News | September 30, 2008

Anna's Linens Awards Transplace Third-Party Logistics/Managed Services Solution Contract

FRISCO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Transplace, a leading provider of transportation management solutions (TMS) and logistics technology, today announced that Anna's Linens, a specialty retailer of high quality, value-priced domestic and home furnishings, has selected Transplace as its North American transportation management services provider. Transplace will assume full responsibility for all domestic transportation management activities for Anna's Linens with the goal of enabling increased freight visibility, cost savings and improved efficiency across the enterprise.

Headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif., Anna's Linens has contracted Transplace to manage all inbound shipments to its distribution centers located in Texas, California, and the Carolinas as well all outbound freight to its 255 stores, spanning 21 states. Transplace's on-demand TMS will be employed for order management, shipment planning and optimization, execution, tracking and visibility, and performance monitoring of Anna's Linens' extensive freight network.

"We needed a leading, transportation-focused logistics services provider that could manage our needs today as well as into the future," said Miles Tedder, vice president of supply chain for Anna's Linens. "Transplace has an unparalleled depth of experience in the retail space and the skill set required to deploy innovative logistics technology, which enables best practices at a very rapid pace, helping us gain near immediate operational efficiencies and dramatic cost savings."

Added Tedder: "Transplace will further support Anna's Linens supply chain transformation and our transportation objectives through its ability to help our company." These initiatives include the following:

Leverage transportation costs to reduce overall freight expense
Consolidate and optimize inbound/outbound orders to take advantage of multi-stop truckload opportunities
Reduce overall lead time from pick up to delivery
Streamline and enhance delivery processes and communication to stores
Build strategic and tactical reports to better measure service levels, performance and identify areas of opportunity

"Providing comprehensive transportation management solutions to the retail industry has always been a core competency for Transplace since its inception," said George Abernathy, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Transplace. "As Transplace has grown, so to has our industry expertise and service offerings for multimodal shippers like Anna's Linens. We are able to take that comprehensive set of capabilities and provide Anna's Linens with a solution that meets the company's specific needs – today as well as for years to come."

Through a unique combination of technology, optimized processes and applied human capital, along with its vast and longstanding transportation network, Transplace provides customers with highly integrated set of logistics services. Transplace continues to expand its service offerings, building on its already established transportation management focused technical platform and by broadening its deep multimodal competency. Increasing the use of multiple modes of transportation, specifically intermodal and less-than-truckload (LTL), provides greater opportunity for value generation through cost savings and operational efficiencies on behalf of its customers.

To learn more about Transplace, please visit www.transplace.com.

About Anna's Linens
Anna's Linens, headquartered in Costa Mesa, California was founded in 1988 by its current CEO Alan Gladstone and named after his mother, Anna. Anna's Linens is a rapidly growing specialty retailer of high quality, value priced domestics and home furnishings. Anna's offers a broad selection of bed linens, bath accessories, window coverings, and other home decor items, including throw pillows, candles, kitchen textiles, and area rugs.

Anna's Linens currently operates over 255 stores in 21 states, with more than 2,000 employees. Anna's operates retail locations in Alabama, Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

To learn more about Anna's Linens, please visit www.annaslinens.com.

About Transplace
Transplace is a non-asset based third-party logistics (3PL) provider offering manufacturers and retailers the optimal blend of logistics technology and transportation management services. From complete logistics management outsourcing to intelligent transportation management systems (TMS) to supply chain network planning and design to high-quality brokerage services, Transplace has proven the ability to deliver both rapid return on investment and consistent value to customers. The company is recognized among the elite 3PLs in North America by a customer base that includes many of the largest shippers in the world.

In 2008, Transplace was awarded with the Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies "100 Great Supply Chain Partners" distinction for the fifth consecutive year and by Supply & Demand Chain Executive as a "Top 100" provider in supply chain transformation for the third consecutive year. Transplace was also recognized by Inbound Logistics as a "Top 10 3PL" for the sixth consecutive year, and is an eyefortransport "The Best 3PL in North America" Consumer Goods category 2008 winner.