Diebold Premier Services is the largest single-source service provider for the customers Diebold serves. With Diebold's service business continuing to grow - service revenue accounted for slightly more than 50 percent of the company's total revenue in 2004 - service logistics are more important than ever. Diebold broke ground for the new Global Service Logistics Center in August 2004. A brand-new, state-of-the-art facility, the two-story, 165,000- square-foot center is dedicated to parts warehousing and fulfillment. Located in Green, Ohio, less than 10 miles from Diebold's world headquarters, the center replaces previous facilities in Mogadore and Seville, Ohio.

Chuck Ducey, Diebold's vice president of Global Customer Service Solutions, said the former facilities didn't allow for the efficiencies of a combined operation, a modern design and more advanced equipment.

"We strive to provide world-class service, and we want our facilities to match the quality of our service operation," Ducey said. "Our parts warehousing, repair and refurbishment departments are complementary components of our organization, but our old facilities placed them more than 30 miles apart. We needed a facility that brought our team together, made better use of space and enabled us to employ modern, state-of-the-art equipment for increased efficiencies and improved productivity. Our new facility enables us to do all of those things."

More than 6,000 Diebold service professionals in 600 locations around the world deliver service to customers in the financial, retail, government, commercial, gaming and healthcare industries. Those customers rely on Diebold to keep their businesses up and running. The new hub of Diebold's service operation, the Global Service Logistics Center supports hundreds of products, including those in Diebold's security and self-service lines, and is home to more than 38,000 unique parts. The new facility also houses staging for Diebold's automated teller machines (ATMs) and a media center, materials planning, product refurbishment and repair.

Wally O'Dell, Diebold's chairman and CEO, said the new facility is not only a commitment to Diebold customers, but is also a salute to the 250 associates who work there.

"The associates at our Global Service Logistics Center represent the industry's best service support team," O'Dell said. "For nearly 150 years, Diebold's committed, energetic associates have built the strong customer relationships that make Diebold a trusted service partner. The decision to build the center here in the Akron-Canton area, where we've made our home since 1872, reflects Diebold's faith and pride in these associates and in our community. We didn't want to lose the expertise of this highly skilled workforce - especially that of our repair and refurbishment teams - by moving our operation out of the local area."

The new center does more than combine Diebold's service support operation. The facility also introduces new technology, better building design and improved workflow. Streamlined "picking" - the act of selecting and accumulating items in an order - will reduce order-processing time from a maximum of two hours to just 20 minutes. Modernized storage will allow for better parts placement and inventory planning. And 17 shipping and receiving docks will allow for more efficient processing of more than 19,000 repairable parts that are received and more than 36,000 orders that are shipped each month. These improvements will enable Diebold to respond to its customers' needs more quickly and accurately.

It took more than eight months to plan the move to the new facility. Diebold's goal was to keep the service operation up and running throughout the move process. That meant the move had to be executed in stages. More than 25 project teams devised the sophisticated move plan, which relocated hundreds of thousands of parts, thousands of skids of materials, shelving, tools, machinery, office equipment and more. The physical move took place during two three-day weekends, involved more than 130 Diebold associates and required more than 350 18-wheel truckloads to complete.

Ducey said detailed logistics planning, which included the identification of three distinct routes to and from the new and old facilities, enabled Diebold to complete the move with minimal disruption to the operation.

"Our primary objective throughout this process has been to make the move transparent to our customers," Ducey said. "This required a huge commitment from our associates, and we are so proud of the work they have done on this project. What we have accomplished is a testament to the team environment in our service operation. And this is exactly why our service customers continue to put their trust in Diebold."

The new facility represents a $10 million investment in Diebold's service infrastructure. Diebold will lease the facility from the Inland Real Estate Investment Trust for a minimum of seven years. Located in the CAK (Canton- Akron) International Business Park, Diebold will benefit from the facility's position in a foreign trade zone (FTZ). Created to provide special customs procedures to U.S. plants engaged in international trade-related activities, FTZs provide duty-free treatment to items that are imported to the zones and re-exported. Diebold merchandise that is imported to and shipped from the new center to foreign countries may be exempt from duty payments. Because of its status in a FTZ, Diebold may assemble, package, store, re-package, sort, test, label or repair foreign merchandise at the new facility.

Although just completed earlier this fall, the Diebold Global Service Logistics Center is already the recipient of awards for building design and construction. During a ceremony in late October, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), a national association representing all specialties within the U.S. construction industry, honored the facility with three awards. Diebold shares the awards with Sunset Enterprises, Nu-Way Construction, NW Mielke and AODK, Inc. Awards included: an Award of Merit for Specialty Construction in Mechanical Industrial Building, an Award of Merit for General Contractor and the Award of Excellence for Specialty Mechanical Contractor. Ducey said the new facility is a reflection of Diebold's commitment to its customers.

"Throughout our history, our service commitment to our customers has guided our business," Ducey said. "At our new logistics center, we call this commitment The Five Rs of Service Logistics: We strive to provide the right part in the right place at the right time for the right cost and in the right condition. We won't rest until we deliver on this commitment with each and every Diebold customer."