ST. LOUIS, MO (July 26, 2002) - Pipkins Inc. today announced a major upgrade to Vantage Point, its award-winning workforce management software for call centers. The new Version 8.0 saves hours of administrative time by automating all processes associated with forecasting, scheduling and reporting as well as e-mailing, exporting and printing the generated information. All functions can now be pre-configured for one-click execution and then launched, completed and even linked together to run in any sequence without manual intervention, whether or not users are physically present. Vantage Point is the only solution with these capabilities.

"Call center supervisors, analysts and schedulers typically spend hours doing repetitive tasks like setting up forecasts, and they're tied to their desks to execute each operation," said Jim Hogan, Manager of Customer Care for Pipkins. "With the sophisticated automation we have added to Vantage Point's advanced forecasting and scheduling technology, users now are relieved of these burdens, errors are reduced, and the system practically runs by itself. This greatly enhances administrative efficiency."

New features exclusive to Vantage Point include:

• Shortcut wizards - Users can pre-configure all operations and save the setups, eliminating the need to repeat the process each time. Operations can then be launched with one click or configured to run automatically at a prescribed time.

• Pre-scheduled reports - Call volume forecasts, agent schedules and activity reports can now be set to execute automatically on any schedule, allowing work to proceed overnight, while users are on vacation, or at any time without user involvement.

• Automatic e-mail, export or print - Reports can be automatically e-mailed, exported and/or printed as soon as they are completed, without waiting for manual commands. The system can be configured to automatically e-mail each agent's schedule to a home or work mailbox; e-mail complete reports to staff members, clients or others; export reports in Excel and a variety of other formats; and more.

• Self-executing sequences - Multiple tasks can be configured to execute in a prescribed sequence without user intervention. For example, the system can generate a forecast, export the report to one group of recipients, e-mail it to another group, and print copies without stopping between tasks for user input. Multiple sequences can self-execute consecutively.

These new features complement Vantage Point's sophisticated methodology for forecasting workload and scheduling staff in single or multi-site call centers. The system utilizes Pipkins' proprietary Merlang® optimization algorithm and advanced skill-based modeling, maximizing accuracy and eliminating overstaffing by taking into account the number of abandons and busies, the optimal distribution of agents within skill groups, and other factors not considered by competitive systems. Accuracy is further enhanced through exclusive historical trend analysis that fine-tunes forecasts for special events such as direct mail drops.

Staffing requirements are calculated based on forecasted call volumes, handling times, agents' entire skill set, and user-defined service levels such as mean time to answer and the acceptable percentage of abandoned and busy calls. A flexible, rules-driven scheduler generates the optimal lowest-cost schedule based on factors such as hours of availability, agent preferences, and skill groups. Optional modules permit real-time adherence monitoring, Web-based agent access, and Web-based time and attendance.

The Windows-based program integrates with leading ACDs, e-mail response systems and other multimedia queuing devices for data collection across multiple sites and time zones. It also provides a full complement of default and custom reports, with an open system design that allows managers to access call center data using any third party SQL reporting package.

About Pipkins

Pipkins Inc. (PIPKINS), founded in 1984, is the leading supplier of workforce management software and services to the call center industry. Its Vantage Point product enables managers to solve the complicated operational issues in today's multi-faceted call center environment. PIPKINS' systems forecast and schedule more than 100,000 agents in over 300 locations across all industries worldwide. The company is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. For more information, visit www.pipkins.com.