Manpower Inc. Selects PeopleSoft Enterprise Services Procurement to Power Future Versions of its Industry-Leading UltraSource Order Management Tool (email this article)

MILWAUKEE, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN - News) today announced the future vision for its staffing industry-leading Internet-based order management tool, UltraSource, and it will be powered by PeopleSoft (Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies) Enterprise Services Procurement technology.

PeopleSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSFT - News) will draw on Manpower's industry expertise and insight gained from 55 years in the staffing industry and the 5 years that it has been developing and implementing its order management tool, UltraSource, to customers worldwide. Based on this input, PeopleSoft will extend its existing industry-leading Services Procurement solution to meet the multiple and complex subtleties required to outsource the vendor management role in staffing services. The result will be the next generation of UltraSource -- a robust tool, powered by PeopleSoft, that will allow companies to gain improved efficiency and productivity through a global system that provides integrated end-to-end capabilities, including order management, assignment management, time management, invoicing, and reporting. Manpower and PeopleSoft will develop and pilot the tool over the next several months. This new tool is expected to become available to Manpower customers in the second half of 2004.

"UltraSource was the first tool in the staffing industry to provide the scalability, flexibility, and language capability to serve customers worldwide, and today Manpower is serving far more customers in more countries with this tool than any other staffing firm or e-procurement software company," said Jeffrey A. Joerres, Chairman & CEO of Manpower Inc. Joerres added that Manpower's strategy has always been to build or buy the best e-commerce tools in the market that will deliver efficiency and productivity improvements for its customers.

"As we have evaluated the evolution of the various software providers who serve our industry, we have determined that PeopleSoft is the clear leader in this space. We are confident that the integration of our staffing industry expertise, embodied in UltraSource, and PeopleSoft's expertise as the leading software provider for the Human Resources industry, will yield the best system for our customers," said Joerres.

"PeopleSoft will tap Manpower's extensive industry-expertise to deliver the next generation of services procurement technology," said Ram Gupta, executive vice president, Products and Technology, PeopleSoft. "Once again, Manpower is raising the bar in the staffing industry. The combination of PeopleSoft's industry-leading Services Procurement application and Manpower's unparalleled industry knowledge will result in a powerful solution for Manpower customers."

Manpower will continue to support UltraSource 2000 and UltraSource 02, and the many customers who are using them across 15 countries in 8 languages. Joerres noted, "As future releases of UltraSource become available, developed by PeopleSoft, we will work with our customers to determine an appropriate time to migrate them to the new version of UltraSource in a manner that is consistent with their unique business needs and our quality standards."

PeopleSoft Enterprise Services Procurement, a key component of PeopleSoft's award-winning Supplier Relationship Management solution, enables companies to effectively source, contract and manage services providers. The solution is designed to manage both time and deliverable-based services, while providing insight and centralized control over enterprise-wide services expenditures. Organizations benefit from reduced services procurement costs, improved quality and consistency of services, and strategic collaboration with key services providers. This solution will be available through Manpower as part of its outsourced managed services.

UltraSource is Manpower's Web-based order management tool that is designed to simplify the staffing requisition process. While UltraSource is available to Manpower customers around the world, end-to-end solutions vary according to availability of country-specific modules such as assignment management and time capture designed for compliance with local language and legislative requirements. The tool is especially suited to companies operating in multiple countries because it can take into account local processes and legislation and it can be translated into any language.

About Manpower Inc.

Manpower Inc. is a world leader in the staffing industry, providing workforce management services and solutions to customers through 4,000 offices in 63 countries. The firm annually provides employment to 2 million people worldwide and is an industry leader in employee assessment and training. Manpower also provides a range of staffing solutions, engagement and consulting services worldwide under the subsidiary brands of Brook Street, Elan, The Empower Group and Jefferson Wells. More information on Manpower Inc. can be found at the company's Web site, www.manpower.com.