Ford Strengthens Relationship with Micrografx; Under Global Agreement, Micrografx to Deliver Tools for Enhanced Process Mapping and Technical Drawing
2 October 2000
Ford Strengthens Relationship with Micrografx; Under Global Agreement, Micrografx to Deliver Tools for Enhanced Process Mapping and Technical Drawing
DALLAS--Oct. 2, 2000--Ford Motor Company has expanded its relationship with Micrografx, Inc. , a respected worldwide leader in enterprise graphics software.Under a newly formed global agreement, Ford will deploy a combination of Micrografx's iGrafx solutions. These solutions will support Ford's company-wide quality initiatives, as well as its desktop graphics strategy.
Ford will deploy iGrafx Process and iGrafx FlowCharter Professional, Micrografx's leading process management solutions. These two solutions will fulfill Ford's broad range of diagramming requirements, while greatly enhancing the company's ability to manage the process- and quality-improvement initiatives it is currently undertaking.
Ford also will deploy iGrafx Designer, Micrografx's leading technical graphics solution. iGrafx Designer will enable Ford to quickly and easily repurpose its existing legacy technical graphics, as well as create original technical and presentation-quality graphics that can be utilized in documents, presentations and Web pages.
"Ford has been a valued Micrografx customer for more than a decade, and we are pleased that our relationship continues to grow," said Ken Carraher, president of enterprise process management solutions for Micrografx. "We look forward to providing Ford with the technical graphics and process management solutions it needs to successfully implement productivity-increasing initiatives at its facilities around the world."
Ford currently is undertaking a Global IT Management initiative, which incorporates advanced system administration and management capabilities from Microsoft Windows 2000. The initiative is expected to greatly ease systems maintenance and reduce administration costs. Micrografx has worked closely with Ford to ensure that the iGrafx Process and iGrafx FlowCharter Professional solutions work in concert with Windows 2000.
"We're very pleased to announce that Micrografx's iGrafx Process and iGrafx FlowCharter Professional have both earned the Certified for Windows 2000 logo. The certifications ensure that the iGrafx solutions, combined with Windows 2000, will greatly simplify Ford's management of its IT environment and lead to a lower cost of ownership," said Jim Ewel, vice president, Windows Marketing, Microsoft Corp. "The combination of iGrafx solutions and the Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system will deliver increased stability, faster installation, increased performance speed and simplified administration."
About Micrografx Inc.
Micrografx is a recognized global leader in providing software, solutions and services enabling customers to improve productivity by graphically visualizing, improving and implementing key business processes. By visualizing and interacting with the data and information associated with these business processes, our customers improve time-to-market, customer satisfaction, and profitability. Key customer initiatives include improving and implementing processes that drive e-business, quality initiatives like Six Sigma, and key line-of-business applications including supply chain management, interactive parts catalogs and interactive electronic technical manuals. Visit www.micrografx.com for more information or contact 888/744-1210.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Co., is the world's largest producer of trucks and the second-largest producer of cars and trucks combined, marketing and selling approximately 7 million vehicles globally through its seven brands last year. Ford employs approximately 345,000 people in plants, offices and laboratories to serve consumers in more than 200 countries and territories. Ford is also one of the largest providers of financial services worldwide through Ford Credit and related businesses. Ford provides consumers and commercial financial services through 2,400 branches in 33 countries.