Please direct your media and public relations inquiries to: mediarelations@cdw.com 800-800-4CDW CDW Wins Award for High-Tech Industry's Top Sales Force VERNON HILLS, Ill. - February 16, 1999 - CDW Computer Centers, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDWC), a Fortune 1000 company and the country's leading direct solutions provider of brand name computer products earned "Best In Class" honors in the 1998 World Class Sales Awards presented by the H.R. Chally Group. The results, announced in the January/February issue of Selling Power magazine, recognized CDW as the world class leader in the computer and software industry. "The key to our 15-year success is our core philosophy that everything we do revolves around the customer," said CDW CEO Michael P. Krasny. "This award is especially significant because we were chosen not by analysts or the media but by the people who buy computer products. You know you are doing a great job when your customers say you are No. 1." CDW earned the highest scores among computer and software companies in 15 categories including: personal satisfaction, understanding of customer's particular business needs, product knowledge, innovation, responsiveness, technical support and providing total solutions. In addition to top technology industry honors, CDW placed No. 42 overall, 14 spots ahead of its nearest competitor. CDW attributes the success of its customer satisfaction rating to its comprehensive sales training program, CDW University, that includes several months of extensive product and customer service training. "We are able to hire and retain some of the best people in the industry because of our unique culture," said Dan Kass, CDW vice president of sales. "We cultivate a community atmosphere at CDW, that fosters a successful, results-oriented and fun work environment. The benefit to the customer is that CDW serves as a highly-trained, highly motivated and service-focused extension of their team, saving our customers time and money and making their jobs easier." The World Class Sales Award recipients were determined through independent research conducted by the H.R. Chally Group, a sales research and testing company. Researchers from H.R. Chally interviewed more than 5,600 corporate decision-makers and buyers to identify the sales forces that received and garnered the best ratings. The results will reappear in a special June issue supplement to Selling Power magazine, honoring CDW and the 15 other "Best In Class" Annual World Class Sales award-winning sales forces. About CDW CDW® (NASDAQ: CDWC), a Fortune 1000 company, is the country's leading direct solutions provider, offering complete, customized computing solutions for business and consumers nationwide. With competitive prices on a selection of thousands of brand name computer products, CDW is the No. 1 authorized direct source of Compaq, Computer Associates, IBM, Microsoft, Toshiba and other top name brands. Founded in 1984 as a one-man, home-based business, CDW today employs more than 1,500 coworkers whose efforts generated net sales of $1.733 billion for the year ended December 31, 1998. CDW's pioneering direct model offers personalized expertise through one-on-one relationships with highly-trained, knowledgeable account managers; telephone and online purchasing; custom configured solutions; next day shipping; and lifetime phone and online technical support, with close to 60 factory-trained and A+ certified technicians on staff. Formally known as Computer Discount Warehouse, the company shortened its name to CDW in conjunction with the October 1998 launch of its first corporate branding campaign, which also included the introduction of a new logo and corporate tagline, Computing Solutions Built for Business ™. For more information About CDW's products and services, call 800-797-4239 or visit the award-winning e-commerce Web site at www.cdw.com. For media inquiries or general company information, please call CDW's media relations at 888-CDW-7040.