O'Reilly Automotive Named Finalist for Prestigious Retail Systems 2003 Achievement Award

Evant Deployment Garners Auto Parts Retailer Top Three Spot in Corporate Inventory Management System Category

SAN FRANCISCO, June 11 -- Evant, a leading provider of retail management solutions, today announced that O'Reilly Automotive was named one of three finalists in the Best in Corporate Systems Category of the Retail Systems 2003 Achievement Awards. The award competition honors companies whose efforts and dedication to information technology have raised standards throughout the industry.

O'Reilly Automotive was recognized for its successful implementation of Evant Demand Planning and Replenishment solution, which resulted in significant improvements in business processes and customer service. Evant Demand Planning and Replenishment is at the center of O'Reilly's inventory system, supporting the inventory management needs of the nation's largest specialty retailer of automotive tools, supplies and equipment.

Powered by Evant, O'Reilly was able to reduce its distribution center inventories by $66 million, and decrease store inventories by approximately $20 million. In addition, each of O'Reilly's inventory management personnel are now able to manage an estimated 90,000 SKUs, as compared to the previous average of 40,000 SKUs. By bringing the right balance of products to its distribution centers, the retailer has increased inventory turns, improved buyer productivity, and reduced labor costs -- freeing up $60 million in capital to acquire a key competitor.

"Evant's solution provides a cost-effective, scalable solution, enabling us to better analyze our inventory-related data and maximize the effectiveness of our business operations, so we can achieve our financial goals, while maintaining the customer service advantage necessary to succeed," said Michael Williams, vice president of Information Systems at O'Reilly Auto Parts. "On behalf of O'Reilly Automotive, we are honored to be a finalist for this award among more than 50 entrants that produced high-ROI case studies."

"O'Reilly Automotive's recognition for its achievements in inventory management is well deserved," said Katrina Roche, president and COO of Evant. "The company has truly raised the bar for the auto parts industry for the way inventory is replenished and managed. Our partnership with O'Reilly Automotive will continue to improve its forecasting and demand planning capabilities, fostering further financial growth and success for this retail leader."

About Evant Demand Planning and Replenishment

Evant Demand Planning and Replenishment is the industry's most advanced integrated forecasting, replenishment and allocations solution. At the heart of the solution is a statistical forecasting engine that combines proven forecasting techniques with sophisticated demand cleansing, day-of-the-week and seasonal profiling tools. The system enables retailers to forecast demand more accurately and minimize their inventory investment by automatically adapting to changing demand patterns. Retailers gain maximum forecast accuracy for all types of demand, including seasonal goods, new items, promotions and slow-movers.

About Evant

Evant is leading the world's top multi-channel retailers, wholesalers and distributors into the new technological age by providing retail management software that frees up millions of dollars in working capital and enables greater competitive advantage. Clients such as Staples, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Camping World and AmerisourceBergen choose Evant for its best-of-breed solutions that are based on the industry's most advanced science that are delivered on a the IBM iSeries and J2EE platforms. The company is privately held and is headquartered in San Francisco, with operations in Atlanta, London and Frankfurt. For more information, visit www.evant.com.