E1 Entertainment Implements Datalliance Vendor Managed Inventory as Foundation for New Business Model

CINCINNATI, OH--(Marketwire - February 12, 2010) - Datalliance today announced that E1 Entertainment Ltd. has implemented Datalliance Vendor Managed Inventory as the foundation for their new business model. E1 Entertainment is a leading international independent entertainment business operating in Canada, the UK, Holland, Belgium and the United States. The company is the largest wholesaler of DVDs, CDs and video games in Canada and is the largest independent music and video distributor in North America. The complete case study article can be viewed at www.datalliance.com/successstories.html.

Debby MacFarlane, Director of Process Development, recalled E1 Entertainment's motivation for exploring a new business model. "We wanted to improve the way we do business. We were looking for ways to increase sales volume through expanded retail distribution channels. In order to be more attractive to a broad base of retailers, we needed a more cost effective business model. We knew that if we could make it easier for retailers to do business with us and reduce their costs, it would be a win-win situation."

E1 Entertainment determined that a Vendor Managed Inventory program would benefit them and their retailer partners. MacFarlane explained, "With VMI we take responsibility for inventory replenishment. We determine what we ship the store, and we replenish inventory based on actual consumer demand down to individual SKU's and store locations."

E1 Entertainment researched multiple technology options and selected the Datalliance VMI service as the core platform to support their new VMI business model. "Using Datalliance, we now have ready access to store level information to make better decisions about order quantities and replenishment orders," said MacFarlane. "On a weekly basis, we drill down, store-by-store, item-by-item, to analyze consumer demand for the previous week -- resulting in timely and accurate replenishment orders. This detailed analysis has resulted in significant sales increases for E1 Entertainment and our retailers. Because we have the right product at the right retail location, at the right time, we don't lose sales opportunities."

"Before using Datalliance, our analysts spent countless hours of manual work painstakingly trying to figure out the details of retail replenishment orders. Now, Datalliance calculates the replenishment orders, and our time has been reduced by 75%. For retailers, the benefit is that re-orders are not only much more accurate, but their purchasing department doesn't need to get involved. That saves them considerable time and effort. We've streamlined the process, made it much more accurate, with a significant reduction in effort -- a pretty good result by any standard."

Because E1 Entertainment can analyze product demand at an individual store level based on customer demand every week, their retail partners' stockout scenarios are drastically reduced. "We're providing better customer service to our retailers and they in turn are providing better service to their consumers," described MacFarlane. "With a better handle on retailer demand, we can manage and therefore minimize our overall inventory across retail locations. This is really the key for us. We're increasing sales but doing so with a significantly lower investment in inventory. Improving the efficiency of the supply chain lowers inventory costs, increases margins and ultimately improves profits."

About Datalliance

Datalliance is a leading provider of collaborative commerce services, and the world's largest independent VMI service provider. Delivered via the Internet using the 'Software as a Service' (SaaS) model, Datalliance solutions make it easy for suppliers and their customers to establish sales and inventory management relationships that fully align business objectives, improve collaboration, and streamline supply chain operations. Datalliance manages billions of dollars in orders, millions of SKUs, and thousands of locations for leading Fortune 1000 companies in a number of industries. For more information about Datalliance, visit www.datalliance.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Brian Lindner Datalliance 513-791-7272