---

It's Not a Car, but Johnson Controls' Latest Introduction Will Accelerate Growth, Enhance Customer Satisfaction

8 January 2001

It's Not a Car, but Johnson Controls' Latest Introduction Will Accelerate Growth, Enhance Customer Satisfaction

Unique Initiatives Emphasize Value Through New Products,
Optimized Complete Interiors

    DETROIT, Jan. 8 Among the many introductions this week at
the 2001 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, the most
exciting one may not be a car at all. Automotive interior supplier
Johnson Controls unveiled its "NexCommerce" initiatives, which
will add significant horsepower to the company's global operations and
strategies for future growth. In addition, the Plymouth, Michigan-based firm
is demonstrating several Internet-based tools created to support the company's
emphasis on value creation.
    Officials from Johnson Controls discussed NexCommerce and Web tools at a
special NAIAS news conference held yesterday in room D2-15 at Cobo Center,
where the company is exhibiting its latest automotive products and
technologies.
    "We believe our NexCommerce strategy will enable us to accelerate
improvements in innovation, speed, efficiency, time-to-market and customer
satisfaction -- bringing greater value to automakers and consumers," said
Rande Somma, president of North America for the Automotive Systems Group of
Johnson Controls.
    Johnson Controls began implementing its NexCommerce initiatives last year,
in anticipation of changes within the global automotive industry. Somma says
automakers and suppliers are adopting new, collaborative business processes
and tools in an increasingly competitive and demanding marketplace.
    Johnson Controls has developed a set of unique, Web-based tools that act
as enablers to its NexCommerce strategies. The company's e-business systems
announced at the show are focused around three, key Internet portals that will
enable Johnson Controls to enhance its links with customers, suppliers and
employees.
    The company's new B2B (Back2Basics) Customer Portal is a shared database
environment that will give authorized customers real-time access to key
information concerning product launches, enhancing communication and
collaboration among members of product development teams.
    Johnson Controls is working with several strategic partners to develop its
Supplier Portal, a single point of contact for procurement, product launch and
supply-chain management. Extended-enterprise partners will use this tool to
receive and respond to requests for quotations, interact with
quality-management systems, submit cost-reduction ideas and manage inventory
against manufacturing demand.
    The Johnson Controls Employee Portal will provide a unified, personalized
information resource for company employees around the world. "The Employee
Portal will be an important tool that will enable us to manage our work lives
in a centralized, self-service manner," said Michael Suman, Johnson Controls'
group vice president for e-business and marketing. "As our employees use
Internet tools inside the company, it will be natural for us to use the same
collaborative tools when we work outside the company with customers and
suppliers.
    "With our NexCommerce initiatives, and the advanced tools we have created
to support them, we are emerging as an organization that is ready to lead the
auto industry to the next level," continued Suman. "The Johnson Controls
portals are key entry points which give customers, suppliers and employees
access to common databases and new e-business tools that will accelerate value
creation throughout the entire vehicle development and supply process. This
approach supports our B2B -- or Back2Basics -- philosophy."
    The Plymouth, Michigan (U.S.A.)-based automotive business of Johnson
Controls -- which employs more than 77,000 people at 285 facilities worldwide
-- achieved US$12.7 billion in sales for the 2000 fiscal year. In model-year
2001, it will supply interior products for more than 23 million vehicles.

    Johnson Controls, Inc. is a global market leader in automotive systems and
facility management and control. In the automotive market, it is a major
supplier of seating and interior systems, and batteries. For non-residential
facilities, Johnson Controls provides building control systems and services,
energy management and integrated facility management. Johnson Controls
, founded in 1885, has headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
(U.S.A.). Its sales for 2000 totaled US$17.2 billion.