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S2K Improves Efficiencies with Real-Time Access to Critical Business Data

Ronkonkoma, N.Y. -- July 1, 2008 -- VAI (Vormittag Associates, Inc.) (www.vai.net), a leader in enterprise solutions for the distribution, manufacturing, retail and service industries, and an IBM Premier Business Partner, today announced the successful implementation of its S2K Enterprise Software at Hardware & Lumber Ltd., (H&L), a Kingston, Jamaica–based retailer and wholesaler of building materials, home improvement supplies, household items and agricultural products. H&L, a subsidiary of Jamaica’s largest conglomerate -- GraceKennedy & Company Limited -- maintains annual revenues of approximately $100 million and employs approximately 650 people.

After a formal search process, H&L contracted with VAI to replace three disparate software systems with VAI’s S2K Enterprise Software. S2K is a comprehensive enterprise resource planning (ERP) package that includes Distribution, Manufacturing, Retail, E-Business/Portal Technology, Financial, Warehouse and Customer Relationship Management, and Service Billing. S2K is providing greater efficiencies across H&L’s divisions, with its goods procurement, inventory, financials, order management and point of sale (POS) applications.

Michael Morano, Project Director, VAI commented, “H&L needed an integrated ERP system with robust, accurate and timely visibility into all facets of its business. With VAI’s S2K, H&L now possesses the tools to heighten its competitive edge in the retail and wholesale industry, with the capacity to streamline distribution operations, maintain optimal inventory levels and ultimately improve customer satisfaction levels. These capabilities give H&L real-time control over essential business functions.”

Yvette Johnson, Chief Information Officer, Hardware & Lumber Ltd., commented, "We chose VAI because of their international experience in the enterprise software market, coupled with the fact that the product itself demonstrated the capacity to meet our most critical requirements. Some key benefits are already being realized by way of a more efficient distribution operation and real-time access to key financial and operational metrics across all divisions of our business. H&L’s complex business model, which involves both retail and wholesale operations with a centralized distribution system, required a software platform that was flexible, scalable, easily implementable and affordable--S2K Enterprise Software certainly met these requirements and our expectation is that all of our customer segments will see marked improvement in our service levels to them by the end of this year.”

Hardware and Lumber Ltd. is a Jamaican-based retailer and wholesaler of building materials, home improvement supplies, household items and agricultural products, and offers residential and commercial construction services.

Our parent company, GraceKennedy Ltd., is one of the Caribbean's largest and most dynamic groups. Headquartered in Jamaica, the group now has interests in the United Kingdom and the United States and is listed on the stock exchanges of Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. For more information, please contact (876)765-9967 or visit www.hardwareandlumberja.com.

VAI is an IBM Premier Business Partner and an award-winning software developer. Designed for the mid-range market, S2K Enterprise is used by a wide variety of mid-size companies worldwide, with a number of clients in the manufacturing, distribution, retail and related service industries. Advanced applications such as Warehouse Pro, EDI, CRM and e-Business provide companies the power to leverage their information technology investment. VAI is headquartered in Ronkonkoma, New York, with branch offices in Miami, Orlando, Chicago and Newport Beach and Oroville, California. For more information, please contact 800-824-7776 or visit www.vai.net.