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Visteon Drives the Information Superhighway To Partner with Leading International Suppliers

19 August 1999

Visteon Drives the Information Superhighway To Partner with Leading International Suppliers

    DEARBORN, Mich., Aug. 19 --  As part of its comprehensive
electronic commerce strategy, Visteon Automotive Systems will conduct its
first on-line bidding activity today to competitively award nearly $150
million in circuit board business to suppliers.
    This innovative bidding process allows the organization to efficiently tap
the capabilities of the very best global suppliers.  It also allows Visteon to
realign its purchasing operations to take advantage of the process
improvements and cost savings associated with such leading-edge approaches.
    Pre-qualified suppliers have been invited to bid on-line to provide
Visteon with the latest printed wiring circuit board technology.  The hour-
and-a-half long event is the first of many Visteon expects to conduct to on-
line source a variety of commodities.
    "Visteon is committed to technologies and processes that will help it
leverage the most advanced global automotive resources for its customers,"
said Alex Preston, vice president, supply and process leadership, Visteon.
"Our use of the Internet and our entire electronic commerce strategy will
allow us to develop strong, reliable partnerships with the very best suppliers
in the world.  Those partnerships will enable Visteon to remain on the leading
edge of product development, systems integration and customer service."
    Internet retailing has already achieved widespread acceptance with
millions of on-line consumers.  Visteon's investigation into the opportunities
associated with Internet bidding began in January when managers began
exploring how purchasing operations could more fully benefit from the
information superhighway.
    Within a matter of months, Visteon designed and implemented an electronic
procurement system that would accommodate real-time, on-line bidding from
around the world.
    "We spent a lot of time talking to suppliers about whether or not they had
participated in on-line auctions, and what they thought about them," said Kim
Marslender, an interior systems purchasing manager with Visteon.  "We
incorporated their suggestions and addressed their concerns in designing our
process."
    Suppliers can access the bidding site via a standard Web browser and a
password.  Once they are on-line, they will be able to view the prices being
bid for a particular commodity.  They will not see the names of the other
organizations involved in the on-line bidding.  They will be able to submit
new bids throughout the event in the strictest confidentiality.
    Unlike target pricing, where a customer typically sets a target price for
a commodity, suppliers bidding in today's event will help set a real market
price for the technologies and commodities being sourced.  But market price is
not the only determining factor in a sourcing decision, Marslender stresses.
    "We initially sent out requests for information to over 90 printed wiring
circuit board suppliers around the world.  From the information that they
submitted, we narrowed the field down to those suppliers who could meet our
rigorous quality, performance and technology standards.  Those are determining
factors," Marslender said.
    Suppliers who are participating in the on-line bidding process were
required to attend a half-day session to learn what Visteon expects of all
suppliers.  After the bidding is over, the suppliers who are sourced will be
audited, Marslender added.
    On-line bidding is just one way Visteon will source commodities in the
future.  Other venues, such as early sourcing target agreements, open
auctions, on-line requests for quotes and design contests, will also be
employed as part of Visteon's overall electronic procurement strategy.
    Visteon's electronic buying and selling strategy, known as eVisteon,
encompasses all of the organization's daily business commerce transactions
such as procurement and electronic data interchange.  eVisteon will allow
Visteon to build new information channels with both customers and suppliers to
support electronic commerce and on-line retailing.
    With a global delivery system of nearly 125 technical, manufacturing,
sales and service facilities located in 21 countries, Visteon Automotive
Systems is leveraging the talents of its 77,000 employees to deliver
innovative, consumer-driven systems solutions to its customers.