SYSTEMS XCELLENCE WINS NEW ASP PROCESSING CONTRACT WITH PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGER

MILTON, ON, July 15, 2002 -- Systems Xcellence, Inc. ("SXC" or "Company") (TSX: SXC) a leading provider of healthcare transaction processing solutions throughout the pharmaceutical benefits supply chain, today announced an Application Service Provider (ASP) contract with a mid-size and rapidly growing U.S.-based pharmacy benefit manager (PBM). All figures are in Canadian dollars.

SXC will provide the PBM with ASP-based pharmacy benefits management and claims adjudication services from its Lombard, IL processing center. Once fully implemented in the third quarter of fiscal 2003, the contract is expected to be worth approximately $3,500,000 over a three-year period. With more than 1.0 million members and growing, the PBM will utilize SXC's RxCLAIM® technology to more effectively manage their wide range of benefits plans and the adjudication of their members' prescription drug claims. The PBM services health plans, third-party administrators and employer groups nationwide.

"As the rate of prescription drug use in North America continues to escalate, PBMs and managed care organizations (MCOs) are looking for new IT solutions to further assist the automation of their transaction management workflow," said Gordon S. Glenn, President & CEO of SXC. "In searching for the right IT solutions partner, our customer identified SXC as an experienced ASP provider with a high-level of customer service and the flexible applications necessary for the PBM to best serve its diverse membership."

SXC offers its products on both an ASP and licensed software basis. For mid-size and smaller organizations within the pharmaceutical benefits processing market, the ASP solution is an attractive option, as it does not require significant upfront capital investment and customers are charged only when a transaction occurs. "For SXC this is an important contract as it reinforces our strategy of targeting our ASP solutions at mid-size PBMs and MCOs and it significantly grows our current base of ASP transactions. With these products, businesses can continue to seek outsourced solutions to help control costs while still maintaining excellent levels of client service," added Mr. Glenn.

About RxCLAIM

RxCLAIM is an On-line Transaction Processing System designed to provide instant on-line adjudication of third party prescription drug claims at the point of service, including trouble-free claims management and cost-effective review, as well as payment and billing support and real-time functionality for updating benefit, price, member, provider and drug details. Providing full flexibility and control, RxCLAIM facilitates the real-time processing of pharmacy claims and payments against eligibility, plan benefits, formularies, price, DUR/DUE, prior-authorization, rebates in addition to many other features.

About Systems Xcellence, Inc.

Systems Xcellence (SXC) is headquartered in Milton, Ontario with offices and processing centres in Lombard, Illinois; Scottsdale, Arizona; and Victoria, British Columbia. SXC is a leading provider of healthcare information technology solutions and processing services to the healthcare benefits management industry. The Company's product offerings and solutions combine a wide range of software applications, ASP processing services and professional services, designed for many of the largest organizations in the pharmaceutical supply chain, such as pharmacy benefit managers, managed care organizations, retail pharmacy chains and other healthcare intermediaries.

The Company's products offer its customers comprehensive pharmacy benefits management, claims switching and processing, drug dispensing, data warehousing and analysis, and rebate contract management systems. SXC delivers these solutions to its customers as software products bundled with systems implementation and consulting services, or on an ASP basis from its data centres in Scottsdale, Arizona and Lombard, Illinois. The Company's shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol SXC. SXC can be found on the Internet at www.sxc.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations. These forward-looking statements entail various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties about the Company's business are more fully discussed in the Management Discussion and Analysis published in the Company's annual report.