Herman Miller Uses Business Objects to Deliver Key Data to the Corporate Desktop

Leading Furniture Manufacturer Uses Business Objects for Analyzing Data on Customer Care, Sales, and Logistics

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 3, 2003 -- Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ), the world's leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced that Herman Miller Inc. (Nasdaq:MLHR), one of the world's largest providers of office furnishings and related services, has implemented a solution from Business Objects to distribute key business data to its employees throughout the organization -- known at Herman Miller as Business Partners. Herman Miller selected the Business Objects solution over competing products for its ease-of-use -- a key factor gaining acceptance among non-technical staff.

"With the Business Objects solution, non-technical Business Partners now have a direct path to key business data at Herman Miller," said Craig Chapman, information warehouse manager at Herman Miller. "The solution's ease-of-use is the chief reason why the solution works. Users don't need a great amount of training to become proficient in accessing the information they need to make better business decisions."

To better support its Business Partners, Herman Miller began implementing a data warehouse over twelve years ago. The original focus of this project was on the collection of data. In recent years, the focus has turned to the distribution of this data throughout the company. As the organization grew, the number of requests for information from Business Partners skyrocketed. Herman Miller began searching for a business intelligence solution that could provide non-technical users -- the majority of Business Partners that were expected to use the solution -- with an easy-use-use, intuitive, Web-based interface. After an extensive review, the company narrowed the field to two vendors. Herman Miller selected Business Objects because it was deemed more intuitive and easier to use by its employees.

"We quickly realized that the Business Objects solution was the best fit," continued Chapman. "The solution is very intuitive, and being front end Microsoft certified means it fits well in our environment. Our Business Partners are familiar with the Microsoft look and feel, and they are quick to learn the capabilities of the Business Objects solution. With Business Objects, power users and casual users are both served."

Herman Miller is using the solution in three areas: customer care, sales, and logistics. Business Partners in these areas use the solution for a wide range of reporting functions. For example, in sales and marketing, managers frequently generated reports analyzing which customers and regions were generating the most in sales and revenues, and whether specific regions were meeting their sales goals. Success in these functional areas encouraged other parts of the organization, including product marketing and finance, to use the solution.

"The implementation at Herman Miller is yet another example of the growing value of business intelligence throughout the enterprise," said Dave Kellogg, senior group vice president of worldwide marketing at Business Objects. "Business intelligence is no longer just for the power user. With Business Objects, technical and non-technical managers alike can easily access the data they need to better plan and do their jobs."

The solution is also helping Herman Miller to unburden the workload for its IT staff, while lowering expenses for support. Before implementing Business Objects, the IT staff at Herman Miller was increasingly becoming a bottleneck for information requests from managers throughout the company. The solution has also allowed Herman Miller IT to both streamline and automate the process of report generation.

"My group no longer has to focus on individual reports," commented Chapman. "We previously spent a lot of time on 'one-off' reports. Now we have a tool that we can point our Business Partners to so that they can get the data themselves. And now that we are free from the burden of having to create reports, we can focus instead on delivering high-end services like education and training. It's an extremely efficient set up. We have only a small group of service people, with several hundred Business Partners creating their own reports."

About Herman Miller

Herman Miller creates great places to work by researching, designing, manufacturing, and distributing innovative interior furnishings that support companies, organizations, and individuals all over the world. The company's award-winning products, complemented by furniture-management and strategic consulting services, generated over $1.46 billion in revenue during fiscal 2002. Herman Miller is widely recognized both for its innovative products and business practices, including the use of industry-leading, customer-focused technology. Again in 2002 Herman Miller was named "America's Most Admired" furniture company by Fortune magazine and included in Forbes magazine's "Platinum List" of best-performing, large corporations. The company trades on the NASDAQ stock market under the symbol MLHR. For more information, visit www.hermanmiller.com.

About Business Objects

Business Objects is the world's leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions. Business intelligence lets organizations access, analyze, and share information internally with employees and externally with customers, suppliers, and partners. It helps organizations improve operational efficiency, build profitable customer relationships, and develop differentiated product offerings.

The company's products include data integration tools, the industry's leading integrated business intelligence platform, and a suite of enterprise analytic applications. Business Objects is the first to offer a complete BI solution that is composed of best-of-breed components, giving organizations the means to deploy end-to-end BI to the enterprise, from data extraction to analytic applications.

Business Objects has more than 17,000 customers in over 80 countries. The company's stock is publicly traded under the ticker symbols Nasdaq:BOBJ and Euronext Paris (Euroclear code 12074). It is included in the SBF 120 and IT CAC 50 French stock market indexes. Business Objects can be reached at 408/953-6000 and www.businessobjects.com.

Note to Editors: All company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

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      CONTACT: Business Objects
               Peter Olson, 408/953-6320
               peter.olson@businessobjects.com
               or
               EASTWICK COMMUNICATIONS
               Erin McCabe, 650/480-4016
               erin@eastwick.com