Sigma-Aldrich

Sigma-Aldrich has an obsession with servicing our customers. We strive to provide service that's second-to-none in all parts of the world.

Our broad range of Life Science and High Technology products, the basis of our business, is fundamental to our success. But equally important is our unending commitment to serving our customers worldwide.

We aim simply to provide customers with the broadest range of high quality products backed by the best possible service.

During 2001, new product additions, both purchased and produced in-house, were again very aggressive. We added over 7,000 products including new stable isotopes from our acquisition of Isotec. Worldwide, we continued to invest in the latest analytical equipment. Our well-equipped laboratories ensure our reputation for quality.

Customers can access Sigma-Aldrich's 85,000 products through our various catalogs. We have over 3.5 million catalogs in the marketplace that contain a wealth of information. Customers can also find our products through a wide assortment of specialty literature and through the Internet. The amount of scientific information we offer is unequalled by any other company.

Meeting our customers' product needs requires teamwork across departments and geographic boundaries. Here it is worth noting the geographic breakdown of our sales: 50% USA, 30% Europe and 20% International. The aim is to provide top-notch service to all parts of the world through offices and facilities located in 33 countries, including 15 worldwide distribution centers. We pride ourselves, of course, on our ability to ship most orders from stock the same day they are received. And, we process over 15,000 orders daily. If a customer ordered 100 different products, over 95 would be on the shelf.

Sigma - Aldrich Korea

New facilities, like this $7 million warehouse in Korea ensure rapid delivery of Life Science and High Technology products to customers.

Analytical Laboratory

State-of-the-art analytical equipment provides fast quality control, key to moving products from development to production.

And, every effort is made to keep back - orders to an absolute minimum. We understand that our customers' research cannot wait, and they need products "preferably yesterday." To ensure excellent service, we continue to make major investments in production, distribution and administrative support. Our warehouses in Milwaukee, USA and Schnelldorf, Germany now have state-of-the-art, automated equipment that operates essentially paperless. Warehouse capabilities are being increased in Korea and Japan, two of our fastest-growing markets. Our new $7 million facility in Korea opened in June, 2001 and quadrupled capacity. In Japan, which will soon become Sigma-Aldrich's second largest market in sales, expanded warehouse facilities are scheduled for completion in 2002.

Service to all our international warehouses has been improved by reducing the cycle times from purchase order to product delivery using process improvement studies. This is a major corporate initiative and involves our employees doing a job that benefits the whole Company and not just their particular division or country.

We are also implementing joint ventures to provide faster delivery of the high volume chemicals (generally heavier and more expensive to ship). In the USA, with Gallade Chemical in California, we have local stocking and in Japan, Katayama Chemicals provides us the packaged products. Both of these initiatives have been very successful.

While our offices are scattered geographically, our Company, as a whole, has never been closer from a systems standpoint. The $55 million investment in SAP computer software in recent years gives us a unified approach to doing business. And we continue to successfully implement SAP worldwide. Almost 90% of orders globally are now processed on our SAP system.

With this common system, our operations are becoming truly integrated, making product more accessible on a global scale. We can now drop-ship product to customers from any warehouse in our distribution network. The benefits are two-fold, allowing us to decrease backorders and reduce excess inventory.

Certainly SAP has allowed us to take a major step in becoming a leading edge company. Within the next few years, we will be as state-of-the-art as any billion-dollar company with a worldwide presence. We are also one of a handful of companies that have truly integrated SAP with our Web site – sigma-aldrich.com. Customers can search for products, check pricing and availability and place orders that print out directly in our distribution centers. The process is completely automated. Our Web site continues to win awards. In fact, Smart Business magazine ranked us number 20 in 2001 out of all the companies in the USA. Sales have been doubling nearly every year and were almost $75 million in 2001. Research worldwide sales are now approaching 10% (16% in the USA) through this channel. Over 750,000 users access our site monthly. It's worth noting each user session generates on average about $10 in sales!

The Internet also plays an important role in how we provide customers with "on-line" technical information. Here our Web site leads the industry with a wealth of information that we continue to expand - so far we have just over one-third of our available information on the web. We have also created Web site extensions with local language and flavor. And many more are planned. Our worldwide Technical Service departments handle nearly a million phone calls yearly and an increasing number of e-mails. So, not surprisingly, we've earned a reputation as the company to turn to for superior technical service.

Through strategic alliances with leading edge companies, Sigma-Aldrich is also fast becoming a leader in business-to-business E-commerce as well. Customers, including many well-known large companies and universities are using Sigma-Aldrich for more efficient methods of on-line purchasing and inventory management.

The best way we serve our customers, of course, is through our 6,500 dedicated employees who embrace service every day with an obsession. Service is what built our Company and ensures our competitive edge. We're certainly making the investments to remain competitive. But it's our collective commitment to serving our customers that makes the difference. It's an understatement to say Sigma-Aldrich has an obsession with service to our customers in Life Science and High Technology.