CONTACTS: Céline Fleur MDL Information Systems, Inc. (510) 895-1313 ext. 1285 cfleur@mdli.com http://www.mdli.com European mirror site: http://www.mdli.co.uk MDL UNVEILS A "SMART" SYSTEM FOR MANAGING RESEARCH INVENTORIES --Sample Management and Reagent Tracking (SMART) Provides Web-Based Interface for Enterprise-Wide Management of Material Inventories-- SAN LEANDRO, California--March 11, 1999--MDL Information Systems, Inc., the recognized leader in discovery informatics for the life science and chemical industries, today introduced its Sample Management and Reagent Tracking (SMART) system, a modular software application designed for enterprise-wide management of material inventories in high-throughput discovery environments. During Spring ACS '99, MDL will demonstrate SMART, and show how it integrates with other MDL products to support the discovery workflow, from March 22-24, at the Anaheim Convention Center, Booth 819 in Anaheim, California. SMART provides a core set of modules that address and integrate the workflow of managing inventory throughout its life cycle from pre-acquisition through container disposal. The Web-based interface simplifies access to a material's location, availability, restrictions, costs, hazards, and MSDS safety data. It includes business functions such as shopping for commercial reagents, ordering and tracking in-house reagents, bar coding samples at the receiving dock, and searching by chemical structure, name, or manufacturer. "The entire discovery process has changed in both volume and scope, and cost-efficient and timely access to research materials is crucial" reports Phil McHale, MDL vice president of product marketing. "SMART integrates scientific and business processes with physical inventory to meet the requirements of modern discovery, replacing methods that otherwise are time-consuming and costly. Inventories have become more diverse, encompassing not only increasing quantities of chemicals, but hazard information, safety protocols, and decidedly 'non-chemical' materials, such as cabinets and biological assay kits." McHale continues, "Everyone in the organization who needs inventory information, from workers on the receiving dock and business planners to scientists in the lab, will have access to the information in one flexible system-SMART." SMART's Core Features Increase Efficiency and Reduce Costs SMART provides the ability to * Locate in-house samples and commercial materials by searching any combination of data, including structures. * Order materials from vendors and from in-house stockrooms. * Register samples received from vendors and track proprietary compounds and data. * Maintain a barcode labeling system. * Update inventory contents in real time. * Integrate with existing MDL discovery informatics systems. * Access MSDS information stored in MDL's Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) database. * Access commercial availability information stored in MDL's Available Chemicals Directory (ACD). * View and print standard reports. * Easily reconcile actual inventories against the database. * Manage system administrative details. SMART Architecture SMART Product Marketing Manager Charles Sullivan explains, "Flexible and adaptable information systems are crucial to our customers. We've created a layered and modular inventory system that encompasses the complexity of today's high-throughput discovery processes by integrating key steps in the workflow-such as materials ordering, purchasing, intelligent chemical inquiry, and locating processes-with an easy-to-use interface. The architecture, with its core functionality and add-on modules easily integrates with a company's existing infrastructure." Sullivan continues, "To provide these capabilities, we built SMART using MDL's ISIS and Chemscape technologies." The SMART architecture is flexible and adaptable because it divides the application into three layers: 1. The application layer provides core functionality, and encapsulates a company's business rules, query logic, processing rules, and integration information. 2. The user interface occupies a separate layer. The interface is detached from the server-side functionality, so modifying the interface is straightforward. MDL's use of Web technology ensures cross-platform compatibility on the client side. 3. Both proprietary and non-proprietary inventory data are housed in the database layer. For example, non-proprietary supplier data in the Chemical Products Information (CPI) File--the relational version of ACD--is housed in the database layer. Optional Modules The SMART architecture permits the easy addition of optional modules to enhance the core functionality. The purchasing module, for example, enables organizations to link SMART directly to purchasing systems such as those in SAP R2 or R3, and the electronic balance interface reads weights directly from balances into SMART. System Requirements MDL built SMART on industry-standard tools Java Script and Oracle PL/SQL, and MDL's Chemscape and ISIS technologies. SMART is designed to stand-alone or to seamlessly integrate with other MDL tools, including Reagent Selector, which provides integrated tools for selecting reagents. A key SMART component is ISIS/Draw, a chemically-intelligent drawing package used to create chemical graphics and structural inquiries for searching ISIS databases. SMART runs with Netscape Navigator 4.0.5 or higher, Internet Explorer 4.0, and requires Oracle, ISIS/Host, Chemscape, and Netscape Enterprise Server. The next version of SMART, scheduled for mid-1999 release, will run on Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). About MDL MDL Information Systems, Inc. is the recognized leader in discovery informatics for the life science and chemical industries. MDL's software, content, and services provide the enterprise framework for identifying successful new products. A wholly owned subsidiary of Elsevier Science, MDL has offices worldwide with headquarters in San Leandro, California. ### MDL is a registered trademark and Available Chemicals Directory, Chemscape, ISIS, and Reagent Selector are trademarks of MDL Information Systems, Inc. Microsoft is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation. Oracle is a registered trademark of the Oracle Corporation. All other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Dori Luzbetak Web Communications Manager Marketing Communications MDL Information Systems, Inc. 14600 Catalina Street San Leandro, CA 94577 (510) 895-1313 x1652 (510) 614-3608 - FAX dori@mdli.com chemweb: A list for Chemical Applications of the Internet. To post to list: mailto:chemweb@ic.ac.uk Archived as: http://www.lists.ic.ac.uk/hypermail/chemweb/ To (un)subscribe, mailto:majordomo@ic.ac.uk the following message; (un)subscribe chemweb List coordinator, Henry Rzepa (mailto:rzepa@ic.ac.uk)