DGAP-News: asknet AG

DGAP-News: asknet revises its organisational structure and establishes central innovation management unit

DGAP-News: asknet AG / Key word(s): Strategic Company Decision asknet revises its organisational structure and establishes central innovation management unit

27.10.2016 / 12:00 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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asknet revises its organisational structure and establishes central innovation management unit

- Technical back-office departments to be integrated into the Business Units

- Central innovation management unit to be established

- Digital and Physical Goods Business Units to be merged into new "eCommerce Solutions" Business Unit

Karlsruhe, October 27, 2016 - asknet AG, a supplier of international e- business solutions, continues its comprehensive change process and has launched an innovation initiative in the fourth quarter of 2016. In this context, the company will restructure its organisation with effect from November 1, 2016. All back-office departments - Professional Services, Technical Development, Logistics, Payment and Customer Service - currently operating independently of the actual business units will be integrated into the latter. The reorganisation shifts full customer and product responsibility to the business units, thereby directly strengthening their spheres of responsibility, facilitating faster implementation of new projects and reducing the response time for customer support.

Development and innovation tasks, which used to be performed by the technical back-office departments besides their operating activities, will be concentrated in the newly established Technical Product Management Department. The new department will push ahead with the identification and development of innovative products and processes independently of the operational business.

Says Tobias Kaulfuss: "The integration of the technical departments into the business units will benefit our customers in the form of significantly increased efficiency and speed. The direct reporting lines will lead to greater customer centricity and will give the business units even more room for manoeuvre. At the same time, we will free resources for innovations, release the respective employees from the operational day-to-day business and concentrate these tasks, which are essential for the company's long- term success, in a new department."

In addition, asknet's Digital Goods Business Units and asknet's Physical Goods Business Units will be merged. As the customers of both business units continue to demand the same product, the asknet eCommerce Suite, the effort required to maintain separate organisational units can be eliminated in favour of the innovation initiative. Franz Schlickum, Vice President of asknet's Digital Goods Business Unit, will lead the new eCommerce Solutions Department, while Christian Herkel will be in charge of customer service in the newly established department.

On the sales side, the company will continue to serve both manufacturers of digital products and medium-sized manufacturers of physical products planning to enter the international online commerce market or wishing to expand into new markets or developing international test markets for direct distribution.

Says Noel Kienzle, Head of the new Technical Product Management Department: "Talks with our numerous new customers in Asia have led to a number of exciting ideas for product extensions and improvements. We will now integrate these into our eCommerce Suite and push ahead with their further development. For the operation of academic procurement portals, we have additionally identified considerable potential technological synergies from the large number of solutions installed in Germany and abroad, which we now want to implement."

The results for the first nine months 2016 will be published as planned on November 25, 2016. Financial reporting will be adjusted to reflect the new corporate structure as of January 1, 2017.

About asknet AG

asknet, a pioneer in the development of global e-commerce solutions, offers extensive expertise and individual shop solutions to ensure worldwide electronic distribution of products of all kinds 24/7 in more than 190 countries. Customers benefit in selling digital and physical goods from both the possibility of handling a variety of international payment and logistics processes as well as the extensive experience of the company in the development and operation of successful e-commerce platforms.

Founded in 1995 as a spin-off of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) the company is also a partner of around 80 percent of German universities and research institutions. Here asknet offers as a large account reseller for manufacturers such as Adobe and Microsoft a comprehensive range of software licenses and services related to the procurement and distribution of software. In addition, asknet distributes via the established internet platform "studyhouse.de" a wide range of software to students.

Press Contact

asknet AG Madeleine Clark +49 (0)721 96458-6116 investorrelations@asknet.com

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27.10.2016 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de

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Language: English Company: asknet AG Vincenz-Priessnitz-Str. 3 76131 Karlsruhe Germany Phone: +49 (0)721 / 964 58-0 Fax: +49 (0)721 / 964 58-99 E-mail: info@asknet.de Internet: www.asknet.de ISIN: DE0005173306 WKN: 517330 Listed: Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Munich, Stuttgart; Open Market (Entry Standard) in Frankfurt End of News DGAP News Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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