GAITHERSBURG, Md. and SHANGHAI, China, April 29 /PRNewswire/ --
GXS, a leading provider of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce
solutions, today announced the launch of China eHealthcare Exchange, a
B2B e-commerce platform for China's pharmaceutical industry. Based
on GXS Enterprise Gateway software technology, China eHealthcare
Exchange was established via a partnership between GXS and Shanghai
Agile Supply Chain Information System Company Limited ("Agile
Supply Chain"), China's leading supply chain solutions
provider. The platform is intended to improve the efficiency of
China's pharmaceutical industry by providing the participants with
an affordable, easy-to-use, B2B e-commerce solution for electronic
transaction processing.

By migrating away from manual processes in their B2B transactions,
Chinese pharmaceutical companies can achieve greater supply chain
visibility within their industry. Sinopharm Medicine Holding Co., Ltd.
("Sinopharm"), the largest pharmaceutical distributor in
China, is already using the platform to increase visibility into its
supply chain operations.

"As one of the largest pharmaceutical distributors in China,
we are honored to be the first user of China eHealthcare Exchange,"
said Ma Wan Jun, general manager of the Distribution Division of
Sinopharm. "The importance of this initiative is multifold -- it
has distinct and significant implications for not only improving
visibility into our supply chain, but also will speed the order-to-cash
process and will make us a more efficient business partner. China
eHealthcare Exchange also can help us increase market responsiveness,
improve warehouse management and drive profits and competitiveness in
the industry."

"Supply chain efficiency is an enormous problem in
China's pharmaceutical industry due to the geographic distribution
of manufacturers and distributors throughout the country. In addition,
information systems among companies vary and there is no standardized
pharmacy product code and data format," said Yang Jing Yu, CEO of
Agile Supply Chain. "While the pharmaceutical industry in China is
seeing tremendous growth, there are strong voices requesting lower
prices for medications. Agile Supply Chain and GXS established China
eHealthcare Exchange to provide supply chain protocol and visibility
services to the players in the industry. This is exactly the right
timing for such an endeavor."

GXS Enterprise Gateway provides customers with global business
integration capabilities, enabling them to achieve 100 percent
integration with business partners and to automate interactions
throughout their trading communities. Its benefits include a single
unified platform that manages current business integration needs that
can be expanded as business needs grow and evolve. GXS Enterprise
Gateway also provides real-time supply chain visibility and trading
partner network optimization.

"In this transforming stage of the Chinese pharmaceutical
industry, supply chain efficiency is a key factor to establishing and
maintaining competitiveness. Taking the pharmaceutical development trend
in western countries and Japan as an example, we believe manufacturers
will outsource supply chain management to leading distributors,"
said Raymond Teh, vice president of Asia-Pacific at GXS. "At the
same time, we expect drug stores to grow rapidly over the next five
years, making integration between retailers and distributors a top
priority. China eHealthcare Exchange will enable visibility capabilities
throughout the pharmaceutical supply chain, providing a solid platform
for this growth and development."

About Sinopharm Medicine Holding Co. Ltd.

Sinopharm Medicine Holding Co., Ltd. ("Sinopharm
Holdings") was established in January 2003 in Shanghai. Sinopharm
Holdings' core business is pharmacy distribution, financed by China
Pharmacy Group and Shanghai Foshing Technology Company Limited.
Sinopharm Holdings also owns several pharmacy enterprise groups in
different industries such as logistics, retail stores, pharmaceutical
manufacturing, and chemical testing. Its registered asset is RMB1.637
billion, with 22 subsidiaries and more than 10,000 employees. Its sales
revenue reached RMB23.5 billion in 2006.

About Agile Supply Chain

Agile Supply Chain is a leading supply chain protocol products and
services provider. It has established a large scale data center and
contingency backup center in China. Headquartered in Shanghai, China,
Agile Supply Chain provides visibility solutions to major enterprises
and business partners in China (suppliers, distributors and retailers).
For more information, please visit http://www.agilesc.com/.