FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

America II Electronics' European arm goes fully online with ERP solution

STEVENAGE, UK November 20, 2000 - After a period of review and a visit last month from key members of its corporate team, America II Europe goes fully online with an ERP solution to further distinguish itself in the international marketplace.

The solution, powered by an IBM® AS/400 mainframe employing e-commerce enabled software, had previously been used by America II Europe to track customer orders in real time. IT, logistics, and accounting specialists from America II Electronics focused their October visit on training and maximizing America II Europe's use of the system and software configuration, enhancing the operation's ability to take and ship orders in real time. IT advancement on this scale was "essential" for America II Europe, according to managing director Andy Groom. "We're shipping seven times the volume we began shipping out of our warehouse 10 months ago," Groom confirms. "We had already added resources in the warehouse to improve our ability to physically handle customer demand, and it was time that we fully realized our IT capabilities to increase the benefit to our customers," Groom adds. America II Europe's Stevenage warehouse currently holds stock requirements for customers as well as a growing number of components procured via the operation's excess purchasing arm. While plans for a full-service, UK-based logistics center are part of the company's strategy, America II Europe continues to work closely with its American counterpart in order to complete fulfillment: an arrangement which, for the time being, suits the needs of European customers. "Using America II Electronics' 356,000-square foot, ISO 9002-certified warehouse as our main distribution center, our delivery time to customers is a rock-solid three days. If that's not fast enough, we work out a direct shipment from our U.S. warehouse to the European customer," Groom explains.

America II Electronics adopted the system/software solution America II Europe has now fully embraced in October 1999 under the direction of its corporate IT team. In December 1999, the team worked to install a Kilostream system as a data link between the Stevenage facility and America II Electronics' Florida headquarters, empowering the operation to respond to customer inquiries four times faster than before. "We're here to show that America II Europe is here to stay. Our recent investments in technology are just one way of reminding our market that we're here for them for the long haul," Groom affirms.

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