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Parts Warehouse Inc. Boosts Productivity, Accuracy

30 March 2000

Parts Warehouse Inc. Boosts Productivity, Accuracy with CCI/Triad Paperless Warehouse-R-; New System Called ``Most Significant Advance in Warehouse Technology in 25 Years''

    AUSTIN, Texas--March 30, 2000--Parts Warehouse Inc. of Little Rock, Ark., today reported it has increased its order pick productivity by 15 percent, since installing The Paperless Warehouse in February. The Paperless Warehouse, a CCI/Triad product, is an integrated computer and bar code scanning system designed to entirely eliminate paperwork.
    Mike Spence, vice president of warehouse operations of Parts Warehouse Inc., said the company has seen the average line per hour picked by all personnel increase by as much as 15 percent; and accuracy for customers' orders has increased by 50-80 percent since they installed The Paperless Warehouse.
    The Paperless Warehouse system equips warehouse pickers and shippers with portable hand-held computers, complete with bar code scanners and radio transmitters. Pickers use the hand-held computers to display customer orders and to scan and confirm each part's bar code. Shippers use their hand-held devices to verify that orders are packed and shipped correctly.
    Parts Warehouse Inc. is a 140,000 square foot facility that serves automotive parts stores within a 250-mile radius of Little Rock from a parts inventory of more than 100,000 SKUs. Spence said he initially had reservations about the impact the new technology would have on his operation, but his doubts were eliminated by the results his company has experienced.
    "We've seen only positive impacts on our business since installing The Paperless Warehouse. Productivity is up. Accuracy is up. And we only anticipate they'll continue to move in that direction," Spence said. "Our folks are enthusiastic about the product and pleased with the process; and ultimately this means better service to our customers."
    "This is the most significant advance in warehouse technology I've seen in 25 years," said Jack Creamer, president of the Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association. "Today's warehouses know they need to reduce costs to stay competitive. They buy parts at a set price and need to sell parts at a competitive price. They know the place to take costs out of the equation is in the middle, in operations, and that's what The Paperless Warehouse does."
    The Paperless Warehouse Ethernet-based system features a 2.4 GHz, 802.11 standard radio, with data transmission speeds up to 11 megabits per second. The premium mobile bar code scanner also ensures accuracy and success. In addition to The Paperless Warehouse system's robust pick/ship module, modules for receiving and put-away, customer returns and inventory counts are being enhanced to seamlessly integrate with CCI/Triad's A-DIS(R) and Ultimate(R) warehouse systems.

    About CCI/Triad

    CCI/Triad is the automotive division of Cooperative Computing, Inc. For more than 25 years, CCI/Triad has been a leading provider of computerized management systems, aftermarket information databases, and business consulting for aftermarket parts distributors, service dealers and automotive recyclers. CCI/Triad has is headquartered in Austin, Tex., and has operations in Livermore, Calif.; Denver, Colo.; Brooklyn Park, Minn., Newton, NJ; San Antonio, Tex.; and internationally in Canada, France, Ireland and the United Kingdom. For more information on CCI/Triad http://www.cci-triad.com.