DaimlerChrysler Committed to Excellence in Global Purchasing, Strong Partnerships with Top-performin

In a key note speech at the European Procurement Excellence Conference today, Thomas W. Sidlik, Member of DaimlerChrysler’s Board of Management responsible for Global Procurement and Supply (GP&S), emphasized the company’s pursuit of purchasing excellence and its commitment to providing business opportunities to world-class suppliers.

“Very simply, DaimlerChrysler is committed to giving our partners global business opportunities to grow and succeed. We believe in giving the best suppliers in the world a chance to flourish and be part of our team,” said Mr. Sidlik.

Providing insight into the globally integrated procurement strategy of DaimlerChrysler, Mr. Sidlik discussed the importance of achieving excellence throughout all purchasing activities to meet the challenges of rising raw material costs and competition at a time of moderate economic growth.

DaimlerChrysler’s GP&S organization is one of the largest OEM goods and services purchasing groups in the world, with responsibility for all of the automaker’s production and non-production procurement activities worldwide. Within GP&S, purchasing executives are working across the Atlantic to create value for DaimlerChrysler through global scale leverage, global supply base management as well as a unified purchasing infrastructure and standardized processes.

“DaimlerChrysler wants to be the partner of choice among our suppliers. We keep the lines of communication open, set transparent goals and measurements and reward top performers with real opportunities to further grow with us,” explained Mr. Sidlik.

DaimlerChrysler makes purchasing decisions based on a philosophy called Extended Enterprise defined by four objectives and equally important value criteria: quality, technology, cost and supply. In addition, DaimlerChrysler’s purchasing activities emphasize the values of communications, commitment and integrity. Together, these seven criteria are the foundation for a transparent and performance-based cooperation between DaimlerChrysler and its suppliers. For instance, through DaimlerChrysler’s internet-based Supplier Portal, suppliers can see in real time, 24 hours a day, how they measure up on the four objective performance criteria.

In his speech, Mr. Sidlik identified global economic framework conditions relating to many industries, raw material and transportation costs and financial instabilities in the supply base as the main challenges affecting OEMs and suppliers at the same time. Referring to the company’s purchasing philosophy, Mr. Sidlik added that “robust partnerships are essential during tough economic times. That’s why DaimlerChrysler strongly supports members of our supply network. Despite these challenges, DaimlerChrysler has found ways to grow, along with capable and top-performing partners.”

While striving to become a world benchmark-level purchasing organization, DaimlerChrysler’s GP&S Organization has already been recognized as one of the most innovative and effective purchasing organizations worldwide. On May 8, 2006, GP&S received the Institute for Supply Chain Management’s R. Gene Richter Award for leadership and innovation in supply chain management. Also, in 2005, DaimlerChrysler received the prestigious BME Innovation Award for the purchasing of non-production materials. The company has also been honored many times for its commitment to minority suppliers and diversity.

The European Procurement Excellence Conference is the first-ever European summit of Chief Procurement Officers organized by the BME (Association Materials Management, Purchasing and Logistics). During the two-day conference, including an address by Wim Kok, former Prime Minister of General Affairs of the Netherlands, purchasing executives from leading global companies discussed current industry challenges and solutions.