Cut Chemical Use and Cost

    Major Automaker Cuts Chemical Use an Average of 30% Through Innovative
                        Chemical Supplier Partnerships

    SAN FRANCISCO, June 5 General Motors, Caterpillar, Inc.
and Raytheon Company will share experiences of how they aggressively reduced
their chemical use and costs by tapping their supply chain at a workshop on
June 7 near Chicago, Illinois. The workshop will educate manufacturers about
this new supply chain solution -- chemical management services (CMS). The
non-profit, Chemical Strategies Partnership, is hosting the workshop to
present case studies and tools for implementing successful CMS programs at
facilities.

    CMS is a new twist in supply chain management. With CMS, chemical
suppliers no longer make their profits by selling more chemicals, but rather
by providing superior services. A CMS customer engages in a strategic
partnership with a chemical service provider who performs some or all of the
chemical management for a facility. "Manufacturers who are interested in
streamlining their chemical supply chain while improving environmental
performance should not pass up this opportunity," says Jill Kauffman Johnson,
Executive Director of the Chemical Strategies Partnership (CSP). "Many
companies who have adopted CMS report cutting their chemical use and costs
dramatically. When General Motors implements a CMS program at a facility,
their chemical use is often reduced by as much as 30% and their costs drop
along the entire chemical lifecycle."

    The June 7 workshop will address managers from a variety of industries,
including automotive, aerospace, electronics, and metalworking. "All chemical
users -- those with low diversity/high volume, or high diversity/low volume
-- require a better understanding of the total cost to manage chemicals," says
CSP's Deputy Director, Tom Votta. "In our research, we have seen companies pay
up to $10 to manage chemicals for every $1 of chemical purchased.  When
managers appreciate the hidden cost of chemical use -- inventory, liability,
waste, tracking, disposal -- they see how CMS can benefit them.  We aim to
help companies get a handle on these costs and provide the tools to help
managers develop a CMS program."

    The workshop, Chemical Management Services: A Strategic Alliance to
Optimize the Enterprise, is sponsored by the Chemical Strategies Partnership
and the CMS Forum. It will feature speakers from General Motors, Caterpillar,
Inc., and Raytheon Company who will discuss the results of their CMS programs.
Manufacturers who attend will receive the Chemical Strategies Partnership's
state-of-the-art Manual, Tools for Optimizing Chemical Management.