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warehouse supply chain network, its computer systems infrastructure and Signature Service that led T&B to relocate its corporate headquarters to Memphis, TN. • Acquisitions/Divestitures – Companies tend to have two major ways to grow…either internal product growth by developing new and improved products and services from within the organization or by acquisition. Even as companies grow by acquisition, they often end up buying parts of a company that really do not fit well within their customer focus; as a result, various operations may be later sold off to other companies. I spent several years (1992-2000) with American Electric and then Thomas & Betts heading up the implementation team that was responsible for consolidating these entities once the company had decided to acquire them. In total, we handled about 35 acquisitions and/or divestitures. Most companies that consolidate a ne w acquisition tend to focus only on the “mechanics” of the business process and fail to capitalize on the opportunities to enhance the customer service experience. Thus, they often fail to reap the full benefits of the newly acquired acquisition. Smart companies will address the human side of how to conduct acquisitions so that they can improve relations with the employees of the newly acquired company as well as provide a better customer experience for the newly acquired customers of these businesses. • Computer Dedicated/Dial-up Services – The IBM PC was introduced in late 1981; while not the first PC, it would quickly become the standard desktop system in American business. As the usage of PC’s grew in business, the desire to link these machines to vend or’s computers became increasingly important to more easily conduct business.

In July 1992, American Electric was offering basic mainframe access via the GEIS Network to key

customers; likewise, T&B began offering a similar service in February 1992 via the IBM Advantis network to their customer base. In July 1994, we offered Inventory Availability, Pricing Inquiry/Usage and Purchase Order Inquiry. Later, Cross Reference support was added. • EasyNet Access / T&B Access – Technically, the World Wide Web went public in 1991, but it would be the end of 1996 before just about 10% of Americans were on the Internet. T&B launched its EasyNet Access Customer Support System on the web in January of 1997. In November 2000, T&B elected to rebrand its EasyNet Access to T&B Access. T&B Access has continued to evolve. For a more complete picture of T&B Access, please click on this link: https://www.savagefamilytree.com/histories/The%20Evolution%20of%20T&B%20Access.pdf

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