Sourcing Agreement Provides Ace's 5,000 Stores Access to More Than
Five Million MRO Products Via Corporate Intranet
CHICAGO, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Ace Hardware Corporation recently reached
an agreement with FindMRO.com by Grainger to source product solutions for its
5000 stores nationwide. Each store will have access to over 5 million
hard-to-find maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies through Ace
Corporation's ACENET 2000 Intranet site. The sourcing agreement, valued in
the multi-millions, will be rolled out over the first quarter in 2000 with all
stores on board in time for the Ace Hardware spring convention and exhibit,
April 7-10, 2000, in Atlanta, Georgia.
"This online connection to FindMRO.com is packed with benefits for the Ace
Retailer and Ace Hardware Corporation," said Paul Ingevaldson, senior vice
president, International and Technology at Ace Hardware Corporation. "It
gives our retailers the opportunity to use and leverage our ACENET 2000
Intranet system to lower their procurement cost on this category of product,
while enhancing service to their customers."
"Our sourcing solution allows Ace Hardware retailers to leverage
Grainger's sourcing knowledge, supply chain relationships and state-of-the-art
technology to provide a cost-effective product solution for their customers,"
said Ron Paulson, general manager, FindMRO.com. "We can save the retailers
valuable time because we have already found what they're looking for in most
cases."
FindMRO.com launched its complete product sourcing solution in November
1999. This business offers online access to over 5 million products that are
frequently hard to find for most customers through a proprietary database of
more than 12,000 suppliers and 100,000 brands.
"We at Miller Ace place the customer as our top priority as evidenced by
our slogan "if you need it ... we can get it!" We feel FindMRO.com is an
excellent tool and resource to help us source products that are difficult to
find and save us time in the process." Said Jeff Miller, President, Miller Ace
Industrial.
Echoing those thoughts is Tina Lopotko, department manager and program
lead at Ace Hardware Corporation. "Customers come to our retailers hoping to
have their product problems solved. A site like FindMRO.com will save us a
lot of time in finding the right solutions."
Founded in 1924, Ace Hardware Corporation is a cooperative wholly owned by
its 5,000 independent hardware, home center, lumber and building material
retailers in 65 countries. Annual wholesale sales top $3.1 billion, equating
to more than $13 billion at retail. More information on Ace Hardware can be
found on the World Wide Web at http://www.acehardware.com .
W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW), with 1998 sales of $4.3 billion, is the leading
North American provider of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies,
services and related information to businesses and institutions. GWW shares
are traded on the New York and Chicago stock exchanges. For more information
please visit Grainger online at http://www.grainger.com .
SOURCE W.W. Grainger, Inc.
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http://www.Grainger.com
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http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/953850.html or fax,
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CONTACT:
Christine Swiderski of W.W. Grainger,
847-535-4094
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