Welcome to the Datalliance Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) newsletter.

I continue to be impressed with the amount of attention and publicity VMI is receiving in a broad range of industries and from the IT and Supply Chain experts. Not only is VMI getting attention, but we are very pleased to see that Datalliance is frequently mentioned when the topic is VMI. This exposure and positioning as one of the leading providers of VMI services is important to both Datalliance and our customers.

A great example of this continuing emphasis on VMI within the media is illustrated in our feature newsletter article (The Benefits of Vendor Managed Inventory - An article reprint from Truck Parts & Service Magazine) summarized below. This article uses a recent Datalliance study to quantify the benefits of VMI and brings these benefits to life through the real-world experiences of two of our customers, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems and Point Spring & Driveshaft. I hope you enjoy reading the complete article.

The following are additional "links" to VMI and Datalliance media coverage that you might find of interest: http://www.achrnews.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/coverstory/BNPCoverStoryItem/0,6152,162407,00.html
http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051208/BUSINESS/512080319/1003
http://ewweb.com/mag/electric_forum_shares_keys/index.html

We continue to grow the Datalliance customer base with industry leading companies. A press release introducing Hubbell Incorporated is included in the "News" section of this newsletter. I was also fortunate to present with Ron Doxsee (Director, Information Services, Grote Industries) at the recent MEMA Information Services Council fall conference.

The VMI message continues to attract the attention of the media due to the business benefits that VMI delivers.

As always, I encourage you to provide us with input on topics for future editions of this newsletter. Please feel free to contact me at carl@datalliance.com with your ideas and suggestions. I hope you enjoy the newsletter!

Carl Hall
President, Datalliance

In a recent edition of Truck Parts & Service magazine, a feature story focused on the business benefits of Vendor Managed Inventory. The foundation of this article was a study conducted by Datalliance, analyzing and documenting the benefits that Datalliance users realized as a result of implementing VMI.

The article included these major findings:

• 75% of the locations improved sales
• 25% average increase in sales
• 62% of the locations increased inventory turns
• 21% average increase in inventory turns
• 70% of the locations reduced stock-outs
• 33% average reduction in stock-outs

Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, LLC and Point Spring & Driveshaft, both Datalliance users, were featured in the article. Karmak, Inc., a provider of business application systems, as well as a business partner of Datalliance, was also included in the article.

"We have seen double-digit growth with every channel partner with whom we have VMI, and we know they are experiencing the same levels of growth as we have," said Craig A. Stark, director, marketing, Bendix.

"VMI has allowed the distributors who have implemented the system to increase both sales and profits as a result of fewer out-of-stock situations and broader inventory coverage, while at the same time improving inventory turns," stated John Lebel, director of research and design, Karmak.

Datalliance Announces Date for 2006 Forum

You won't want to miss the 2006 Datalliance Forum scheduled for August 15-16, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The two-day program will provide you with opportunities to learn from your peers and see how other users of Datalliance are using the proven capabilities of VMI to support a wide range of supply chain initiatives.

Leverage your investment in Datalliance - mark your calendar now to attend the 2006 Datalliance Forum, August 15-16, 2006.

Hubbell Selects Datalliance for Vendor Managed Inventory Solution

Hubbell Incorporated is a $2.0 billion international manufacturer of electrical and electronic products

Hubbell Incorporated announced that they have selected Datalliance to be their Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) solution provider. Hubbell is a $2.0 billion international manufacturer of electrical and electronic products that operates through multiple business units and subsidiaries throughout the world.

"Hubbell has offered VMI as a value-added service to its channel partners for over a decade, utilizing internal resources along with a purchased software package," noted Phil Barrios, Corporate Director of E-Business at Hubbell Incorporated. "As our company grew, so did the complexity and expense of our current VMI solution. After a thorough evaluation, we selected Datalliance because of their specific concentration on VMI, recognized leadership and customer feedback within the electrical industry...

Datalliance VMI SKUs Grow to 5.7 Million In Second Half of 2005

Datalliance today announced that the SKU volume processed through the Datalliance VMI service grew to 5.7 million during the second half of 2005, increasing 21% from the first half of 2005. In addition to this growth in VMI customer activity, locations managed grew 80% from the first half of 2005 to 3,600 at the end of 2005…

New Release of Datalliance Enhances User Interface and Reporting Capabilities

Datalliance announced the immediate availability of the latest release of Datalliance, a comprehensive internet-based VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory) e-commerce service. The new release enhances the look and feel of the user interface, includes format changes to system date values, adds a new "Sale Quantity Available" data field, and enhances the report architecture to allow specific reports to be delivered via email. Additional enhancements in this release increase user productivity and incorporate new technology to simplify and reduce the overall cost to implement and operate Datalliance...

Datalliance President Carl Hall Presents at 2005 MEMA Information Services Council Fall Conference

Carl Hall, Datalliance President presents "VMI's Impact on Supply Chain" with Ron Doxsee, Director, Information Services, Grote Industries

Carl Hall, President, Datalliance, participated with Ron Doxsee, Director, Information Services, Grote Industries in the 2005 MEMA Information Services Council Annual Fall Conference. The session titled "VMI's Impact on Supply Chain" was conducted by Mr. Hall and Mr. Doxsee.

Datalliance Operations/Data Center Update - Data Center Facilities Upgraded to Support Growth

The steady growth of new Datalliance customers and the increased transaction volume from existing Datalliance users has us continuously looking to improve and expand all areas of our data center operations. Just as important as the hardware and software upgrades that we completed in the past few months are enhancements to our physical facility. Though not as obvious as our hardware and software upgrades, maintaining a state-of-the-art facility is critical to the overall operation of our data center…

Customer Care Tip - - OP/Demand Spikes - 'To Override or Not to Override Demand'?

The Datalliance service offers a unique tool for managing replenishment levels by exception, the OP Management report. As Datalliance recalculates optimal inventory levels each week, this report is refreshed at the beginning of each week to help you, the planner, feel more confident going into the week's orders. There are five unique categories of tests, each aimed at identifying specific types of exceptions at the item level. During our training sessions and post training reviews, we have fielded lots of questions related to the tests that fall under the OP/Demand Spike category. Most of these questions revolve around whether or not to override a demand spike and, if so, how best to do so. As a result, we thought this was a perfect topic for this version of our Customer Care Tips...

Webinar - VMI & Visibility in the Supply Chain on March 13, 2006 at 2:00 PM EST

Datalliance will discuss the benefits of supply chain visibility that VMI provides to suppliers and distributors. For more information or to sign-up, please contact us at info@datalliance.com

The benefits of VMI were widely discussed at HDAW '06. Throughout the day's events, leaders in the industry spoke of the competitive advantages VMI presents. Carl Hall, President of Datalliance, participated in the HDAW. Carl was a panel member discussing "The Truth About E-Business and Electronic Ordering". Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week was developed by the industry's leading trade association and marketing groups to create the most important and valuable event in the history of the heavy duty aftermarket by combining several events currently on the industry calendar. The intention of HDAW is to provide a forum that highlights the best elements of each of the association and marketing group's individual value propositions.

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