LONDON, UK — 26 January 2011 — Hitachi Consulting U.K. today announced the completion of a major upgrade of PING’s Global Microsoft Dynamics AX Platform from version 4.0 to 5.0. The upgrade is expected to provide technical and ongoing support of the platform along with global standardisation of PING’s Customer Service system (PCS), which handles customer orders, processing, manufacturing and shipping. The system is expected to dovetail with accounts receivable to help deliver full integration, up to date functionality and support for later enhancements.

Founded in 1959 by a mechanical engineer who decided to invent a better golf club, PING is a privately-held company that employs 1,200 people and produces several hundreds of thousands of golf clubs every year with exports to 65 countries around the globe.

Due to the global requirements of the project, PING required an experienced team to help identify and validate business requirements against standard Microsoft Dynamics best practice processes and configuration, define the solution to be delivered – including agreement on all gaps from the standard product – confirm a realistic and deliverable timeline and cost for the solution, then design and build the agreed solution.

 Kent Crossland, Director of Information Systems, PING, commented, “Hitachi Consulting exceeded our expectations. The quality of experience and professionalism was very impressive and the team worked well to support each local roll out and resolve local issues. PING Europe was the first to be rolled out; Japan and the U.S. will follow as the same server is being used.”

Hitachi Consulting delivered the project using its Consensus delivery methodology for Microsoft Dynamics. This five phase methodology is designed to deliver projects with a structured and business led approach, while mitigating the inherent risks associated with ERP projects.

“In the past we have worked with vendors and partners without the hands-on experience needed for a project, that have in essence, learnt at our expense,” said Kent. “This wasn’t the case with Hitachi Consulting. Their in-depth technical know-how and business insight ensured our project ran smoothly and professionally. We found them to be fair and transparent in what they were doing and achieving. If the project was moving quicker or slower than anticipated, we were aware of it due to the excellent communications they provided.”

The new system provides much greater visibility of customer orders and the entire process cycle. It enables PING to produce regular, automated reports as well as customised ad hoc reports to assess performance and service levels against defined KPIs. The upgraded system can cope with its users, which have reached well over the one hundred mark spanning the U.K, U.S. and Japan and its current 2000 transactions a day, and can be extended with further back office integration.

About Hitachi Consulting Corporation

As Hitachi, Ltd.'s (NYSE: HIT) global consulting company, with operations in the United States, Europe and Asia, Hitachi Consulting is a recognised leader in delivering proven business and IT strategies and solutions to Global 2000 companies across many industries. With a balanced view of strategy, people, process and technology, we work with companies to understand their unique business needs, and to develop and implement practical business strategies and technology solutions. From business strategy development through application deployment, our consultants are committed to helping clients quickly realise measurable business value and achieve sustainable ROI.

Hitachi Consulting's client base includes 25 percent of the Global 100 as well as many leading mid-market companies. We offer a client-focused, collaborative approach and transfer knowledge throughout each engagement. For more information visit www.hitachiconsulting.com

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 360,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2009 (ended March 31, 2010) consolidated revenues totaled 8,968 billion yen ($96.4 billion). Hitachi will focus more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, environmental, industrial and transportation systems, and social and urban systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

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Vanessa Land

Devonshire Marketing

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Email: vanessa[at]devonshiremarketing.com

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