Industry Leaders Discuss Strategic Value of VMI at IDEA E-Biz Forum 2008

• Hubbell Inc., Leviton Manufacturing, and North Coast Electric executives participate in panel discussion on Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI)
• VMI identified as strategic e-commerce application to help both suppliers and distributors grow their businesses

Cincinnati, Ohio, September 30, 2008 - At the recent IDEA E-Biz Forum 2008, held in Washington D.C., industry executives from Hubbell Inc. (John Riley, eMarketing Director), Leviton Manufacturing (Mark Richards, Director, eCommerce) and North Coast Electric (Rick Bumpus, Executive VP, COO) participated in a panel discussion on the strategic business benefits of Vendor Managed Inventory. The panel was led by Tom Hoar, Director of Sales, Electrical, Datalliance. IDEA's annual event, the IDEA E-Biz Forum, brings in top experts to share their expertise and insight on how to grow a company's bottom line and increase productivity through eCommerce programs and technology. The event is tailored to provide executives, business managers, product managers sales and marketing and eCommerce managers an opportunity to surround themselves with leading technology and business experts.

Vendor Managed Inventory has gained acceptance in many industries due to the financial benefits provided to both suppliers and distributors. VMI has now become an e-commerce "best practice" and the preferred way of doing business for many leading organizations. This panel discussion took an in depth look at how several IDEA member organizations have adopted VMI as a way to grow their businesses by collaborating more closely with their key customers.

Panel members made the following comments:

• "With VMI we are not abdicating the responsibility of inventory management, in fact, it allows us to take a more proactive role in managing the process. I'm confident in the return on investment that we receive from VMI. Over the past five years the concept has really taken off for us and our key customers." Rick Bumpus, Executive VP, COO, North Coast Electric
• "VMI is a proven approach that helps us grow our business. At Leviton, the future is very bright for VMI." Mark Richards, Director eCommerce, Leviton Manufacturing
• "VMI is a strategic service that is part of our comprehensive go-to-market effort. Each distributor relationship is unique and VMI gives us the tools to fine tune the product mix for each individual customer based on a variety of factors and variables that differ from distributor to distributor." John Riley, eMarketing Director, Hubbell Inc.

Tom Hoar concluded, "With 30 electrical manufacturers and over 100 electrical distributors engaged in VMI programs, it's clear that VMI has fostered industry-wide collaboration. VMI is successful because it is a proven method to increase revenues and profits for manufacturers and distributors."

About IDEA

IDEA (www.idea-esolutions.com) is the only standard-setting organization offering a full range of eCommerce products and services designed to drive supply network efficiencies, reduce costs, slash cycle times, and ensure standardized, timely, and accurate data.

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