In its first major new contract since the business was acquired by Invensys plc, software provider Baan has won a major 3,000 - user, multi-million pound order from the Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA). Part of the UK Ministry of Defence, DARA is the largest government-owned Aerospace and Defence facility in Europe.

Acquisition by Invensys has secured the future of Baan and begun the process of restoring its leadership position. DARA selected Baan because its solutions offered the best business fit for DARA's complex supply chain and production requirements. In particular, Baan's approach will enable DARA to accelerate the mapping of its new, best-in-class business processes onto the Baan software. The resulting flexibility will enable rapid deployment and early returns on their investment.

Bruce Henderson, Chief Executive of Invensys Software Systems Division, said: "Because of the Baan product quality, it was clear that customer confidence would return as soon as the business' future was assured. This is the first demonstration of that belief and we are confident that there will be many more contracts in the coming months."

Andy Hamilton, Corporate Development Director, DARA said: "We chose the Baan package after an exhaustive 15 month valuation period, not simply on the grounds of its unrivalled functionality in the Aerospace and Defence market, but also because of the attractiveness of Baan's e-commerce strategy and complete e-suite of products."

Notes to editors:
About the contract

The order comprises BaanERP, Baan Supply Chain Solutions, BaanFrontOffice, Baan E-Enterprise and Baan Dynamic Enterprise Management, which combine to provide a complete enterprise management and e-fulfillment solution. This is designed to enable DARA to reduce costs and significantly improve production turnaround time by increasing the visibility of design, product and maintenance information across the organisation's multiple divisions and sites.

Today's aerospace and defence company can no longer afford to focus exclusively on defence projects but instead must be able to work in a hybrid defence/commercial environment in order to survive. The total Baan enterprise solutions should enable DARA to compete efficiently and effectively by providing the tools to enable DARA to streamline business processes and meet important business demands such as program life-cycle and supply chain management, giving it a company-wide view of production, sales and supply chain.

About DARA
The Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA) was formed in April 1999 following the merger of the Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation and the RAF's Maintenance Group Defence Agency. The Agency now offers its unique skills and comprehensive facilities to the wider aviation market, providing a one-stop-shop for aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul. It is the largest government-owned facility of its kind in Europe.

About Baan:
Founded in 1978, Baan is a global provider of enterprise business solutions. Baan's best-in-class solutions address the business needs of the entire extended enterprise, with powerful e-Business that helps engineering and manufacturing companies transition to the Internet. The company's inter-enterprise ERP, Supply Chain Management, Customer Relationship Management and  e-Business solutions are deployed at more than 15,000 customer sites worldwide, helping customers to drive strategic business growth, improve business processes, reduce operating complexity, and increase corporate flexibility.

Baan is part of the newly formed Invensys Software Systems Division of Invensys plc. Invensys, with a turnover of $14 billion, is a global leader in the automation and controls industry and is strategically focused on providing integrated Sensor to Boardroom(tm) technological solutions across the entire automation and controls value chain. The newly formed Invensys Software Systems division is a global leader in the provision of industrial and commercial software solutions, with turnover of $2 billion. Baan can be found on the World Wide Web at www.Baan.com.