New Aberdeen Report Measures Benefits of QMS for Improving Operational Performance

MetricStream, Inc., the market leader in enterprise-wide Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC) and Quality Management solutions, today announced that Aberdeen Group's recent report titled "The Cost of Quality: Benchmarking Enterprise Quality Management" measured benefits of implementing quality management systems and recognized a MetricStream customer, Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS), for successfully implementing an enterprise-wide quality management and compliance system to achieve Best-in-Class operational performance.
The study found that Best-in-Class manufacturers are over three times more likely to implement quality management systems. Best in class manufacturers were defined as the top 20% of performers in a weighted average across three KPIs: Defects per Million Opportunities, First Pass Yield, and Overall Yield.

Among 333 manufacturers studied, the report highlights Fairchild Semiconductor, one of MetricStream's customers in the hi-tech manufacturing industry. "Our findings are clear that Best-in-Class organizations are leveraging automated tools for managing quality workflows, alerts, RMAs, supplier scorecards, nonconformance and CAPA, quality dashboards and audits," said Matthew Littlefield, a Manufacturing Research Analyst with the Aberdeen Group and author of the report. "Technology enablers, MetricStream, play a crucial role in transforming disparate silos of quality data into actionable intelligence to improve product quality and reduce costs."

Based on the findings Littlefield adds the following recommendations to achieve Best-in-Class performance:

Measure the cost of quality. Doing so is a necessary first step to creating a Best-in-Class quality management system.
Automate quality processes that enable Best-in-Class performance, including: Genealogy and Traceability, SPC, Quality Dashboards, and Audit Documentation.
Implement an Enterprise-Wide Quality Management System and focus on creating real time interoperability with plant floor automation, MES, and SCM.
The report can be downloaded from MetricStream's website at www.metricstream.com.

"We are excited about the findings of this Aberdeen report. It demonstrates the value of MetricStream's comprehensive software solutions for managing quality and compliance programs within an organization as well as for streamlining business processes involving suppliers and customers," said Shaf Begen, Director of Product Marketing at MetricStream.

About MetricStream
MetricStream is a market leader in Enterprise-wide Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC) and Quality Solutions for global corporations. MetricStream solutions are used by leading corporations such as Pfizer, Philips, American Airlines, NASDAQ, Sandisk, BP, Entergy, Subway, Fairchild Semiconductor, Hitachi and TaylorMade-Adidas Golf in diverse industries such as Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, Automotive, Food, High Tech Manufacturing, Energy and Financial Services to manage their quality processes, regulatory and industry-mandated compliance and corporate governance initiatives, as well as by over a million compliance professionals worldwide via the ComplianceOnline.com portal. MetricStream is headquartered in Redwood Shores, California and can be reached at www.metricstream.com.
About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that drive decisions. For additional information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com