ACE Hardware Selects NCR's Teradata Division DW

Ace Hardware Corporation, the #1 hardware cooperative in the United States, has acquired and implemented a data warehouse and retailDecisions applications from Teradata, a division of NCR Corporation.

Ace Hardware selected a two-terabyte NCR hardware platform, Teradata retailDecisions applications and software, including Teradata's professional and customer services. The Teradata data warehouse solution will provide a foundation for future growth while also supporting Ace Hardware's strategic Vision 21 initiatives to drive Ace retailers' sales and profitability and provide ultimate customer satisfaction.

"To centralize the masses of historical Ace data and collect all transactional data from Ace's Point-of-Sale systems, we needed a powerful system and a strong partner with retail experience," said Mike Altendorf, vice president, Information Technology, Ace Hardware. "Teradata is the world leader in data warehousing solutions, with a proven retail track record, as we discovered when we sought vendor references. That experience, including customer relationship management (CRM), inventory management, category management, and business intelligence, made Teradata the right choice for us."

The Teradata retailDecisions suite of analytical applications provides an entry point to tailor and implement a fully integrated, business intelligence data warehouse environment. These analytic applications center on five key business areas: assortment management, promotion management, customer purchase behavior, store operations and labor and intelligent e-commerce. The data warehouse will be accessible throughout the organization, providing timely and customized information when and where it is needed, on desktop, Web or wireless.

"Teradata will enable Ace Hardware to gain deeper insight into their business in ways previously unobtainable," said Darryl McDonald, vice president of Retail Enterprise Solutions for Teradata Division. "Associates will make more informed and timely decisions, boosting productivity, service levels, profitability, and customer retention."

"Ace enterprise data warehouse users will gain an immediate increase in system performance and be able to ask any question of both retail and wholesale data at any time," Altendorf explained. The Ace enterprise data warehouse will move from the current limited desktop deployment to a full Web-based application able to track, analyze and report the impact of Vision 21 and best practices."

About Ace Hardware Corporation

Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., Ace Hardware Corp. was founded in 1924 and is a cooperative wholly owned by its 5,100-plus independent hardware, home center, lumber and building materials retailers. Ace operates 16 retail support centers in the U.S. and two in Canada and has stores located in all 50 states and 68 countries on six continents. Annual retail sales top $13 billion. More information on Ace can be found at www.acehardware.com.

About Teradata Division

Teradata, a division of NCR Corporation, offers powerful analytical solutions that help businesses drive growth. Teradata solutions include the Teradata database, and analytical applications for customer relationship management, operations and financial management, business performance management and e-business. To learn more about Teradata Division and its solutions, go to www.ncr.com/teradata.

About NCR Corporation

NCR Corporation is a leader in providing Relationship Technology solutions to customers worldwide in the retail, financial, communications, manufacturing, travel and transportation, and insurance markets. NCR's Relationship Technology solutions include privacy-enabled Teradata warehouses and customer relationship management (CRM) applications, store automation and automated teller machines (ATMs). The company's business solutions are built on the foundation of its long- established industry knowledge and consulting expertise, value-adding software, global customer support services, a complete line of consumable and media products, and leading edge hardware technology. NCR employs 32,900 in more than 100 countries, and is a component stock of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. More information about NCR and its solutions may be found at www.ncr.com.

Contact Holly Michael of NCR Corporation, Teradata Division, 937-445-6086, holly.michael@ncr.com.