Business Editors

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 2004

The winners of the Supply-Chain Council's (SCC) 2004 Global Awards for Excellence in Supply Chain Operations and Management were announced on 30 March during Supply-Chain World-North America Conference & Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, USA. This is the fourth year of the annual competition among practitioners, technology companies, consultants, system integrators and academics that is designed to recognize world-class performance and contributions in the area of supply chain management.

The Global Award for Supply Chain Excellence was awarded to Raytheon Missile Systems Supply Chain Management, a division of Raytheon Company. This award recognizes the organization that was judged by the Supply-Chain Council Selection Committee to have made the greatest contribution to demonstrating or advancing the supply chain management body of knowledge during the last year. The winner was selected from the four winners of the other Supply-Chain Excellence Awards, which included the U.S. Department of Defense category of the Supply Chain Operational Excellence Award, the industry category for the Supply Chain Operational Excellence Award, the Supply Chain Management Technology Excellence Award, and the Supply Chain Academic Excellence Award.

The Supply Chain Management Technology Excellence Award was presented to Aspen Technology, Inc. for their application developed for Swift and Company beef operations -- a three-segment, diversified protein-processing business based in Colorado, USA. The award recognizes the organization that has developed a methodology or product that enables superior performance in supply chain operations.

EAN Australia was named the winner of the Award for Supply Chain Academic Excellence for their Supply Chain Knowledge Centre submission. The Supply-Chain Operations Reference-model is featured in EAN Australia's Knowledge Centre. This award recognizes the organization that has contributed most to advancing the supply chain body of knowledge.

Raytheon Missile Systems won the industry category for the Supply Chain Operational Excellence Award for their submission "A Journey to Supply Chain Excellence."

The United States Air Force Materiel Command, Logistics Directorate, Supply Management Division received the award for Supply Chain Operational Excellence from the DoD competition. Their winning submission, "Purchasing Aircraft Availability for Pennies on the Dollar," was recognized for having demonstrated excellence in the design, operation or improvement of the significant components of the supply chain they operate.

Winning submissions can be found on the SCC website in the Members' Section at http://www.supply-chain.org/members/Award.asp. The working press can receive access to the winning submissions posted in the SCC members-only site by contacting Ben Hoffman, Communications Manager, SCC at b.hoffman@supply-chain.org.

The SCOR model is a process reference tool maintained by the SCC that allows companies to examine and measure their supply chain processes, determine where weak links exist, and identify how to make improvements. Consisting of three levels of process detail, SCOR also allows companies to examine their supply chain processes and their relationships between partners, suppliers and customers. Companies using SCOR have seen dramatic ROI and savings due to increased supply chain efficiency.

The Supply-Chain Council was incorporated in 1997 as a global, not-for-profit trade association with membership open to all companies interested in improving supply-chain efficiencies through the use of SCOR, a supply-chain diagnostic tool that enables users to address, improve, and communicate supply-chain management practices within and between interested parties. The Supply-Chain Council members include Fortune 500 manufacturing companies from industries worldwide, consulting firms, computer systems and solutions providers, and educational institutions. There are currently over 750 corporate members.

For more information on the Supply-Chain Council, SCOR, its members, and its activities, please visit www.supply-chain.org; or contact the Council at +1 (412) 781-4101, fax at +1 (412) 781-2871, or email info@supply-chain.org.