Jaguar and Land Rover To Use OEConnection's D2DLink(R) Service for Its U.S. Parts Channel

Jaguar and Land Rover Dealers Will Soon Locate, Order and Fulfill Auto Parts Using D2DLink(R) Online Tool

RICHFIELD, Ohio, May 28 -- OEConnection today announced an agreement with Jaguar and Land Rover to provide more than 300 U.S. dealerships with the D2DLink online parts procurement tool.

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The two automakers join Ford and General Motors, as well as other import manufacturers, in making available to their dealers the advantages offered by the D2DLink product. Richard Tate, Manager, Parts Supply and Logistics for Jaguar and Land Rover, said, "Every day we don't implement the D2DLink service, our dealers miss out on the efficiencies it has to offer. The adoption of this online tool is a part of Jaguar and Land Rover's continued effort to better service their U.S. dealers as wholesale parts buyers and their luxury auto customers."

More than 9,500 auto dealers across the U.S. use the Internet-based D2DLink service more than 50,000 times each day to search original equipment (OE) parts inventories. The benefits to Jaguar and Land Rover dealers include a streamlined process for parts locating, access to daily-updated parts inventories, and the convenience of ordering parts online. These features assist dealers in reducing vehicle repair cycle time, improving customer service, and increasing supply chain efficiencies.

"We are proud that Jaguar and Land Rover have selected OEConnection's D2DLink tool to help their dealers further improve the efficiencies in their businesses," said Chuck Rotuno, OEConnection's President and CEO. "I am confident that this segment of Ford Motor Company's Premier Automotive Group will quickly realize the benefits of this product for their dealers and their customers."

The D2DLink product is expected to be available to Jaguar and Land Rover dealers by summer 2003. "This solution to some of our supply chain challenges is expected to save time and benefit both our customers and our dealers," said Tate. "This online service will give our dealers an additional tool for improving customer satisfaction." The D2DLink service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, allowing dealers to instantly locate a required part and choose to purchase it online, by phone, or by fax.

While Jaguar and Land Rover maintain parts distribution centers (PDCs) across the U.S., the process of back ordering parts often leads to customer service issues. If a dealer can't get the parts they need for a customer's repair, they traditionally resort to phoning many local dealers to check inventory -- a process that can take valuable time. OEConnection's technology is designed to speed up the process, allowing a dealer to go online, locate a part, and obtain a parts quote from another dealer -- locally or nationwide.

The goal of D2DLink is to enable Jaguar and Land Rover dealers to respond to customers' repair needs more quickly and accurately, putting Jaguar and Land Rover drivers on the road in less time. By offering dealers the online service, the luxury automakers hope to contribute to Ford Motor Company's effort to establish consistent systems and processes across its divisions.

OEConnection LLC is a provider of technology solutions for automakers, their affiliated dealers, and others in the automotive parts marketplace. The Company provides more than 9,500 franchised auto dealerships nationwide with a web-based parts locating and fulfillment service. The Company also provides CollisionLink(R), a web-based service enabling collision shops to transmit orders for original equipment parts to franchised automobile dealerships. A venture created by Daimler Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and ProQuest Company (formerly Bell & Howell), OEConnection is headquartered at 3900 Kinross Lakes Parkway, Richfield, Ohio, 44286, just south of the city of Cleveland.

For more information about the OEConnection / Jaguar Land Rover agreement, contact David Kuhner, OEConnection's Manager, Marketing Services, at 330-659-1731.

Additional information about OEConnection can be obtained by calling 888-776-5792, or by visiting http://www.oeconnection.com/ .

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