Datalliance Leads Session on Financial Benefits of VMI for Plumbing Distributors at Network'08 Conference

• Leading Plumbing Suppliers identify benefits of VMI
• Network'08 is national conference sponsored by American Supply Association and Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors National Association

Cincinnati, Ohio, October 16, 2008 - At the recent Network'08 national conference held in Atlanta, Georgia, Datalliance executives lead a plumbing industry roundtable session on the financial impact of Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) for plumbing supply distributors. Tom Hoar, Director of Sales Plumbing Industry, Datalliance, conducted the session that included representatives from plumbing industry suppliers such as Nibco, Cerro Flow, and Ward Manufacturing. Datalliance is the leading independent provider of Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) and other e-commerce services.

"VMI is more widely accepted in the plumbing industry as distributors and their suppliers look for ways to improve distributor sell-through, reduce product returns and drive increased profits," stated Tom Hoar, Director of Sales Plumbing Industry, Datalliance. "Distributors who measure the effect of VMI on their operations report net income gains of 1.8 to 2.2% which represents a net profit improvement of 50%. With results like these, plumbing distributors will continue the trend to adopt VMI."

"VMI helps us develop and maintain close relationships with our key customers," explained Tibor Egervary, VP of Marketing & Sales, Ward Manufacturing, "With all the pressures we jointly face, we have found that working together with our customers drives increased profits for both parties. We are seeing an increase in the amount of distributors requesting VMI and we expect to see a significant growth in the number of customers participating in our VMI program over the next year."

Jeff Shreiner, Nibco, Vice President - Wholesale Sales, explained how VMI has impacted their operations. "We began VMI in 2001 with one of our larger customers. Prior to VMI, the process was inefficient and expensive for both parties. Now with VMI, we are both enjoying savings and large increases in sales. VMI also helps us with industry-wide capacity issues. We work closer with our customers to better manage their assets and improve their customer service. We also provide our VMI customers with additional services that are were not possible prior to VMI."

Eric Pilas, Cerro Flow, VP - Business Unit Manager commented on how VMI helps reduce costs and improve the bottom line. "As a manufacturer of 'commodity based' products, we are interested in working with wholesalers who are looking for ways to drive costs out of their business. VMI is a proven way to improve wholesaler asset management. We are constantly looking for programs that make our customers additional profit."

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