Johnson Controls Named 'Corporation of the Year' by the National Minority Supplier Development Council
Johnson Controls Is First Business-to-Business Products Company to Win Award; Supplier Diversity director named 'Coordinator of the Year'
MILWAUKEE, Oct. 30 -- Johnson Controls, Inc. was named "Corporation of the Year" by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), at the organization's Anniversary Awards Gala, October 29, in Chicago. The award is regarded as the highest recognition a corporation can receive for conducting business with minority- and women-owned firms.
"We are delighted to accept this prestigious award. I thank the NMSDC and the National MBE Input Committee for recognizing our efforts," said John M. Barth, Johnson Controls president and chief executive officer. "I also thank our employees for their commitment to expanding diversity in every part of our organization and our customers and suppliers for making our program successful."
"Supplier diversity is about expanding opportunities for everyone," Barth added. "It supports the economic development of emerging markets and creates jobs that equip minority households to buy our customers' products. Connecting with these markets is critical to our long-term growth and success, and helps meet customers' increasing demands for diversity in business operations."
Johnson Controls supplier diversity purchases grew from $2 million in 1993 to more than $1.02 billion in 2002. The company reached the $1 billion goal in only 10 years -- one year ahead of its own expectations. This achievement earned the company induction into the Billion-Dollar Roundtable, an organization comprised of U.S. corporations that spend more than $1 billion annually with minority- and women-owned businesses. Johnson Controls is only the 12th company in the Roundtable.
Johnson Controls purchases from minority firms are expected to increase by an additional $50 million by the end of 2003. The company has more than 1,100 diverse suppliers representing over 50 products and services, including three minority joint ventures that generate more than $500 million annually in revenue and result in employment for more than 500 individuals.
Johnson Controls is the first non-consumer products company to receive the "Corporation of the Year" award. The company has been a finalist for the award five times. Four other companies were named finalists for the 2003 NMSDC award, including DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, PepsiCo and Toyota Motor Manufacturing NA.
In addition to the "Corporation of the Year" award, Reginald Layton, Johnson Controls director of diversity business development, received NMSDC's "MBE Coordinator of the Year" award in recognition of innovative supplier development activities and leadership across industry groups and across the country.
"Johnson Controls developed and executed a proven process to quickly achieve phenomenal results," said Harriet Michel, NMSDC president. "They have established a new standard for thousands of business-to-business NMSDC member companies."
The supplier diversity program is integrated into the company's corporate strategic plans for growth. That program has received national accolades from customers and organizations. The Michigan Minority Business Development Council has named Johnson Controls "Corporation of the Year" six times out of the past eight years. Last year, the Tennessee Minority Supplier Development Council bestowed the same honor. The Greater Atlanta Economic Alliance recently presented Johnson Controls with its "Corporation Award" for outstanding achievements in supplier diversity.
"This achievement reflects our success in unifying, strengthening and expanding a company-wide strategy based on supplier diversity best practices," said Layton. "With minority-owned businesses growing four times faster than the national average of all U.S. firms, we firmly believe a strategy-based supplier diversity program is no longer an option -- it's a necessity."
About NMSDC
Providing a direct link between corporate America and minority-owned businesses is the primary objective of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, one of the country's leading business membership organizations. It was chartered in 1972 to provide increased procurement and business opportunities for minority businesses of all sizes.
The NMSDC Network includes a national office in New York and 39 Regional Councils across the country. There are 3,500 corporate members throughout the network, including America's top publicly owned, privately owned and foreign- owned companies as well as universities, hospitals and other buying institutions. The Regional Councils certify and match more than 15,000 minority-owned businesses with member corporations that want to purchase goods and services. For more information, visit www.nmsdc.org .
About Johnson Controls, Inc.
Johnson Controls is a global market leader in automotive systems and facility management and control. In the automotive market, it is a major supplier of integrated seating and interior systems, and batteries. For non- residential facilities, Johnson Controls provides control systems and services including comfort, energy and security management. Johnson Controls , founded in 1885, has headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its sales in fiscal 2003 totaled $22.6 billion. For additional information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com .
Johnson Controls "Corporation of the Year" Sidebar
Through its supplier diversity program, Johnson Controls establishes relationships throughout the United States with qualified minority- and women- owned businesses that supply high-quality materials and services at competitive prices. Diverse suppliers are companies owned by minorities, women and those that are designated by government agencies as small or disadvantaged businesses.
Using NMSDC best practices as a benchmark and guideline, Johnson Controls pursues the following best practices for increasing supplier diversity:
1. Building program infrastructure and obtaining executive commitment 2. Establishing accountability processes 3. Enhancing decision-maker involvement through recognition processes 4. Strengthening supplier diversity's linkage to sales and marketing 5. Developing supplier recruiting and referral processes 6. Maintaining diverse purchases during supplier base consolidation 7. Building diverse firm capacity through mentoring relationships 8. Training diverse supplier executives 9. Developing strategic alliances 10. Developing joint ventures
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