PARIS and ATLANTA - July 1, 2010

Global supply chain optimisation provider Manhattan Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ: MANH) today announced that Leroy Merlin, one of France’s leading home improvement retailers, has chosen Manhattan’s Warehouse Management (WMS), Supply Chain Intelligence (SCI) and Extended Enterprise Management (EEM) solutions as the supply chain technology components to optimise and streamline its distribution operations.

Prior to the selection of Manhattan, Leroy Merlin had been using a proprietary warehouse management system to manage inventory and the order fulfilment process. Based on projections that the company’s product flows could triple over the next five years, Leroy Merlin decided it needed a new supply chain technology that would not only support that volume growth but would be capable of supporting an ambitious supply chain transformation project the company was about to embark on and help streamline and optimise the company’s distribution operations.

Leroy Merlin’s distribution network had previously been comprised of a single in-house distribution centre (DC) located in Dourges in northern France and six other DCs located throughout the country run by 3PL partners. Each DC had been playing the role of national DC for some products and regional hub for other categories. A central aspect of Leroy Merlin’s supply chain transformation project included the redefining of its DC network. This involved moving to a new model comprising two national DCs – the existing 690,000 square foot site at Dourges, and the opening of a brand new 580,000 square foot DC in Valence in southeast France. The two national DCs will be complemented in turn by three regional hubs.

“We selected Manhattan’s supply chain technology for its ability to support Leroy Merlin’s business growth and to facilitate the evolution of our supply chain as we seek to build a world-class fulfilment capability,” commented David Geeraert, head of logistics at Leroy Merlin. “Manhattan’s WMS, SCI and EEM solutions will help us to reorganise our various product flows and optimise key supply chain processes, including inventory management and cross-docking. While we used cross-docking in a limited way in our previous supply chain model, Manhattan’s solutions will enable us to extend this specific technique to a much wider part of our distribution operation, enabling us to achieve a significantly streamlined and optimised supply chain.”

In terms of the order fulfilment model, a large part of Leroy Merlin’s store orders were handled directly by its suppliers, and so more than 70% of store orders were shipped direct to store. The rest of the store network’s orders were processed at the retailer’s warehouse, with a major part of the fulfilment process conducted using inventory from within the warehouse and only a minority being fulfilled using the cross-docking technique.

With a significantly expanded use of the cross-docking technique across the new distribution network, enabled by the Manhattan solution, Leroy Merlin will be able to reduce the number of direct-to-store deliveries and in turn the number of road miles covered by trucks involved in the transportation process. Manhattan’s Supply Chain Intelligence solution will help the retailer further optimise its operations by enabling the company to capture and analyse supply chain data through advanced reporting and analytics capabilities. The selection of Manhattan’s SCI solution and acceptance amongst users was made easy by the power of the solution, its graphical and customisable user interface, and through the customisable reports and availability of at-a-glance insights into the performance of key elements of the supply chain.

"We are delighted that Leroy Merlin selected our Warehouse Management, Supply Chain Intelligence and Extended Enterprise Management solutions,” commented Henri Seroux, managing director of Manhattan Associates France. “Leroy Merlin is the French leader in the highly competitive home improvement market, and the company has embarked on an ambitious project to transform itself into a supply chain leader. Leroy Merlin needed a new supply chain technology partner and we are proud to have been selected and that our solutions will be playing such a key role.”

Manhattan’s WMS and SCI solutions will be implemented firstly at the DC in Dourges and subsequently at the DC in Valence. Manhattan’s Extended Enterprise Management (EEM) solution will be implemented in a second phase of the project.