Tokheim Corporation Selects Computer Associates Software to Monitor and Manage Worldwide Diagnostics Network.

Business Editors

FORT WAYNE, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 22, 1999

Tokheim Corporation (NYSE:TOK), the world's largest manufacturer and servicer of petroleum dispensing systems, selects Computer Associates' (CA) Unicenter TNG to serve as the core IT management and diagnostics technology for its new worldwide fuel monitoring and dispensing network, the Tokheim Diagnostic Network.

"Unicenter TNG enables us to develop and implement a revolutionary system for managing the whole petroleum dispensing process," said Douglas K. Pinner, Tokheim's Chairman, President and CEO. "By directing all diagnostic processes through Unicenter TNG, we will provide our partners with the ability to maximize the return on investment of their fuel dispensing systems and to capitalize on a host of new marketing opportunities."

The Tokheim implementation enables fuel system data, automatically captured by QPoint dispenser management modules, to be consolidated by a Unicenter TNG agent. Unicenter TNG then evaluates the status of the equipment, and if necessary, initiates and escalates service calls via the Internet to the Tokheim support system, which initiates service calls to over 400 Authorized Service Representatives (ASRs) in the United States and to more than 1,000 ASRs around the world.

Unicenter TNG also relays other important information to store owners, service representatives, pump attendants, clerks or other individuals involved with gas station operations. For instance, the software can send an alert if a fuel tank is running low, or page a store manager if a pump's credit card reader is malfunctioning, or notify a cashier if a machine has run out of paper for credit card receipts. The software can also proactively warn Tokheim's centralized Solution Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana of potential maintenance issues.

The new fuel monitoring and management system also facilitates improved customer service. "When a pump-based credit card reader goes down, five or six people on average are frustrated by the problem before a store manager even knows it is broken. That leads to a lot of unhappy customers," said Pinner. "The new system will notify us as soon as any malfunction takes place, and sometimes even before it occurs."

According to Pinner, CA's solution was chosen for the large-scale pump monitoring and management project because of Tokheim's positive experiences with Unicenter TNG as a corporate-wide IT management solution. Unicenter TNG is currently used to control Tokheim's distributed technology enterprise -- a worldwide heterogeneous network that encompasses more than 2,700 Windows(R) 95 and Windows(R) NT desktops, 180 servers, and several mainframe systems.

As a leading supplier of fuel dispensers to the world's largest oil companies, Tokheim recognizes the value that the Unicenter TNG-based fuel monitoring/management system will have for its multi-billion dollar global partners. "Helping our major customers more cost-effectively manage their stations' fuel distribution and marketing operations will clearly strengthen our business relationships," said Pinner. "Also, Unicenter TNG will give us the flexibility we need to accommodate the different systems, cultures, and unique approaches inherent to every oil company."

Pinner and his associates evaluated several solutions before choosing Unicenter TNG, but none afforded the flexibility of CA's offering. "Unicenter TNG is a complete and integrated solution covering all IT components, as well as real-world technologies like dispensers and payment systems."

"This announcement is indicative of how CA's partnership with Tokheim is giving customers entirely new ways of capitalizing on the business potential of technology at the dispenser," said J.P. Corriveau, CA's Senior Vice President of Advanced Technology. "With the combination of CA's applications expertise and integration capability enhancing Tokheim's Quantium dispenser, customers are limited only by their imaginations."

The financial benefits of the Tokheim's Unicenter TNG solution extend beyond improved customer service and enhanced marketing opportunities. Pinner believes the Tokheim Diagnostic Network will significantly lower pump downtime, reduce the cost of warranty administration, and substantially reduce the burden on Tokheim's Technical Support Teams -- especially when the Unicenter TNG Software Delivery Option (SDO) is taken into account.

"Without Unicenter TNG SDO, we would need to dispatch hundreds of technicians out to the field to install software updates," said Pinner. "Now, Unicenter TNG will be able to remotely detect software defects and automatically load patches and version updates directly to the pumps. What formerly required weeks to accomplish, will now be accomplished overnight."

Given the potentially hazardous nature of the fuel distribution process, security is another big concern for Tokheim. "In this industry you need to be incredibly cautious and security conscious for many reasons," said Pinner. "First, our manufacturing standards are at the zero-defect level. Second, the government measures fuel pump accuracy, and you need to be sure your numbers are absolutely correct. Unicenter TNG provides the security and integrity we need."

Tokheim Corporation, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has grown to become the world's largest producer of petroleum dispensing devices. The publicly-held corporation now has approximately $750 million in annual pro forma sales and employs 4,800 people worldwide.

Tokheim manufactures and services electronic and mechanical petroleum dispensing systems. These systems include petroleum dispensers and pumps, retail automation systems (such as point-of-sale systems), dispenser payment or "pay-at-the-pump" terminals, replacement parts, and upgrade kits.

Computer Associates International, Inc. (NYSE:CA), the world leader in mission-critical business computing, provides software, support and integration services in more than 100 countries around the world. Computer Associates has more than 17,500 employees and had revenue of $5.3 billion in fiscal year 1999.