Canplas and Consolidated Supply Use Datalliance VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory) to Deliver Greater Value

Cincinnati, Ohio, May 26, 2010- Datalliance today announced that Canplas has successfully implemented Datalliance Vendor Managed Inventory with one of their key distributors - Consolidated Supply. Canplas is a recognized leader in innovative product design, advanced injection molding processes, materials, and distribution for the residential and commercial plumbing industry. Consolidated Supply distributes plumbing and waterworks supplies to over 20 stores in four states in the western United States. Consolidated Supply and Canplas have been long-time business partners, mutually focused on customer service. Go to http://www.datalliance.com/Canplas_Success_Story.pdf to read the complete Canplas/Consolidated Supply article.

Ron Marsden, Canplas Vice President of Business Development, describes the importance of service in their business. "Most of the products we supply are more of a commodity, therefore, service is where we differentiate ourselves and bring greater value to our customers. The key to providing a high level of service is having the right products, at the right location, at the right time - particularly for a major wholesale distributor such as Consolidated Supply." After considering alternatives, Canplas determined that VMI would deliver the process improvements they sought. They selected the Datalliance VMI service and worked with Consolidated Supply for their initial VMI program implementation.

"Datalliance VMI has made us more profitable by helping us to increase sales and lower our cost of doing business," explained Marsden. "VMI provides us with the information we need, and, most importantly, we have confidence in the information. It allows us to substantially reduce inventory levels, as our production activity is better aligned with real-time demand. While we are reducing inventory levels, we are maintaining our 98% fill rate target. Actually, we consistently exceed our fill rate target within our VMI-based business."

Rod Sanders, Manager Information Systems for Consolidated Supply, said "Customer service is critical for us. Our end-customers expect us to have the products that they need; if we don't have the products they need, we will lose their business. So, in turn we count on excellent customer service from Canplas to meet those needs. We shared a mutual interest in finding a more efficient and accurate way to do business. Canplas investigated the benefits of VMI and approached us to participate in their VMI program. When we looked into it, we realized it was a good idea for us."

"Vendor Managed Inventory has improved our inventory turns by 30%," stated Sanders. "In the past, orders were less frequent, involved larger quantities and included some 'cushion' for safety stock. With VMI, the entire process is leaner with orders tied directly to actual end-customer sales. The result is that we are providing the same high level of customer service that we are known for with lower inventory, higher inventory turns, and better alignment of our inventory with real customer demand. We now prefer to do business with suppliers that use VMI. We are more inclined to do VMI with other suppliers, especially if they are using Datalliance VMI and not an in-house system or another commercial system that is not proven in the plumbing industry."

About Datalliance

Datalliance is a leading provider of collaborative commerce services, and the world's largest independent VMI service provider. Delivered via the Internet using the 'Software as a Service' (SaaS) model, Datalliance solutions make it easy for suppliers and their customers to establish sales and inventory management relationships that fully align business objectives, improve collaboration, and streamline supply chain operations. Datalliance manages billions of dollars in orders, millions of SKUs, and thousands of locations for leading Fortune 1000 companies in a number of industries. For more information about Datalliance, visit www.datalliance.com.

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