AEI: Operating Lucent's Asia Logistics Center CONTACT: Steven Lee, Tel: (65) 548 9503, Fax: (65) 542 3474, E-mail:sinsl@aeilogis.com Candace Bouchard, Fax: (203) 655 5895, E-mail: exocb@aeilogis.com AEI TO OPERATE LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES' ASIA/PACIFIC LOGISTICS CENTER Darien, CT USA (March 9, 1998) -- AEI has entered into a contract with Lucent Technologies Singapore Private Ltd. to operate its Asia Pacific Logistics Center, providing full supply chain management to support Lucent's Power Systems business in the region. By shifting warehousing and distribution from the United States to AEI's Singapore Distribution Center, Lucent expects to increase interval times on standard Power Systems products by more than 50 percent for customers in Southeast Asia. It is the first time Lucent has appointed a third party logistics provider to handle its inventory. AEI will manage the full scope of logistics services for Lucent's Power Systems' Energy Solutions telecommunications product family which includes regional inventory planning and replenishment, warehousing, battery maintenance, sales order execution, invoicing, transportation through to proof of delivery services. "The Asia/Pacific center plays a strategic role in Lucent's overall business plan by allowing it to concentrate on its core business and leave the logistics functions to AEI," said Steven Lee, AEI's vice president, Southeast Asia. "The Lucent-AEI partnership will improve upon Lucent's ability to meet the needs and conditions of the marketplace. By integrating air, ocean and warehousing and distribution services, Lucent and its customers will be at an advantage in today's highly competitive bus iness environment." "We are confident that the excellent communications and infrastructural support available here will ensure the success of the Logistics Center in meeting the needs of our customers in Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, Indonesia and Singapore," said William Yeates, managing director (Asia Pacific region), Power Systems. "A company like AEI has the experience and the systems in place to manage this type of work. They can take over these functions and perform them in a much more cost effective manner than we can internally." Lucent expects the flexible design of AEI's 100,000 square-foot distribution center to allow for maximum efficiencies in the storage and handling of future Power Systems products. "We are bringing customer service closer to our Southeast Asian customers," said Jay Walters, vice president, global development and operations for Lucent's Power Systems business. "By taking advantage of the skilled resources of AEI in Singapore, we will better service our customers with in-region stock and improve distribution interval times." AEI's Singapore Distribution Center is dedicated to providing inventory management for 10 major customers, primarily in the high-tech industry. The existing center is operating at virtually 100 percent capacity which has prompted AEI to lease an additional 100,000 square feet of warehouse space in close proximity to its existing operation to keep up with the current and future demands of customers in the region. Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, NJ, designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronics components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm for the company. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit its web site at http://www.lucent.com Headquartered in Darien, CT, AEI is a world leader in integrated logistics services, delivering multi-modal transportation, warehousing and distribution, customs brokerage, consulting and information management solutions across a global network of 875 locations in 135 countries. AEI's stock trades on the NASDAQ-National Market System under the symbol AEIC. (Note to editors: Additional information about AEI can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.aeilogistics.com.) END