Oct. 27, 2009 (Business Wire) -- CDC Software Corporation (NASDAQ: CDCS), a global provider of enterprise software applications and services, today announced the availability of Trace Express Viewer, a new solution for its Ross ERP Lot Trace application that enables easier use, faster access and immediate forward and backward trace functionality to identify suspect materials and assist in the disposition of finished goods in the event of a product recall - key functionalities for product safety and compliance.

The new solution helps manufacturers ensure the safety of their products and secure the trust of their customers while facilitating industry and government regulatory compliance. With Trace Express, food processors, life sciences and chemicals enterprises can quickly obtain a graphical representation of the Lot Trace that instantly enables the user to trace forward and backward to determine the disposition and related properties of any ingredient, intermediate or finished product at any point throughout the materials receiving, manufacturing, inventory, sales and delivery processes.

Trace Express provides a highly intuitive user experience that is expected to help dramatically reduce the time it takes to identify, review and process data related to a particular Lot throughout a user’s Supply Chain. This new product also helps reduce response times to potential problems, which can ultimately ensure brand protection.

“Trace Express offers rapid traceability capabilities that is greatly needed in our industry especially when you consider that one recall can put a food manufacturer out of business,” said John Shaw, director of Information Technology and Purchasing at Litehouse Foods, a leading manufacturer of dressings, dips and sauces and a long-time customer of Ross ERP. “This tool will save us significant time in not only the track and trace process but its ease of use also will cut the time it takes to train our workers in this new solution. Ease of use is very important since we need our quality assurance and manufacturing staff to perform the actual track and trace processes rather than relying on our IT staff.”

“One of the deciding factors for our selecting Ross ERP recently was its traceability functionality,” said Barry Calhoon, vice president, IT/Administration of S.T. Specialty Foods, a leading private-label manufacturer of dry-dinners based in Brooklyn Park, Minn. “We expect Trace Express Viewer to be a helpful tool in our quality control and food safety processes.”

“Trace Express Viewer raises the bar in safety and quality control by providing dynamic and comprehensive visibility in the track and trace processes for enterprises in highly regulated industries,” said Alan MacLamroc, chief product and technology officer of CDC Software. “We believe that this new product will not only help manufacturers further reduce the risks of an actual recall, but also proactively provide the brand assurance that all participants in the supply chain, including consumers, are currently seeking as global concerns about food and drug safety continue to rise.”

“Trace Express Viewer is also the first of two major deliverables planned for release for product safety and quality control, which we have developed in record time compared to earlier versions of Lot Trace. Using Agile, our development methodology based on highly collaborative and iterative processes, we were able to deliver Trace Express in about half the time versus the traditional waterfall development model. We believe that this significant improvement will apply to our other products in development as well.”

The Ross Enterprise suite of applications provides comprehensive record keeping and audit trails which are critical requirements for manufacturers in highly regulated industries, such as food, pharmaceutical and chemical processing.