Ace Hardware Joins UCCnet; Newest Subscriber Marks UCCnet's Emergence In Hardlines Sector.

Business Editors

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 23, 2002

UCCnet announced today that Ace Hardware Corp. will begin implementing the organization's item registration and data synchronization services. Ace, the first UCCnet retailer from the Hardlines sector, joins more than 220 other supply and demand side trading partners as members of the UCCnet community.

Ace is distributing a letter to all their suppliers asking them to support UCCnet and begin their implementation planning. Ace will begin implementation in early 2003, using internal IT resources to integrate UCCnet services. The retailer, which accounts for 5,000 independently owned and operated stores worldwide, works with 2,400 suppliers who provide 65,000 products to Ace retail stores. A UCCnet information session for suppliers will be held at the American Hardware Manufacturers Association's conference in April 2003.

"Item synchronization is key to connecting and collaborating with our partners, providing important business benefits for our suppliers," said Greg Lenard, director of inventory control for Ace. "UCCnet provides the one-to-many solution that suppliers need to effectively communicate with their retail partners, using standard business processes and a central item registry to deliver cost savings to both partners. UCCnet provides a standards-based foundation upon which both suppliers and retailers can reap the benefits of electronic commerce."

A study by A.T. Kearney estimated that $40 billion, or 3.5 percent, of total sales lost each year are due to supply chain information inefficiencies. Specifically, the study showed that 30 percent of items in retail catalogs have data errors, which cost between $60 and $80 each and consume 25 minutes of manual cleansing per SKU. Other findings revealed that 60 percent of all invoices generated errors and 43 percent of all invoices resulted in deductions.

To alleviate these costly errors, UCCnet enables registration and synchronization of item information, such as weight and dimensions, by providing a repository for standardized item, location and trading partner data. Suppliers load item, location and trading partner information into the UCCnet GLOBALregistry. UCCnet checks the data for compliance to industry standards and synchronizes it with demand side partners, such as Ace, ensuring that all trading partners are using identical, updated, standards-compliant data.

"Ace Hardware has truly shown its leadership by becoming the newest member of the UCCnet retailer community," said Glenn DuBois, vice president of business development for UCCnet. "We are pleased to welcome the first member from the Hardlines industry. UCCnet services continue to deliver on the promise of e-commerce, enabling companies from every sector to effectively collaborate and significantly reduce operating costs."

UCCnet services will enable suppliers and their retail partners to reduce costly administrative errors in invoice pricing, purchase orders, product delivery and scanning accuracy. In addition, the company will be able to increase the speed of getting new products to market and facilitate changes to existing item information. Synchronized data in a standard format also provides a solid foundation for realizing the true cost savings value of more advanced e-commerce tools such as scan-based trading and CPFR.

About UCCnet

UCCnet is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt neutral organization that provides item registry and data synchronization for electronic commerce based on industry-developed standards. Through its support of global EAN-UCC standards, UCCnet delivers an open platform for collaborative commerce services, including compliance verification, synchronization of product information, registry and lifecycle management of synchronized products, user locations and user trade capabilities.

As a subsidiary of the Uniform Code Council, Inc., the global standards organization, UCCnet leverages its position to enable the rapid, clear development of industry Internet standards and practices. In addition, UCCnet provides implementation methodology, allowing small, medium and large enterprises to integrate eCommerce into their business in a swift and efficient manner. For more information, visit www.UCCnet.org.

About Ace Hardware Corp.

Founded in 1924, Ace Hardware Corp., headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., is a cooperative wholly owned by its 5,000 independent hardware, home center, lumber and building materials retailers. With annual retail sales exceeding $13 billion, Ace is the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the industry. Ace currently has stores located in all 50 states and 72 countries. More information on Ace can be found on the World Wide Web at www.acehardware.com.