Milano, 20 novembre 2006 – It’s about to get easier than ever to find the parts you need at AutoZone, thanks to SAS. The nation’s No. 1 auto parts chain is enhancing its product assortment mix by using several powerful SAS retail software products. SAS, the leader in business intelligence, already has begun implementing Marketmax, its powerful integrated merchandise planning solution, at the auto parts retailer.

“We felt comfortable deepening our relationship with SAS because their approach to our business lined up with our long-term strategic vision of advanced planning and forecasting,” said Ken Brame, AutoZone CIO. “After looking at several vendors, we decided that SAS offered us the best functionality, ease of use and scalability. SAS has tremendous retail domain expertise, and it’s a stable company that’s been around for more than 30 years. We’re confident they’ll be able to help us better plan our business and enhance customer service.”

AutoZone’s investment gives the company access to SAS Base and Performance Analysis, Financial Planning, In-Season Management, and Forecasting for Merchandise Planning. AutoZone already uses SAS predictive analytics for demand modeling, forecasting and business intelligence.

“We’re confident that these merchandise intelligence solutions from SAS will help AutoZone’s merchandise planners better leverage the company’s forecasting capability,” said Lori Schafer, Vice President of the SAS Global Retail Practice. “Our industry expertise and our experience with merchandise planning and forecasting met AutoZone’s expectations and helped push SAS over the edge to win the confidence of the AutoZone team.”

About AutoZone
As of Aug. 26, 2006, AutoZone sells auto and light truck parts, chemicals and accessories through 3,771 AutoZone stores in the United States and 100 AutoZone stores in Mexico and also sells the ALLDATA brand automotive diagnostic and repair software. On the Web, AutoZone sells diagnostic and repair information and auto and light truck parts through www.autozone.com.