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INGRAM MICRO BECOMES FIRST DISTRIBUTOR TO RECEIVE IBM AAP CERTIFICATION Will Assemble IBM PCs at ISO 9002-Certified FacilitySANTA ANA, Calif., April 8, 1997 "Ingram Micro is committed to being a driving force to help define the channel models addressing build-to-order (BTO), assembly and configuration," said David R. Dukes, vice-chairman of Ingram Micro and chief executive officer of Ingram Alliance. "With the company's leading market share position on a global basis, Ingram Micro is uniquely positioned to drive this effort on behalf of its reseller and vendor partners." Dukes continued: "Ingram Micro has made a significant investment in the channel assembly business model, with the ultimate goal of addressing cost issues surrounding finished goods inventory in the channel in addition to improving fill rates. We are committed to implementing programs and services that address these major channel issues, while improving reseller and vendor efficiencies, and ultimately customer services. The net result of this significant investment is that the ultimate consumer is better served because they will now receive customized solutions coupled with shorter ordering cycles." According to Tom Thigpen, IBM's vice president of alliance management who oversees the Authorized Assembler Program: "This is a great opportunity for resellers, because Ingram Micro and IBM share the same commitment to quality products, service and support. We are very excited to extend AAP certification to Ingram Micro." Ingram Micro currently provides AAP services from its Vianen, The Netherlands facility, and in the U.S., will provide assembly at its ISO 9002-certified Chicago configuration center, a state-of-the-art facility that boasts 128,000 square feet and will support more than 135 highly trained technical assemblers. To become AAP certified, Ingram Micro had to meet several IBM requirements, including component and disk-drive handling, electrostatic discharge control, electronic data transmission, assembly procedure, quality assurance and technical training. The company's processes were audited and approved by IBM. AAP provides resellers increased product availability on desktops and servers. "Quality is assured," Dukes said, "as each unit is quality tested before shipping. Standard IBM warranties and technical support apply to all finished AAP products." Configuration is not a new service at Ingram Micro. The company has provided configuration for its reseller customers for four years, including configuration of Hewlett-Packard, UNIX, Sun Microsystems and Acer products as well as custom-built orders. Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM), headquartered in Santa Ana, Calif., is the world's largest wholesale distributor of technology products and services, with 1996 sales of more than $12 billion. The company operates in 19 countries and distributes more than 36,000 products to over 100,000 resellers in 120 countries. |
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