Five of the Nation's Largest Retailers Take Top Honors in APEX Analytix Recovery Audit Benchmarking Survey

GREENSBORO, N.C., July 29 /PRNewswire/ -- APEX Analytix, a leading provider of services and software for performance improvement, error prevention and fraud detection in accounts payable, today announced that five of the nation's largest retailers have taken top honors in the company's Top Gun Retail Recovery Audit Best Practices Benchmarking Survey.

A recovery audit involves a thorough review of accounts payable disbursements to recover overpayments and protect a company's hard-earned profits. Participants in the APEX Analytix recovery audit benchmarking survey with the highest-ranking scores were:

    -- Recovery Audit Approach & Methodology:  Safeway Inc. 
    (NYSE: SWY)
  .
    -- Claim Processing Procedures and Workflow:  Winn-Dixie Stores Inc.
       
    (NASDAQ: WINN)
  .
    -- Key Productivity and Efficiency Metrics:  Food Lion LLC, a subsidiary
       of the Delhaize Group 
    (NYSE: DEG)
  .
    -- Technology Use:  Best Buy Company Inc. 
    (NYSE: BBY)
  .
    -- Overall Best in Class Winner, All Categories:  Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
       
    (NYSE: WMT)
  .

"These five retailers are the best of the best," said Michael Lustig, CEO of APEX Analytix. "They share a commitment to continuous improvement that can help them operate more efficiently, reduce costs, protect revenues and achieve an important competitive advantage in the marketplace."

The awards were announced during the recent APEX Analytix Top Gun Retail conference attended by accounts payable and recovery audit leaders representing retailers from across the nation.

Launched in March 2006, the APEX Analytix recovery audit benchmarking survey for retailers helps companies determine how their operations rank against those of their peers. They can identify emerging best practices and plot a path towards best-in-class performance. Each participating organization receives a confidential report with personalized rankings by category.

To date 32 retailers have participated in the Top Gun Recovery Audit survey. Among them are some of the best-managed retail organizations in the world -- many of whom are early adopters of financial best practices.

Participation is free of charge and is typically limited to retailers with revenues of $2 billion or more. Current participants have a median of $14.6 billion in merchandise disbursements each year.

About APEX Analytix

APEX Analytix is an innovative audit recovery firm serving more than a third of the Fortune 100. The company has transformed the audit recovery industry with FirstStrike(TM), a highly functional family of standards-based software that detects and prevents both errors and fraud and improves performance across the procure-to-pay process. To date FirstStrike(TM) has saved businesses more than $1.5 billion in overpayments and is the most widely used software of its type. For more information, call 800.284.4522 or visit www.apexanalytix.com .

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