Microsoft Recognizes Exceptional Vendor Performance

REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp. today announced recipients of the 2010 Microsoft Vendor Program (MSVP) Vendor Excellence Awards. The MSVP Vendor Excellence Awards acknowledge exceptional performance, exemplary service and innovation by vendors that are members of the MSVP, Microsoft's preferred vendor program. The purpose of MSVP is to foster world-class procurement by offering Microsoft employees a global, swift and straightforward approach to target and engage pre-qualified vendors vetted by Microsoft Procurement, which enables cost efficacy and provides real benefits to vendors.

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Winners of the 2010 MSVP Vendor Excellence Awards were chosen by a selection committee from representatives across the company and nominated by Microsoft employees based on outstanding quality, value, service, innovation, delivery, organizational health, supply chain management, diversity, technology, environmental practices and price. Winners were announced live on stage today during the ninth MSVP Annual Vendor Summit on Microsoft's corporate campus in Redmond.

"Our MSVP members continue to provide excellent results, responsive service and innovation that are instrumental to the success of our employees and the company," said Tim McBride, general manager and chief procurement officer at Microsoft. "On behalf of employees across the company I congratulate the winners of this year's awards and recognize the value that these and other companies provide."

2010 MSVP Vendor Excellence Award Winners

Winners were announced in seven categories: Diversity, Environmental, Quality, Service, Technology, Value and Vendor of the Year.

• Diversity Excellence Award winner. Allegis Group Services, the world's fifth largest contingent workforce management company, supported Microsoft's diversity objectives by driving a dynamic supplier base (diverse and nondiverse) without compromising service level agreements and overall service, delivery and quality. As a result, diversity spending in the Microsoft Talent Source Program has increased from 11 percent at the September 2008 program inception to 32 percent of cumulative total program spending as of October 2010. Record months show diversity spending exceeding 40 percent of total program spending. This directly contributed to Microsoft reaching the Billion Dollar Roundtable, an organization created in 2001 that recognizes corporations spending more than $1 billion with diverse suppliers. This milestone not only positions Microsoft for doing business with government and other public institutions but also demonstrates Microsoft's strong commitment to diversity.
• Environmental Excellence Award winner. Starwood Hotels & Resorts, one of the world's largest hotel and leisure companies, supported Microsoft's environmental goals by creating a dedicated Department of Environmental Sustainability; issued a comprehensive Environmental Sustainability Policy; and launched an online Sustainability Resource Center, including an Environmental Initiative Assessment Survey and Initiative Tracking Tool.
• Quality Excellence Award winner. Universal McCann, one of Microsoft's premier global media agencies, delivered exceptional value through global best practices, innovative digital programs and historic high-performance negotiating rates. The result was that Microsoft's overall budget capacity was extended substantially.
• Service Excellence Award winner. Pitney Bowes Inc. is one of the largest companies in the global mainstream industry to provide both physical and digital communications. Pitney Bowes consistently exceeds expectations in cost, quality and delivery by demonstrating significant strength in collaborating and partnering with Microsoft business groups and Microsoft suppliers.
• Technology Excellence Award winner. Hitachi Ltd. provides services for IT systems; electronic devices; digital media; and consumer products, materials, and components and logistics. Hitachi designed and built custom manufacturing and test equipment specifically required for the global launch of Kinect. Since the start of manufacturing, Hitachi has maintained an exceptional production yield, minimizing waste in utilizing the tightly constrained subcomponents required for building this device. Hitachi worked closely with Microsoft and strategic component suppliers to maintain continuity of supply.
• Value Excellence Award winner: Flextronics International Ltd. provides product development, new product introduction, manufacturing and refurbishment services to many Microsoft hardware products. Flextronics exceeded Microsoft's expectations in its global team support to Microsoft's Kinect launch, which represents significant value to Microsoft. Flextronics has built millions of Kinect devices since the start of mass production.
• Vendor of the Year Excellence Award winner. Hitachi provides services for IT systems; electronic devices; digital media; and consumer products, materials, and components and logistics. Hitachi was instrumental in the support of Microsoft's introduction of a premium version of Xbox 360 for the holidays by pulling in product and prioritizing Microsoft during a very tight industry supply period to meet aggressive schedules for special builds.

Earlier this year Microsoft announced the Japan MSVP Vendor Excellence Award winners in Shinjuku, Japan, during the April 2, 2010, Japan MSVP Day event in three categories: Quality, Service and Value.

• Quality Excellence Award winner. VanceInfo, one of the leading offshore software development companies in China, played a critical role in the Japan MSN Next Entertainment project. The scope of work covered product design (both front and back end).Because of the nature of Web services, business requirements and fluid changes, VanceInfo worked tirelessly to release on schedule despite the large volume of added work and changes.
• Service Excellence Award winners.
  • transcosmos Inc., a one-stop outsourcing provider, supported the Microsoft Japan marketing activities by delivering high-quality outbound call services and strong infrastructure and operation toward enterprise customers resulting in the connection of sales and marketing activities.
  • Recruit Staffing Co. Ltd., one of the biggest temp agencies in Japan, supported Microsoft Japan staffing needs by providing resources and change management for Six Sigma projects. It changed its process to meet the needs of the customer, and constantly performed and engaged with business groups to identify root causes and implement solutions.
• Value Excellence Award winner. Wunderman International, the largest source of intelligence on marketing, advertising, media and research, provided Microsoft Japan with campaign planning, materials and Web production, and global ad deployment services that far exceeded expectations.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.