Major Retailers Have Dramatically Lowered the Cost of Distribution. Can Smaller Companies Keep Up?

Rockaway, NJ (May 23, 2006): Major retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Target, continue to increase supply-chain productivity, raising the bar for other retailers and for suppliers of merchandise to retailers. While retailers have been aggressively reducing costs through distribution center automation, many suppliers are still fulfilling orders manually.

Manual fulfillment has worked fine for many suppliers so long as orders could be shipped in bulk. Bulk distribution, however, continues to decline, as the trend toward store-specific distribution gains momentum. With Wal-Mart's "DSDC" program, and Target's "Pre Distro" program, more and more suppliers are now required to fulfill orders picked and packed for specific stores. Store-specific fulfillment exponentially increases labor costs and chargeback-causing fulfillment errors. Despite the additional costs, retailers have not offered to foot the bill.

In response to store-specific fulfillment requirements, many large suppliers have invested in automation to reduce order fulfillment costs. Many smaller suppliers, however, cannot commit millions of dollars to supply chain capital investments. Are smaller suppliers doomed? Not if Paul Lightfoot, CEO of AL Systems, has anything to say about it.

"AL Systems is committed to helping smaller suppliers fulfill orders with reduced labor costs, improved accuracy and without chargebacks. After helping major retailers improve distribution for more than 25 years, we are now also applying our expertise to helping suppliers squeezed by store-specific fulfillment mandates and struggling to keep pace with larger competitors."

AL Systems just launched DynaPick EZ for the mid-sized supplier market. DynaPick EZ has all the essential order fulfillment functionality implemented by the nation's biggest retailers (including Pick to Light and Voice Picking, technologies used in Wal-Mart's own distribution centers) but packaged into an affordable "off-the-shelf" solution.

DynaPick EZ is designed to help mid-sized suppliers cost-effectively increase labor productivity, improve accuracy and reduce chargebacks. Some of the benefits of DynaPick EZ include:

• Reliable & Functional. DynaPick EZ is built on the same hardware and software as the DynaPick systems used by major retailers. Moreover, DynaPick EZ offers ease of use, robust functionality, and unsurpassed reliability with minimal downtime.
• Pay for Usage. DynaPick EZ comes with low up-front costs and subscription pricing based on usage. This makes it easier for smaller suppliers to get started, and lets them spread payments out over the times during which savings are realized.
• Simple IT. DynaPick EZ is designed as a stand-alone solution that integrates easily with existing systems to minimize IT costs. Support is available 24 x 7 to ensure that warehouse staff can focus on operations rather than IT.
• Expandable. DynaPick EZ is designed to grow painlessly with increasing order volume. Add-on components include Audit Stations, RFID Functionality, Shipping & Manifesting and even Conveyor Automation.
• Reduce Costs / Improve Accuracy. DynaPick EZ's proven technology will improve order accuracy while reducing labor costs, chargebacks and time to shipment.
• Guaranteed Compliance. DynaPick EZ guarantees compliance with major retailer store-specific mandates, such as Wal-Mart's DSDC and Target's Pre-Distro programs.

Ballet Jewelry, a leading supplier of costume jewelry to mass merchandisers, recently selected DynaPick to improve their order fulfillment operations with major retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target. "The size of their orders is typically huge and we only have four days maximum to fulfill them," stated Sam Schmidt, Director of Warehouse Operations for Ballet. "DynaPick will get orders through faster and more efficiently with 40% fewer pickers. The solution is extremely accurate, and the price of the system just made sense."

Patrick Sedlak, respected supply chain consultant (psedlak@jasedlak.com), embraces implementation of solutions like DynaPick EZ for budget sensitive suppliers. "For retailers and their suppliers to stay competitive, they must invest in the improvement of supply chain order fulfillment solutions and the physical movement of goods through the supply chain. DynaPick EZ is a solid option for the many suppliers who need to comply with large client mandates but find customized solutions prohibitively expensive."

For more information about DynaPick EZ, to receive a free booklet titled "Wal-Mart-Ification", or to schedule an interview with Paul Lightfoot, please contact Tresa Veitia at the number or e-mail address listed below.

About AL Systems, Inc.
Since 1979 AL Systems, based in Rockaway, N.J., has provided clients with integrated solutions that improve the flow of merchandise through distribution centers. The company implements applications— such as for Paperless Picking, Packing and Putting, Cross Docking, and Shipping—that reduce the cost of distributing merchandise. Clients of AL Systems include Urban Outfitters, SaraMax Apparel Group, Pacific Sunwear, Kohl's Department Stores, Simon & Schuster, Mervyns, Talbots, Burlington Coat Factory, Gymboree and Men's Wearhouse.

Contact: Tresa Veitia
Inktank LLC: 212.647.7111
E-Mail: tresa@inktankusa.com