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Fall/Winter 2004 Congratulations to Carolina Rim and Wheel, on their move to their new headquarters this past September. Founded in 1926 the Carolina Rim and Wheel Company operated in an environment that included protected sales territories. Their core business at the time was selling rims and wheels.

A lot has changed since the days of yesteryear. Today, head- quartered in Charlotte, N.C., Carolina Rim and Wheel is a Heavy Duty Truck Parts distributor with five branches located in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. John MacClements, chairman, and Tom Stewart, president, have grown their business by being customer centric and always redefining their market niche.

While Carolina Rim and Wheel is primarily a Heavy Duty Truck Parts distributor below frame, they are always looking at new product lines and growth opportunities. They also carry Trailer Parts, Automotive and Light Truck Parts and Utility Trailer equipment. In fact, they have a reputation as the place to go if you need a trailer axle.

Carolina Rim and Wheel partnered with VIPAR Heavy Duty 9s Integrated Network of heavy-duty distributors, CUSTOMER PROFILE Carolina Rim and Wheel: Then and Now >Carolina Rim & Wheel Then and Now >Sattler Auto Supply >Business at Breakneck Speed - Finally! >Customer ... more. less.

Survey Results Our Customers Speak >Customer Focus New Support Methods >Intrusion Are You at Risk? >New Products See the Latest >Year End Tips >Redesign AutoPower.com >Offline Sales Web Sites Support Offline Sales AutoPower Corporation 525 Technology Park, Suite 109 Lake Mary, FL 32746 407-695-7300 Sales: 800-229-2881 www.autopower.com info@autopower.com © Copyright 2004 AutoPower Corporation Message from the President page 2 Michael J. Mallory Newsletter for our customers in the aftermarket distribution, retail and service industries Carolina Rim and Wheel, 1929 Carolina Rim and Wheel, 2004 PowerSurge Fall/Winter 2004 2 suppliers, and truck parts customers. A founding member of the alliance, this partnership has been an essential element to their business expansion and growth. A user of AutoPower and BusinessPro applications for the past 9 years, Carolina Rim and Wheel recently upgraded from Monolith Mentor Pro to IBM 9s xSeries server technology using IBM UniVerse database for client/server processes. The IBM xSeries server, using Windows 2003 Server operating system, will provide scalability and reliability supporting their projected growth for many years to come. Additionally, they have installed 28 Winterm Thin Client Terminals which will reduce maintenance costs and provide greater reliability. Carolina Rim and Wheel has been selected as a 2004 Finalist for Truck Parts Distributor of the Year. We wish them well in their future business endeavors and look forward to servicing their automation and system needs. For more information about CRW visit their website at carolinarim.com. : NEW CUSTOMER PROFILE Sattler Supply Co. Inc. We would like to welcome Sattler Supply (dba LA Truck Parts) to the AutoPower family. Sattler, established in 1960, is a NAPA Automotive and VIPAR Truck Parts distributor. Locations include: Eunice, Opelousas, Oakdale, Deridder and Lafayette. Dana Hebert and Kevin Babineaux were instrumental in selecting AutoPower to run their business. After previously using 3 different systems, they needed one system that would be the anchor to their operations. Dana Herbert stated, cWe had previously selected a different software vendor and deployed their system but decided to change to AutoPower because we needed a system that works. d While retailing and distributing both automotive and truck parts, they needed a system that provides the comprehensive capabilities to service both markets. When including the demanding requirements of shop services, multi-branch replenishment, catalog lookup and accounting controls, their new system will be capable of managing their next level of growth. : Customer Survey Results Tom Hill, Support Manager We wish to extend our thanks to those of you that participated in our Customer Satisfaction Survey mailed earlier this year. What follows is a synopsis of your results and our plan for improvement. What you think is important: § Knowledgeable support staff § Software/hardware meets business needs § Call back by support staff within an hour Carolina Rim & Wheel continued from page 1 Business at Breakneck Speed - Finally Several months ago I was complaining that no one seemed to be buying computer systems anymore. Everyone 9s lack of confidence in the economy kept wallets in the pockets and no one was spending for anything, or so it seemed. You may have had the same observations in your business. But now, replacement parts are flowing again, vehicle service is ramping up fast and the aftermarket is jammin 9. I know this because we are selling systems again. Trickle down economics is working. As you look around your business and see opportunity knocking, what are your plans for opening those doors - even ever so cautiously? Does applying technology make sense in reducing labor cost, placing more controls on your processes, replacing tired hardware, or upgrading software? We are investing more in our software than ever before. New and updated software applications have been added to our portfolio that can make a significant difference in the business operations of your company. Read about some of them in this newsletter. Furthermore, as the economy continues to ripen, now could be the right time to take advantage of favorable IRS business investment rulings for making business improvements, not just with computer hardware and software. So don 9t let any of your operational inefficiencies put the brakes on your recovery. Position your company to operate productively and profitably at any speed. - Mike Mallory, President PowerSurge Fall/Winter 2004 3 § Courteous and professional support staff § Work orders completed by promise date Where we need improvement: § Work orders completed by promise date § Keep you informed on work order status § One call resolution § Return call within an hour of receipt What we are doing to improve support: § Establish metrics to measure staff response time with goal to respond to a customer 9s initial call within 1 hour. § Better communicate lead times for scheduled work and expected delivery date of completion. § Implement Work Order Status lookup features on our web site for year 2005 § Create oversight and timely response on modification requests § After hours pager replaced by cell phone support How we compare to the industry: § The industry standard for Average Speed of Answer is 20 Seconds; We achieved an answer rate of 98% in less than 10 seconds. We believe your support calls should be answered politely by our staff and not by an automated phone attendant. Karen does a great job by forwarding your call to the appropriate technician. In this regard, we exceed the industry average. § Our Response Time goal is to respond to your issue within 1 hour, regardless of the type of issue. Industry standards use a Service Level Agreement with promised response times established against the severity of the issue. While we may not resolve your call immediately, we certainly can begin the fact finding to your inquiry within an hour. The industry standard for a critical outage is usually 1 hour, 2 hours when a facet of work is hindered, and 4 hours for routine issues. For any system outage or work stoppage our response time beats the industry standards hands down. § Our 1 st call resolution rate for same day service is better than 90% as compared to an industry standard of 60%. § Industry standard After Hours Response Time is 2 hours. We have replaced our pager service for cellular communications, which now has resulted in almost instantaneous response. We understand that when compared to software industry averages we score somewhat higher. However, we recognize where improvements are needed and we 9ll continue to make changes to better meet your expectations. : Customer Support Focus Additional Staff During the past summer we have made improvements in how we deliver support. You should have noticed that when you call you get to a support technician more quickly. That is because we have added 2 new positions to our support staff. You have probably already spoken with Janine Mueller and William Maybery, who have an extensive background in delivering support services. Tara Ushko has also rejoined the team. Adding these positions has allowed us to be more responsive to you. Modification Request Procedure A new area of focus is in software modification policies and procedures. During the next few months we will be defining what we require from you to better understand your requested changes. Our previous method of determining change requests taxed our resources as there were often times no clear definition and specification detailing the requested changes. The best way New Customers Join the AutoPower Family The following businesses have joined our family and we welcome them aboard. Truck Supply Company of South Carolina, Inc., Columbia, SC ............................[HD Truck Parts WD] Southwest Diesel and Electrical Corp., Phoenix, AZ.....................[Diesel Parts Distributor/Rebuilder] MEPCO 4X4, Murray, UT...............................................................................[Jeep 4x4 Specialists] Sattler Supply CO., Eunice, LA....................................[Napa Auto Parts and Truck Parts Distributor] Customer Survey Results continued from page 2 PowerSurge Fall/Winter 2004 4 to resolve this is to better document the request using a preformatted requirements document that will facilitate our change process. As a routine part of the requirements review we will first determine how the requested change fits into the overall product design, determine how the change meets accepted ethical business practices, and allocate resources to complete the change request. By modifying the change request process we will better manage the software enhancement needs and our ongoing software R&D for new product development. Therefore, the new enhancement request processes will ultimately provide quicker turnaround. : System Security Are Your Safe From Intrusion? Don 9t Let Spyware, Viruses or Adware Threaten Your Business. It could be just a matter of time before your system gets threatened by spyware, viruses or adware which can affect the security and privacy of your business information. Attacks can rob your server and PCs of speed, drain network bandwidth and increase calls to support. What 9s worse, spyware, adware or viruses can remain hidden on your PCs or server for months and years, re-infecting your systems and causing havoc. Take the appropriate action to protect your business. If you do get attacked will you be ready to start your recovery process? Do you know what will be needed to restore your operating system or your data files? Real Life Case Study The following is a real life experience from an AutoPower customer that took place over the past summer. It was a regular day like any other until the server decided to reboot all on its own. Not once, but three times in a row and then 15 minutes later it started again. A frantic call was placed to the AutoPower Support Desk. The culprit was an attack on the server from a number of viruses. We ran detection software and were able to isolate the problem and remove the viruses. What was not known at the time was that one of the virus attacks corrupted the WINNT folder resulting in more calls and more down time for the customer. The customer had a number of processing issues over the next day or two. Performance was degraded, users could not log on, Server Desktop Icons had disappeared and the server was not acting normal. Further research disclosed that the virus and Trojan attack had corrupted the operating system and that a reload of the Operating System would be required. The system would not be available during the reload of the windows environment, adding to the frustration of the business owner. Fortunately, the AutoPower applications and data were stored on the D drive and were not infected. The customer experienced serious down time. There are lessons learned that apply to all. The first step is to protect your business systems by using antivirus and spyware software, the second is to apply all security patches from Windows and the third is having a firewall in place to protect your network from intrusion from the internet. If you are a closed network and are not connected to the Internet then a firewall may not be necessary. The recovery provided was not part of the Customer Service Support Plan. The cost was $3000.00 for Time and Materials to reload the OS; eliminate continuous intrusions of viruses, Trojans and spyware; reinstall UV and AccuTerm; re-build users and reconfigure the printers. It can be overwhelming to not only be warchful for such intrusion but more difficult to recover your system once attacked. As the owner of a valuable business asset and tool it is important to accept the responsibility for managing proper system security measures. Otherwise your company will experience a very expensive outage. Virus protection, identification and eradication are the sole responsibility of the user. We recommend the use of third party software from Customer Associates called e-Trust Antivirus. We recommend this product because it has proven itself as a reliable virus protection package. O.S. Updates Do not rely on virus protection software alone. It is extremely important that you install your Windows updates when Microsoft issues them. These updates solve identified vulnerabilities to the O.S. Spyware Do know that the Internet has its pitfalls. The biggest one is getting infected by spyware, adware or viruses. They can automatically install themselves and are known to degrade system performance. We Customer Support Focus continued from page 3 PowerSurge Fall/Winter 2004 5 recommend you purchase spyware monitoring software for your system. Firewalls Having a Cisco Firewall installed between your server and access point to the internet helps protect you from unauthorized intrusion to your network. Email Another culprit is being infected by opening e-mail from unknown sources or addressees and opening attachments that can launch a virus. If you are using PC 9s it is important to have e-Trust Antivirus installed on the PC as well as on the server. If you get mail from an unknown source or a subject line that isn 9t recognized, delete the mail or contact the person that sent it to you. You should never open mail that you did not receive from a qualified source. To do so is dangerous to your PC and server. System Monitoring Monitor your system 9s performance daily. Be in the habit of checking the event viewer every morning. Red circle X entries mean something is wrong. Yellow triangles are warnings. Double click the entry to read the cause of the entry (see page 6 on how to check the event viewer). Take the appropriate actions to use your e-Virus protection software, apply updates often and monitor your system. Pay attention to what goes on in your event viewer. Doing so may very well prevent a disaster and minimize your exposure. : System Security continued from page 4 Interactive POS Signature Capture Look for the release of our Interactive Point of Sale/Signature Capture Terminal, designed to deliver low cost of ownership that will improve the bottom line of any distributor 9s credit card swipe and signature capture requirement. This product is able to interface Point of Sale transactions for processing credit/debit card transactions. Along with AutoPower 9s system integration to Order Entry and Authorize.Net, this solution will improve your credit card processing. Authorize.Net credit card approval process is an Internet solution that is secure, quick and easy to use, reducing the complexity and expense normally associated with authorizing and processing credit card transactions. It 9s also much faster than standard dial-up authorization systems. If you are looking to streamline your operation and reduce processing time then contact our Sales Department for product information. Driver 9s Point of Delivery Signature Capture We are ready to release our Driver 9s Point of Delivery Signature Capture software that operates with a portable PDA. The PDA has a bar code scanning feature designed to scan the Sales Order numbers being delivered. The customer can then sign on the PDA screen, capturing the signature. Once the driver returns to the office, the data is downloaded into the delivery system for invoice processing to the customer. The signature can then be printed on the customer 9s invoice. No more lost paperwork, no more keying in shipment data, and best of all, proof of delivery by date, time stamp and signature for delivery tracking. Wyse Thin Client Terminals The Winterm" 3125SE is the ideal desktop for task workers and light-duty office workers. It supports both wireless and legacy I/O connectivity and with built-in Internet Explorer for access to the Internet and terminal emulation and is an ideal product for replacing ADDS Terminals when operating in a TCP/IP environment. With its small chassis, it fits neatly on the desktop or can be easily mounted on the wall or under a desk. No hard drive means low maintenance costs. This is an ideal solution for parts counter and warehouse operations. Laser Forms Solution Tired of ordering pin feed forms? Why not look at a total solution by adding laser-printing technology to your network. Laser printing coupled with our 8SoftForms 9 software, gives you the ability to print your business documents by merging print data with the memory resident form. Laser form printing gives you that neat, professional appearance for all your business documents without the expense of pre-printed multi-part forms. 10% Off *UniVerse Database Licenses *WinTerm Thin Client Terminals & Monitor (must order by end of January 2005) New Products PowerSurge Fall/Winter 2004 6 Year End Tips AutoPower End of Year Process for A/R, Sales & Inventory Follow the procedures below for your Month End Closing on the last business day of your company 9s fiscal year. " It is recommended that a File Save Only be performed from the End-of-Day procedure menu. After the File Save Only has completed, label this tape and store it so that it will never be reused. " Perform your End-of-Month update as you normally would. " If the company will be closed the day after this procedure is started, you should check on the EOM process to make sure it completes. You may wait until the next business day to spool/print the A/R statements and the remaining End-of-Month Reports. " Your system recognizes the last day of the accounting year based on your global table set-up, and it automatically performs all year-end changes and updates. There are no additional steps for closing inventory, sales or A/R. " Immediately after the month end closing and prior to invoicing any sales orders, print a detailed Inventory Value Report for each branch and a Receivable Aging Report. " Archive your Year End Reports from the Printer Spooler to a CD or tape. " When the archive of the Year End Reports has completed secure this tape/CD with the Year End Backup Tape. BusinessPro End of Year " BusinessPro has the flexiblity of working in multiple years at the same time. There is no need to close the year in G/L by December 31 st , however, you can close, reopen and re-close the year as many times as necessary. " Auto APGL only allows you to close the year once. When it is time for AP to process Quick Checks for the new year and the previous year has not been closed, then Quick Checks need to post to GL-LIMBO. Do not close any periods in AP until after the year is closed in the GL. AutoPower Payroll Payroll only allows you to close the year once. If you do not think you will have 4 th quarter reports, annual reports and W2 Wage and Tax Statements printed by December 31 st , you will need to contact the support department to make a copy of the account so you can work in both previous and new year payroll accounts. When using Microsoft Windows NT, W2K and W2K3 operating systems it is important to review the Event Viewer. This is a repository for logs written by the OS when any significant event takes place. Most real or potential problems make themselves apparent by writing an event to this log. To get there, select Start Menu, Programs, Administrative Tools, Computer Management, Event Viewer. You will see 3 types of events: Applications, Security and System. Click on cTYPE d column to display errors first. A red stop sign is an error, a Yellow Triangle is a warning, and information events displayed by a blue i. Clicking on the event will expand the error description and may direct you to Microsoft Knowledge Base for further information. To learn more about Event Viewer go to http://www.microsoft.com/technet/ and search for Event Viewer. Microsoft Event Viewer PowerSurge Fall/Winter 2004 7 Redesign: autopower.com After 5 years, it was time to apply our in-house web talents to redesign our own website www.autopower.com . A team within the organization was charged with changing the site to better support marketing efforts and enhance customer support. The Team Ross Baldwin, Director, and George Meyer, Senior Designer, of our Internet Division - eICEPower - spearheaded this effort. 1 Analyze the reason for change or development of a site. The existing site no longer met the needs of the company. It had poor content management and outdated information. We also wanted more elaborate online customer support functionality and a better marketing message for potential customers. 2 Define Specific Goals. One of our primary goals was to achieve easy and flexible content. We also wanted to optimize the site for lead generation. The site was architected to easily provide for future advanced customer support areas. To reach potential customers, the site was also designed to utilize our successful Search Engine Optimization skills to gain top search engine ranking. 3 We engaged various other departments or what we call cinterested parties, d to determine their desires for the new site. This is a prime way to promote use and ownership of the site within an organization. 4 We gathered marketing and detailed information content that was distributed throughout the company. This helped us analyze what content already existed and what content would need to be created to support the site 9s marketing goals. 5 We visited competitor 9s sites to gain a perspective of what visitors would experience and see if they visited these sites. Always consider but do not copy your competition. 6 We mapped the site design in what is called cpersuasion architecture d. This is critical if you want to persuade visitors to complete desired actions. We invite you to visit our new site ( www.autopower.com ) and tell us what you think! Are you considering a new site or a rework of your current web presence? Call us! We would love to help! 800-229-2881 Your Web Site Influences Offline Sales Too! By Ross J Baldwin II, Director of E-Business Solutions In our last newsletter I discussed how online sales could be a potential for your business. The fact is that even if you have no online sales ability your web presence can impact ofTine sales. The Internet now inTuences 70 percent more sales ofTine than it does online, according to a recent study by The Dieringer Research Group. Survey results shows that online product research conducted by consumers during the past year was responsible for driving $180.7 billion in ofTine spending, compared to $106.5 billion in direct online consumer spending. The study also found that Internet- inTuenced ofTine spending is now growing faster than direct online spending. Internet-inTuenced ofTine sales grew 31% last year and direct online sales grew 14%, while total U.S. spending grew only 5% during the comparable period Think about what this means for your business. The data conSrms that the Internet 9s role as a product information utility is much larger than its role as a direct selling medium. A necessary web design strategy typically allows you to proSt from Internet-InTuenced ofTine spending. We call it 8persuasion architecture 9. It accounts not only for where a person may be in the sales process but also for that person 9s preferences. We can thus create even more speciSc scenarios, content, and objectives that can persuade each person further into their own customized conversion Tow. A methodical person who 9s early in the buying process, for example, may be more inclined to download a white paper or speciScation information, whereas a person considering doing business with you may prefer to start a relationship by subscribing to a PowerSurge Fall/Winter 2004 8 newsletter to Snd out more about your company. If your site can actually close the sale online, should monitoring lead generation still be an objective? Yes, particularly if your site leads visitors to purchase your service or product from a brick-and- mortar store or an ofTine afSliate. We typically measure and help our customers understand a wide variety of web stats that tell you how people are using your site. If you are considering a web presence, understand that the Internet inTuences 70 percent more dollars spent ofTine than it converts online. If visitors abandon your site or shopping cart, all isn 9t lost. Equip visitors with information and other options. There 9s big money in using the Internet to harvest ofTine sales too. What 9s your site doing to grab a hunk of that $180 billion pie? Do you even have a site yet? Do you want a positive impact to your bottom line? Call us and we 9ll help your company develop a web presence. : Cutting Your Path to E-Commerce Your Web Site continued from page 7 Aircore Launches Full E-Commerce Web Site AIRCORE (located in Long Island, NY - an AutoPower System user) is a wholesale distributor of quality automotive parts. They offer OE products to the automotive aftermarket and new dealer customers through out the NY Metropolitan area. They engaged AutoPower to develop an E-Commerce Web Site for their wholesale customer. We teamed with Wrenchead 9s Nexpart TM , to provide a cost-effective Web commerce solution with easy 3to-use features providing extensive catalog part search and online purchasing ability. Benefits for AIRCORE Customers 1) Secure, simple and intuitive ordering in minutes with no time- consuming training issues. 2) Online access to a full-line Electronic Catalog with pictures. 3) Stock checks, catalog lookups and order placements are measured in seconds. 4) Customers can save one-time orders to be used at a later time or save repeat stock orders. 5) Customers can even import large stock orders giving the customer a detailed advanced order confirmation. 6) Parts ordering available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Customers can place orders from anywhere with an Internet connection. 7) Customers have access to every part in inventory from every product line. 8) Customers have online account status access to review current orders status, past invoices, payments and current account balances. Benefits for AIRCORE 1) Customers can locate parts and order from multiple branches simultaneously, exposing all of AIRCORE 9s inventory, increasing turns and simplifies part transfers. 2) Increased customer satisfaction, purchases and loyalty by offering a convenient way to order. 3) Eliminated the need to verify and key in messy faxes. Customers can import their stock orders through the site directly into AIRCORE 9s AutoPower business system saving staff hundreds of hours each month. 4) Extended business hours without adding staff, paying overtime or creating more HR issues. 5) Customers get the right part the first time. Eliminate misunderstandings, language barrier issues, mis-keyed part numbers or misinterpreted vehicle information. Fewer returns, less headaches and increased satisfaction. 6) Changes to the inventory file including quantities, pricing, alternates, descriptions, etc. on AIRCORE 9s AutoPower System ar e automatically reflected on the site and no extra maintenance is required. 7) Quantity On Hand is retrieved from AIRCORE 9s AutoPower System real-time with every inquiry.

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