Ingram Micro Teams With NACSCORP To Bring Technology To Higher Education

Agreement pairs competitors' core competencies to boost sales with university bookstores throughout the United States

SANTA ANA, Calif., Jan. 24, 2001

Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM), the largest global wholesale provider of technology products and services, today announced it will join with the National Association of College Stores (NACS) to provide product procurement and logistics services to its subsidiary NACSCORP, which sells technology products to more than 3,500 university bookstores across the country. Together, the companies will offer the best combination of technology products and customer support to serve the requirements of university bookstores.

NACSCORP has been a recognized leader in serving the college store market for more than 38 years as a wholesale distributor and retail services provider of college course and trade books, as well as a full range of computer software, peripherals and supplies. As part of the agreement, Ingram Micro will provide services including inventory purchasing, warehouse logistics management and product returns processing. NACSCORP will manage all aspects of the customer relationship with college stores, continuing to support customers with high-quality sales, marketing and customer care services, as well as invoicing.

"In the past, Ingram Micro and NACSCORP were competitors," said Kevin Murai, president, Ingram Micro U.S. "Today, we see the value of joining forces to leverage the core competencies of Ingram Micro and NACSCORP to meet the needs of the customer and create a superior business model for both organizations."

Ingram Micro's Partnership America program was established to provide services to technology solution providers that sell into the government and education technology market. The program offers such value-added services as exclusive vendor discount opportunities, bid and proposal support, and partnershipamerica.com, an online marketplace that connects solution providers and public sector technology buyers to expedite purchasing decisions.

The agreement with NACSCORP will work to expand Partnership America's reach into the higher education sector. According to research conducted by NACS, sales in this market are estimated at $10 billion annually to more than 15 million college students, most of whom have grown up in the computer age and are among the most technology savvy of all consumer segments.

"We are very excited to be teaming with a world-class technology products leader such as Ingram Micro in this innovative manner," said Pamela Sedmak, president and chief operating officer of NACSCORP. "We believe that NACSCORP and Ingram Micro are both strategically strengthened through this agreement, and the ultimate beneficiaries are our college store customers. This also further reaffirms NACSCORP's role as a key portal to the higher education market."

Ingram Micro will continue to provide technology products and services to its traditional value-added reseller customers that service the education market. However, with this agreement, Ingram Micro will transition sales from university bookstores to NACSCORP.

About NACSCORP, Inc.
NACSCORP is a wholly owned, for-profit subsidiary of the National Association of College Stores (NACS), the professional trade association representing higher education retailers in North America and abroad. NACSCORP has been a leader in serving the college store market since 1963, offering a full line of books, computer products and turn-key retail services, and has an unparalleled understanding of the unique needs of collegiate retailers. NACSCORP and NACS are headquartered in Oberlin, Ohio, located about 35 miles outside of Cleveland. Visit www.nacscorp.com and www.nacs.org.

About Partnership America
The Ingram Micro Government and Education Division's Partnership America program connects resellers, value-added resellers, systems integrators and vendors with the government and education IT market through a wide range of services. Services include bid pricing, proposal support, state/local and federal programs, state term schedule support, dedicated account managers, technology refreshment, credit services and configuration support. Since its inception in 1995, Ingram Micro's Partnership America program has grown to feature 300 product vendors. Partnership America can be found at www.partnershipamerica.com.

About Ingram Micro Inc.
Ingram Micro Inc. is the largest global wholesale provider of technology solutions, products and services. The company operates in 34 countries with sales exceeding $30 billion for the past four reported quarters. Ingram Micro's global regions offer e-commerce solutions, logistics services, and technology product distribution and marketing to more than 175,000 technology solution providers and manufacturers. The company is focused on maximizing shareowner value and achieving customer satisfaction by continuously innovating the IT supply chain.

For more information, contact:

Ingram Micro Inc.:
Jennifer Marchetta
Media Information
(714) 382-2692

Benjamin Group/BSMG Worldwide:
Carrie Brooks or Stefanie Lopez
(949) 260-1300, ext. 239 or 232