Ibm Sells 700 As 400 Computers To Heilig-Meyers

Business Wire, Feb 6, 1995

SOMERS, NY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 6, 1995--IBM today announced that Heilig-Meyers, a major home furnishings retailer, has bought 700 AS/400(a) Advanced Systems to support its nationwide expansion. Heilig-Meyers chose AS/400 after evaluating UNIX(b) products from Hewlett-Packard and Sun.

Heilig-Meyers chose AS/400--the most widely-installed multi-user computer--for its ability to connect to a variety of platforms and peripherals. AS/400's scalability, or ability to grow, its ease of use and reliability were also key factors in the decision.

The furniture giant has already installed 520 of the AS/400s which have enabled employees to process customer transactions and serve customers several times faster than before.

"AS/400 is helping us stay out of the hardware business; instead, it's letting us concentrate on the business of selling quality furniture," said Terry Hucks, vice president of information systems for Heilig-Meyers. "We found that AS/400 is way ahead of the curve in terms of price/performance and technological innovation. The competition couldn't match AS/400's flexibility and ease of use either."

The new AS/400s will manage inventory levels in each of the company's 626 showrooms, and, using satellite-based communications, will efficiently schedule deliveries from Heilig-Meyers' seven distribution centers. The communication system will also enable corporate electronic mail and the timely distribution of product information to each store.

AS/400 also offers advanced applications such as imaging and multimedia--two technologies Heilig-Meyers may harness in the future. The company intends to establish an efficient, paperless environment with an AS/400-based imaging solution, and has plans to create eye-catching, informational, interactive in-store product displays.

Heilig-Meyers is using the new AS/400s for point-of-sale customer service; receiving and posting payment; generating contracts for finance plans; electronically tracking time and attendance; tracking accounts receivable; procuring inventory from distribution centers via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI); and capturing customer information for marketing and customer service purposes.

Heilig-Meyers purchased 700 AS/400 Advanced System model 200s, each supporting 15-18 users. AS/400 Advanced System model 200 has a list price of $10,500.

Richmond, Virginia-based Heilig-Meyers is a publicly traded 80-year old, 12,000-employee home furnishings retailer. One of the largest chains of its kind with 626 stores in 24 states, Heilig-Meyers had $863 million in revenue last fiscal year, with expectations this year of more than $1 billion in revenue. The company, which offers an in-house credit program, sells furniture ranging from traditional to contemporary, as well as bedding, appliances, electronics, jewelry, and many other home furnishings products.

AS/400 is the world's most popular multi-user business computing system, with more than 300,000 installed worldwide. There are more than 25,000 applications available to run on the family of computers that spans a single-user system to 4,800 users. Ninety-seven of the Fortune 100 Industrials have AS/400 installed.

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