HCL AXON Partners With CN to Develop iCREW, an Industry Solution for Train Crew Management

January 06, 2009: 06:00 AM ET

HCL AXON announced today a joint development partnership with CN to build iCREW, an SAP-based solution that addresses the crew management requirements of organizations that have complex work and job assignment and tracking rules. HCL AXON will work with CN to develop an SAP-based industry standard solution for transportation personnel.

The iCREW solution will allow organizations with large operational workforces to plan, schedule and assign crews, manage job boards and rotations, manage bulletins, bids and awards, and provide robust rule processing for end of shift reporting, claims validation, time to gross calculations and labor distribution. iCREW will be developed and tested according to HCL AXON's proven product delivery methodology and will be built to the same product development standards that SAP requires of its own developments. iCREW will integrate seamlessly into the SAP ECC environment, including SAP HCM, FI and Transportation Management modules. While iCREW initially will be targeted at the train crew deployment requirements of the railroad industry, HCL AXON's development team will work with partners in other industries including airlines, postal services and logistics in order to ensure that their requirements can be incorporated into iCREW.

iCREW will be developed by the same HCL AXON product development center that has delivered iMRO, a joint product development with SAP that delivers significant new functionality for organizations that manage large, complex assets, including aerospace and defense, travel and logistics organizations. Key components of the iMRO solution help extend SAP's functionality in areas such as maintenance scheduling and planning, resource management and engineering change management, while at the same time significantly enhancing the operational user interface. iMRO is SAP's solution for complex asset maintenance and iCREW will fully integrate with iMRO to allow the management and deployment of engineering crews.

Commenting on the iCREW partnership agreement, Alan Capes, CN's director of information technology business development and strategic planning, said, "CN has already delivered major cost savings and business value through the deployment of SAP across its back-office and asset management functions. Using iCREW to create an integrated crew management solution that leverages CN's investments in its SAP platform should generate additional significant savings and efficiencies in train operations."

When asked about the iCREW development, Steve Peck, President of HCL AXON in the Americas, said, "CN is laser focused on driving the best asset utilization in the industry and knows how to leverage SAP to deliver significant business improvements. We are delighted to partner with CN to extend their SAP solution to deliver further cost and utilization efficiencies. Our rapid development of eSOA compliant solutions such as iCREW & iMRO fully leverage the SAP business process platform to deliver a strategic advantage to our customers in an increasingly competitive and cost conscious global environment."

About HCL Technologies

HCL Technologies is a leading global IT services company, working with clients in the areas that impact and redefine the core of their businesses. Since its inception into the global landscape after its IPO in 1999, HCL focuses on 'transformational outsourcing,' underlined by innovation and value creation, and offers integrated portfolio of services including software-led IT solutions, remote infrastructure management, engineering and R&D services and BPO. HCL leverages its extensive global offshore infrastructure and network of offices in 20 countries to provide holistic, multi-service delivery in key industry verticals including Financial Services, Manufacturing, Aerospace & Defense, Telecom, Retail & CPG, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Media & Entertainment, Travel, Transportation & Logistics, Automotive, Government and Energies & Utilities. HCL takes pride in its philosophy of 'Employee First' which empowers our 52,714 transformers to create a real value for the customers. HCL Technologies, along with its subsidiaries, had consolidated revenues of US$ 2.0 billion (Rs. 8300 crores), as on 30th September 2008. For more information, please visit www.hcl.in

Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the statements containing the words "planned," "expects," "believes," "strategy," "opportunity," "anticipates," "hopes" or other similar words. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding impact of pending regulatory proceedings, fluctuations in earnings, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services, Business Process Outsourcing and consulting services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, customer acceptances of our services, products and fee structures, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, our ability to integrate acquired assets in a cost effective and timely manner, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, the success of our brand development efforts, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies / entities in which we have made strategic investments, withdrawal of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property, other risks, uncertainties and general economic conditions affecting our industry. There can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements made herein will prove to be accurate, and issuance of such forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by the Company, or any other person, that the objective and plans of the Company will be achieved. All forward-looking statements made herein are based on information presently available to the management of the Company and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company.

About CN

CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) -- Canadian National Railway Company and its operating railway subsidiaries -- spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America.

For more information, press only:
Michelle Deschenes
Michelle.Deschenes@hcl-axon.com
(443) 695-3312
Kirsten Paragona
HCL Corporate US
kparagona@hcl.in
(857) 350 5393