Ward Manufacturing Selects Datalliance Vendor Managed Inventory

• Datalliance VMI will accelerate implementation of new VMI customers and improve service to existing customers
• VMI positioned as strategic tool to build partnerships with customers, grow sales and improve profitability

Cincinnati, Ohio, October 7, 2008 - Datalliance, the leading independent provider of Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) and other e-commerce services, announced today that Ward Manufacturing, a leading manufacturer of pipe fittings, has selected the Datalliance VMI service. Ward Manufacturing maintains offices in Canada and the US and sells its products to a network of more than 600 wholesalers throughout North America.

Matt Weigle, Manager - Information Technology, Ward Manufacturing, explains, "Our current in-house VMI system requires a substantial amount of time to bring new partners onboard. As more customers became interested in the benefits of joining the VMI program, this limitation escalated into more of an issue. By selecting Datalliance, we will be able to eliminate the time consuming elements of the process and rely on their expertise. Their software-as-a-service architecture and extensive VMI experience allows Datalliance to assume a majority of the effort required to effectively maintain our VMI environment, and also provides greater agility in implementing new customers. Through this partnership with Datalliance we will realize a reduction in IT resources needed to manage VMI, thereby lowering our costs and allowing us to focus on our core business and other value-added opportunities."

"From a sales and marketing perspective, we are anticipating traditional VMI benefits, including increased sales, reduced order errors, improved turns for our customers and expanded product penetration," states Tibor Egervary, VP Marketing & Sales, Ward Manufacturing. "Just as importantly, I expect our Sales staff to use Datalliance VMI as a strategic tool to build partnerships with customers who value not only our products, but our support services as well. These are the customers who see VMI as a tool to help grow sales and improve their profitability. Datalliance's reporting capabilities are flexible, accurate and user friendly, making it easier for our customers to take full advantage of VMI."

"We welcome Ward Manufacturing to the growing number of companies that are realizing the advantages of replacing their first generation, in-house VMI systems with Datalliance VMI," said Bob Jennings, VP Sales & Marketing, Datalliance. "In addition to providing comprehensive VMI functionality and reporting capabilities, our managed service approach allows our customers to be more efficient and reduce the overall cost of their VMI programs."

About Ward Manufacturing

Founded in 1924, Ward Manufacturing is a manufacturer of pipe fittings including flanges, pipe unions, plugs and bushings. Its WARDFLEX gas piping system is a corrugated stainless steel system that offers flexible pipe as an alternative to traditional steel pipe in transporting fuel gases. Ward Manufacturing maintains offices in Canada and the US and sells its products to a network of more than 600 wholesalers throughout North America. In 2006 Ward Manufacturing acquired rival Wisconsin Nipple and Fitting Corporation.

About Datalliance

Datalliance is the world's largest independent VMI service provider, processing over $4.8 billion in orders, 10.2 million SKUs, and 25,300 locations. 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