Chrome Releases Efficiency Tool for Management of Multiple Dealership Inventory Data

PORTLAND, Ore.--Jan. 2, 20047, 2004--Chrome Systems Corporation, provider of automotive data, configuration and comparison technology and commerce solutions, today announced the release of a powerful new version of Chrome Inventory Everywhere(R) (CIE) designed for automotive businesses that need to manage large numbers of dealers' inventories. CIE Enterprise(TM) represents the latest step in Chrome's effort to support the day-to-day business needs of all dealerships, from the smallest individual dealer to the largest dealer group.

Since its introduction in May of 2002, CIE has become a leading vehicle inventory editing and posting tool, making it more efficient for dealers to keep online inventory data up-to-date, fully described and consistent.

"Our bigger clients liked what they saw with CIE and asked for a more robust version," said David Mingle, Chrome's president. "One capable of handling multiple dealerships' inventory, that could pull from different DMS packages yet keep the inventory collections separate. CIE Enterprise is designed to do just that, making life easier for anyone responsible for managing diverse inventory from multiple dealerships."

The original product, now known as CIE Plus(TM), is designed to support a single dealership, and has itself undergone vast improvements since its inception. Making importing from a single Dealer Management System (DMS), such as a Reynolds and Reynolds, and exporting to multiple Web sites, from AutoTrader to Yahoo Autos!, easier than ever.

CIE Enterprise(TM) takes off where CIE Plus leaves off, enabling dealer service providers to import data from multiple dealerships or multiple lots for dealers, and manage these inventories separately in an automated fashion. CIE Enterprise is designed for any dealer group or value added reseller with more than one DMS and location, who wishes to streamline the description and distribution of inventory data. Separate entities can be exported based on lot, dealer or destination, enabling users to export vehicles to different services.

According to Friedman-Swift, 75% of consumers consider viewing full descriptions of new and used vehicles as very important. CIE Enterprise and CIE Plus enable dealers and their inventory service providers to effectively market complete vehicle descriptions over the Internet, saving them valuable time while extending their online sales opportunities.

CIE Enterprise and CIE Plus will be shown at the 2004 National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Exposition in Las Vegas, on January 31-February 3, and are available immediately.

About Chrome

With more than 13,500 clients, including half of all automotive dealers in the U.S. and Canada, Chrome provides vehicle content, software, technology and services to deliver complete enterprise solutions to all segments of the retail automotive industry. These segments include manufacturers, fleet companies, dealers, Internet sites, and financial institutions. Chrome pioneered the technology behind electronic vehicle configuration with the introduction of PC Carbook(R), and since 1986 has collected, analyzed and enhanced "raw" automotive data from all manufacturers.