FRAMINGHAM, Mass. - March 14, 2003 - Retailers and brand owners facing requirements imposed by U.S. Customs’ new 24-Hour Manifest Rule and C-TPAT security initiatives can turn to the award winning Avery Dennison InfoChain Express^®™ (www.infochain.averydennison.com) supply chain management solution to address certain key challenges. .

A February 7, 2003 New York Times article titled, “Hong Kong Shipments Rejected Under New Anti-Terrorism Rules,” noted that 312 containers out of a total of 11,000 going from Hong Kong to the U.S. were rejected as a result of the U.S. Customs’ 24-Hour Manifest Rule. According to InfoChain Express^® Product Manager Andy Leung, shipment rejections at rates this high (3%) can substantially increase supply chain cycle times and cost structure, and cause out-of-stock conditions, resulting in higher inventory costs and revenue loss.

A related requirement facing companies whose business involves international shipping is the customs security initiative called Customs – Trade Partnership Against Terrorism or C-TPAT. C-TPAT recommendations include “procedures for tracking the timely movement of incoming and outgoing goods.”

According to Leung, “Retailers and brand owners, particularly in apparel and footwear, can employ InfoChain Express^® to ensure that their offshore vendors generate manifests before goods physically leave the factory floor. This provides sufficient time for brand owners and retailers to meet the 24-hour manifest deadline. With InfoChain Express^®, the manifests are electronically transmitted to consolidators or carriers for submission to U.S. Customs’ Automated Manifest System (AMS). That same procedure addresses C-TPAT requirements for tracking the timely movement of goods.”

Leung adds that Avery Dennison’s global infrastructure enables onsite support for vendors worldwide and that InfoChain Express^® has a proven track record as a dominant supply chain solution.

About Avery Dennison InfoChain Express^®

Avery Dennison InfoChain Express^®, which offers unmatched capability in global supply chain management and rapid rollout to worldwide factories, has been named a certified e-commerce solutions provider by JCPenney, and was recently named a Best of Breed company by Consumer Goods Technology, a leading trade publication. Customers include additional leading retailers, brand owners and suppliers worldwide. The organization is a business unit of Avery Dennison Retail Information Services division, which has offices in 39 countries.

The InfoChain Express^® supply chain solution seamlessly connects trading partners, including manufacturers, retailers, vendors and freight consolidators, and enables them to exchange and access data in real time. It expedites information flow among supply chain trading partners, eliminating the need for EDI systems. Users can transmit and receive purchase orders electronically, scan merchandise to facilitate error-free packing, print price tickets and carton labels on site or at service bureaus, and generate and transmit advance shipping notices (ASNs). Visit: www.infochain.averydennison.com.

Avery Dennison Retail Information Services offers worldwide solutions to industry for product identification. Products and services include Web-based supply chain management solutions, service bureaus, in-house imprinting systems and software, fully and partially preprinted tags, labels and label forms, sequential bar code tags and labels, electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags and labels, fastener products and consulting services. Major markets include retail, apparel, softlines and hardgoods.