12/30/1997|Verizon News Archives
Six companies win Bell Atlantic supplier excellence awards
Winners cited for helping Bell Atlantic provide outstanding service to its customers
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NEW YORK -- Six companies, ranging in size from a small provider of telecommunications systems to a commercial airline, have won Bell Atlantic Supplier Excellence Awards for providing outstanding service to the corporation during the past year.
Bell Atlantic (NYSE: BEL) selected the winners from its entire supplier base of more than 6,500 companies. The suppliers were judged on performance, service, delivery and customer satisfaction for the products and services they provided to Bell Atlantic.
"Our suppliers play a vital role in Bell Atlantic's efforts to provide outstanding service to our customers," said Len Garrambone, vice president of Corporate Sourcing. "The Supplier Excellence Awards enable us to thank the winners for their hard work and dedication to excellence, which have helped Bell Atlantic maintain our competitive edge."
Bell Atlantic presented the awards in three categories -- manufacturing, service and small business. The winners are:
Manufacturing
- Hitachi Data Systems, a service and sales organization for a variety of computer products manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT) Hitachi Data Systems provides Bell Atlantic with mainframe computers, data storage devices and professional services. The company has its headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., and has 2,400 employees worldwide.
- Siecor Corp., which provides Bell Atlantic with fiber optic cable and accessories for its telecommunications network. The company has its headquarters in Hickory, N.C., and has 5,500 employees worldwide.
Service
- The Delta Shuttle, an operating unit of Delta Airlines (NYSE: DAL), which provides hourly flights between New York and Washington and New York and Boston. Delta Air Lines has its headquarters in Atlanta and has more than 71,000 employees worldwide.
- Transportation Displays Incorporated, which installs and maintains the advertising displays on Bell Atlantic's outdoor pay phone kiosks in the five boroughs of New York City. The company has its headquarters in New York City and has 1,000 employees worldwide.
- Yellow Freight System, which delivers supplies and equipment to Bell Atlantic's facilities throughout its 13-state region. Yellow Freight has 24,000 employees and has its headquarters in Overland Park, Kan.
Small Business
- Tekelec (Nasdaq: TKLC), a provider of telecommunications systems, which supplies sophisticated, high-speed packet switches that are an integral part of Bell Atlantic's telecommunications network. The company has just over 400 employees and has its headquarters in Calabasas, Calif.
A Bell Atlantic executive will present a trophy and a banner to each winner at individual ceremonies in January at the winners' corporate headquarters. In addition, Bell Atlantic recently placed full-page ads in The Wall Street Journal and USA Today to congratulate and thank the winners.
Garrambone said that supplier recognition programs have become a trend as businesses of all sizes seek to control costs and add to their bottom lines by more closely managing the purchase of goods and services.
"In order to control the costs of goods and services and maintain high quality, you need to develop effective working relationships with your suppliers and motivate them to meet higher and higher standards," Garrambone said. "A supplier recognition program accomplishes that in two ways. It enables a company to publicly praise suppliers that have done an outstanding job -- which is obviously helpful to those suppliers -- and it encourages a company's other suppliers to raise the level of their performance."
Bell Atlantic -- formed through the merger of Bell Atlantic and NYNEX -- is at the forefront of the new communications, information and entertainment industry. With 40 million telephone access lines and 5.8 million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data services, market leaders in wireless services and the world's largest publishers of directory information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's largest investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations and investments in 21 countries.
