Increased Cooperation Within DaimlerChrysler Generates Global Business Opportunities for Top Perform

Increased Cooperation Within DaimlerChrysler Generates Global Business Opportunities for Top Performing Suppliers

* Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management: “We need committed suppliers who will give us their best work, their best quality, and their best prices. We will listen to their advice and concerns and work with them to build sound cases for continuing and growing their businesses.” * Over 200 DaimlerChrysler supplier partners hosted at Global Supplier Meeting in the new Mercedes-Benz Museum * Thomas W. Sidlik, Board Member for Global Procurement and Supply: “Through our global organization, we bundle the purchasing volume across our strong brands and many regions, allowing successful suppliers to benefit. In return we expect world benchmark performance in quality, technology, cost and supply.”

As DaimlerChrysler continues to optimize its organization for even more collaboration and internal knowledge transfer, the company will also be providing excellent business opportunities for top performing suppliers worldwide, according to Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management. Dr. Zetsche, along with Thomas Sidlik, Member of the Board of Management responsible for Global Procurement and Supply (GPS), was speaking at the company’s Global Supplier Meeting in the new Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.

“We need committed suppliers who will give us their best work, their best quality, and their best prices. Those are the partners that will win together with us in the global auto markets. We will listen to their advice and concerns and work with them to build sound cases for continuing and growing our businesses,” said Dr. Zetsche.

The meeting was held by DaimlerChrysler’s Global Procurement and Supply (GPS) organization to bring together DaimlerChrysler purchasing executives with 200 supplier partners from more than 20 countries and five continents. The day-long event consisted of both formal presentations and informal opportunities to foster exchange and dialog between DaimlerChrysler and its business partners.

In a wide-ranging address on the goals and strategies of DaimlerChrysler, Dr. Zetsche emphasized the company’s commitment to foster strong, open and mutually successful relationships with its suppliers. He also laid out the important role of the purchasing organization as the company continues to increase internal cooperation as well as the expectations and opportunities for the company’s suppliers.

“Our global purchasing organization, in close partnership with our suppliers, plays a vital role in the success of DaimlerChrysler. Together, they create value by optimizing our supply chain network and by realizing synergies across the entire company worldwide,” Dr. Zetsche said.

In his presentation to suppliers, Thomas W. Sidlik reiterated the company’s commitment to achieve world benchmark excellence in its purchasing activities with the goal of becoming the business partner of choice for suppliers worldwide: “Through our Global Procurement Supply organization we bundle the global DaimlerChrysler purchasing volume across our strong brands and many regions. This allows successful suppliers to benefit from our global presence. In return we expect world benchmark performance in quality, technology, cost and supply from our suppliers,” said Mr. Sidlik.

Mr. Sidlik also stressed the importance of innovation and flexibility as key factors in dealing with global competition and for generating long- lasting, successful partnerships between DaimlerChrysler and its suppliers. “Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler brands are leaders in style, technology and safety innovations with the help of our suppliers. Leveraging the knowledge and ideas of our suppliers plays a decisive role as we address the challenges in the market place and remain competitive,” Mr. Sidlik said.

DaimlerChrysler invited a diverse group of suppliers to the Global Supplier Meeting, including new and top performing suppliers, executives from its top minority ownership suppliers as well as winners of its Global Supplier Award. This recognition is given each year in eight categories to the top members of DaimlerChrysler’s international supply base for their outstanding performance in the past calendar year. The current award winning suppliers were from four different countries on three continents: Johnson Controls Inc., USA, (Category: Interior); Gentex Corp., USA, (Exterior); Mubea, Germany (Chassis); Yazaki Corp., Japan, (Electrical/Electronics); Denso Corp., Japan, (Powertrain); Dell Inc., USA, (General Goods and Services); NYK Line, Japan, (Logistics); and Marposs, Italy, (Manufacturing Goods and Services).

About DaimlerChrysler Global Purchasing Supply

DaimlerChrysler’s GPS organization is one of the largest OEM goods and services purchasing groups in the world, with responsibility for all of the automaker’s production and non-production procurement activities worldwide. Within GPS, purchasing executives are working across the Atlantic to create value for DaimlerChrysler through global scale leverage, global supply base management as well as a unified purchasing infrastructure and standardized processes.