INGRAM MICRO'S NEW Frameworks, Total Integration Services OFFERS RESELLERS AND MANUFACTURERS WORLD-CLASS CHANNEL ASSEMBLY AND CONFIGURATION

SANTA ANA, CALIF., July 28, 1997
Ingram Micro Inc. today unveiled Frameworks, Total Integration Services, a new worldwide channel assembly and configuration initiative that delivers customized, fully tested systems to resellers while reducing manufacturers' inventory overhead.

Frameworks adds new services to Ingram Micro's offerings and ties together existing services to enable customers to deal with one unified front end while selecting the services they need. Frameworks is significant for both resellers and major PC manufacturers because it offers them fast, flexible build-to-order capabilities. Frameworks also includes custom configuration capabilities for unbranded systems, as well as aggressive pricing on OEM components such as motherboards, video cards and memory for resellers who build their own systems.

Frameworks can streamline customized system delivery while ensuring the highest possible quality through assembly at ISO 9002-certified configuration centers worldwide, including Santa Ana, Calif.; Chicago; Denver; Memphis, Tenn.; Copenhagen, Denmark; Munich, Germany; Stockholm, Sweden; Milton Keynes, United Kingdom; and Utrecht, The Netherlands. A configuration center in Toronto, Canada is also part of the Frameworks network. Frameworks technicians are certified in the most advanced platforms and operating systems, such as Acer, Apple, CompTIA A+, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Novell and Sun Microsystems.

Frameworks' comprehensive warehousing of third-party components enables Ingram Micro to ship components and finished systems within three to five days of order. Ingram Micro can also drop-ship products. OEM component orders are shipped the same day on orders placed by 5 p.m.

"We've been impressed by Ingram Micro's ability to deliver product in a timely fashion, the depth of their stocking and the accuracy of their pricing and availability information," said Ingram Micro customer Dan Adler, president of Micro Systems Integration, an HP 9000 Distribution Authorization Reseller (DAR). "Because we deal in large systems and network implementations often comprising 500-plus line items, we've also been impressed by Ingram Micro's ability to stock and ship accurate configurations."

In addition to helping integrators, Frameworks will benefit manufacturers by giving them a response to direct-to-user computer companies.

"Frameworks lets our partners compete with the same speed and efficiency of direct PC companies by reducing overhead, responding faster to component changes, and reducing the financial risk that comes with forecasting finished goods," said John Winkelhaus, Ingram Micro's executive vice president of global channel assembly.

"The channel is at a major crossroads, and we believe channel assembly, integration and configuration services will be the pivotal distribution model of the future. Frameworks is a world-class capability that ensures the custom systems Ingram Micro delivers exceed our customers' performance expectations," Winkelhaus said.

Frameworks stands apart from the competition because of its stringent quality assurance process. Frameworks is backed by Ingram Laboratories, one of the industry's leading testing facilities. Ingram Labs' core business is testing manufacturers' new product designs for compatibility with industry standards. Ingram Labs brings this expertise to Frameworks, performing compatibility testing and other diagnostic analysis to make sure configured systems meet performance expectations.

Added Robert Anastasi, managing director for The Robinson-Humphrey Company, Inc. in Atlanta, "We're seeing a shift in the way technology products are being delivered around the world today as the PC industry rapidly moves away from build-to-forecast toward build-to-order and channel assembly. This model should be beneficial to the resellers and manufacturers in competition with the direct PC sales model. And, of course, distributors like Ingram Micro -- with its broad vendor line and extensive customer base -- are expected to play a key role in this evolution.

"The Frameworks offering positions Ingram Micro at the forefront of this change, allowing the company to help its resellers take advantage of channel assembly. Frameworks is a broad set of services addressing a wide range of customer needs, and it is backed by Ingram Micro's worldwide stocking capability, MIS and delivery infrastructure, and superior execution and delivery," Anastasi said.

Frameworks' Broad Range Of Services
Frameworks currently offers six main services -- from system assembly to component supply -- designed to give manufacturers and resellers a complete range of options for delivering customized systems.

• Custom Configuration Services, which customizes systems to reseller specifications;
• Unbranded Systems, which configures unbranded Pentium, Pentium-Pro or MMX-based systems from leading manufacturer components pre-tested by Ingram Laboratories;
• AcerOpen, which offers components and configurations from one of the industry's most respected OEMs and participating manufacturers such as Microsoft, Intel, U.S. Robotics and Seagate Technology;
• Manufacturer-Authorized Channel Assembly, such as the IBM Authorized Assembler Program (AAP), which provides custom-configured major name-brand solutions assembled from components supplied by IBM.
• OEM Components, which brings reliable, efficient, cost-effective access to OEM components to customers who build their own systems.
• UNIX Configuration Services, for Hewlett-Packard 9000 Series and Sun Microsystems servers and workstations.

Expanding Configuration Facilities
To accommodate these expanded operations, Ingram Micro is expanding its West Coast configuration center and moving it to the company's Fullerton warehouse and expanding its Chicago configuration center. Ingram Micro just added configuration centers in Denver and Memphis, Tenn. as part of the acquisition of Intelligent Electronics, Inc. indirect business, the Reseller Network Division (RND).

About Ingram Micro Inc.
Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM), headquartered in Santa Ana, Calif., is the world's largest computer technology distributor, with 1996 sales of $12 billion, and a leading provider of assembly and integration services. The company operates in 19 countries and distributes more than 36,000 products to more than 100,000 resellers in 120 countries.

For more information about Frameworks, see our question and answer backgrounder.

Contact:

Cindy Vergets Ragland
Ingram Micro, Inc.
Media Relations
714-566-1000 ext. 23364