Levitz Home Furnishings Inc. Orders Parts Management from FurnishNet
December 22, 2003

Top ranked home furnishings retailer employs unique electronic document exchange solution to reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction

Levitz Home Furnishings Inc. (LHFI), holding company for Levitz Furniture and Seaman's Furniture, announced today that it has tapped FurnishNet, a leading provider of Internet-based supply chain solutions, to automate the process of ordering parts from its suppliers. LHFI will implement FurnishNet's Web-based Parts Management service and first-phase delivery will provide connectivity to Levitz' top 15 vendors who deliver more than 60% the company's parts orders.

"With FurnishNet's Parts Management solution, we'll be able to reduce processing overhead by an estimated 30 percent" said Michael Carleton, Vice President of Customer and Sales Support for LHFI. More importantly, we'll be able to greatly improve customer satisfaction and provide real-time status on each order and deliver those parts a lot faster." Carleton estimates that the bulk of the savings from the project will come from greatly reduced phone calls, paperwork, fewer errors, and improved communications.

FurnishNet's Parts Management solution electronically routes parts purchase orders via the Web directly to the manufacturer's parts desk and delivers online notification of order status and fulfillment. Two-way communication via the Internet facilitates collaboration between the retailer and manufacturer to quickly answer questions and reconcile discrepancies. To improve customer service, Parts Management also includes carrier tracking numbers so shipments can be closely monitored. By automating these processes, customers get their parts sooner, which reduces returns and cancellations.

More than 60 home furnishing manufacturers participate in the FurnishNet Parts Management program. Other top 100 furniture retailers using the service include Jordan's Furniture, El Dorado, and Bob's Discount Furniture.

"By offering Parts Management as a stand-alone solution, we are in a unique position to augment the B2B initiatives of retailers like LHFI," said Ron Sellers, Vice President of Sales for FurnishNet.

About FurnishNet
Over 480 of the nation's leading retailers and manufacturers are using FurnishNet's electronic document exchange solution to streamline their supply chains. For more information, please call 1-800-854-2263, or visit www.furnishnet.com and take the Self-Guided Tour.