of proximity search so as to know the exact distance between each vehicle hosting the B-Box and a given address (intervention place, delivery point for instance). In just few clicks, the staff manager can make the best decision to improve the productivity of his team and the satisfaction of his customers.

« Baracoda and Maporama International offers complementary expertises that were interesting to associate. The B-Box/ Maporama Explorer offers great opportunities for companies willing to use a location-centric system that is simple and flexible” emphasizes Dominique Grillet, CEO of Maporama Intl. “Positioning our offer as an integrated solution, the B-Box/ Maporama Explorer solution meets the needs of the entire logistic chain since the parcel  tracking, the vehicles positioning in real-time, the supervision of the operations and the dynamic attribution of the missions”.

Demonstration at the SEVE show

The two partners invite you to see a live demonstration of the B-Box/ Maporama Explorer combination. This demonstration will take place on the Baracoda booth during the European Business Vehicle Show (SEVE) in Paris on May 10 -12 at the Parc des Expositions of Le Bourget.

About Maporama International

Maporama International is the European-leading supplier of geocentric services. Geocentric services enable companies to locate precisely fixed elements as well as dynamic elements in real time using the most comprehensive cartographic coverage available on the market. All Maporama clients have access to Maporama Geocentric Services Framework (MGSF), a platform operated 24/7 designed to fully exploit all the benefits brought by geocentric services. Companies use MGSF in most of their everyday processes, such as:
- Marketing: optimising the location of sales/distribution outlets, cleaning corporate databases, leading targeted marketing operations according to the location of the prospects, guiding clients to the nearest sales outlet etc.
- Sales: Identifying prospects/clients in a determined geographical zone, allocating them to a specific salesman, creating optimised route to visit them on the field etc.
- Delivery: Checking the validity of delivery addresses, creating optimised route for your delivery teams, visualising their positions in real time, get informed when a task is executed etc.
- Customer care: indicating to clients where are the nearest repair agents, identifying the nearest technician to intervene on site etc.
- Administration: checking employees’ travelling expenses etc.

Maporama International has more than 500 customers in over 20 countries including Accor, Aventis, Delphi Automotive, Diageo, Dr Martens, Europcar, Hitachi, L’Oréal. Headquartered in Paris (France), the company has a direct presence in Italy, Spain, Sweden, and in the USA.

For more information

Nathalie Weinryb – Virginie Giraud
Parme Communication
00 33 (0)1 46 10 65 44

Franck Langevin – Responsable Marketing Communication
00 33 (0)1 44 84 10 00

http://www.maporama.com

About Baracoda, Inc.
Baracoda, the market leader in the Bluetooth Auto-ID industry, developed the first line of Bluetooth barcode and RFID Readers.  Since 2001, Baracoda has created specific know-how and many patents pending for Bluetooth wireless technology applications. Baracoda’s expertise includes embedded software development and radio modules integration, with in-depth capabilities in power management, security and interface with multiple existing systems, thanks to its unique cross-platforms middleware. Offering an innovative product line for several markets, Baracoda’s products are used for inventory management, asset tracking, sales force automation and field services worldwide. For more information about Baracoda and their latest data capture solutions, visit www.baracoda.com

For more information

Xavier Herman – Marketing Director
00 33 (0)1 30 08 89 00

www.baracoda.com