Datalliance VMI Grows in Auto Industry

• Manufacturer SKF, and Distributors AB&S Warehouse and Page Brake Warehouse Share Benefits of VMI in Aftermarket Business.

Cincinnati, Ohio, March 13, 2008 - Cincinnati, Ohio, March 13, 2008 – In a recent article in Aftermarket Business, Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) was identified as a growing practice in the auto parts industry. Led by early adopters in the heavy duty area, the article points out that suppliers and distributors across all segments of the auto industry are now realizing the business benefits associated with VMI. SKF (supplier) and AB&S and Page Brake Warehouse (distributors) are several of the Datalliance VMI users that are featured in this article.

In the article, distributors identify benefits such as reduced inventory costs, increased sales, reduced stockouts and increased inventory turns. Brian Cantagallo, operations manager at AB&S Warehouse, states in the article, “We’ve cut inventory costs and increased sales since using VMI. We have over 50 vendors we have to deal with, so when you have one vendor that’s going to step up and take the cost out (of managing inventory), it’s one less thing to worry about.”

Craig Young, director of Information Systems at SKF, discussed the benefits to suppliers by saying, “It (VMI) increases sales for our customers because they now have the right product on hand. Even carrying more products, it actually reduces the inventory dollars. I’ve been in this industry for a long time, and everybody talks about a win-win situation. VMI is actually the first and, so far, the only application that has lived up to the hype.”

Datalliance is the leading provider of VMI services to suppliers in the heavy duty and auto parts markets. Leading suppliers using Datalliance VMI include: Baldwin Filters, Bendix, Champ Labs, Federal Mogul, Goodyear Engineered Products, Grote Industries, Haldex, Parker Hannifin – Racor, SKF, Tectran, Timken, Velvac, and more.

To read the entire article, visit: http://aftermarketbusiness.search-autoparts.com/aftermarketbusiness/Feature+Articles/Wanted-Is-VMI-still-MIA/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/500121.

About Datalliance

Datalliance is the world’s largest independent VMI service provider, processing over $6 billion in orders, 9.2 million SKUs, and 19,500 locations in 2007. Delivered as a managed service via the Internet using the ‘Software as a Service’ (SaaS) model, Datalliance VMI makes it easy for suppliers and their customers to establish effective VMI relationships that fully align business objectives, improve collaboration, and streamline supply chain operations. Datalliance serves leading Fortune 1000 companies in a number of different industries. For more information about Datalliance and VMI, visit www.datalliance.com.

Contact: Brian Lindner, Datalliance
513-791-7272 or blindner@datalliance.com