• The alliance strives for secure J&J Vision Care Mexico as the market leader, and consolidate DHL México as the leading logistics solution provider in the country.

Mexico City, January 18. Two of the world’s most important and recognized companies combine their efforts to reach an agreement for consolidating J&J Vision Care Mexico as the market leader, and DHL Mexico as the leading logistical solutions provider.

Johnson & Johnson is one of the world’s most important health care companies. It’s comprised of three big divisions: Pharmaceutical, Medical Devices, and Consumer Products, which is the smallest division but the most recognized. Since its foundation in 1887, J&J has grown continuously. In 2004, the company reported sales of 47 billion dollars, representing a 13% increase from the previous year. The company has increased sales for 72 years in a row. Today, it has more than 115,000 employees worldwide, and The Wall Street Journal considered it the company with the best reputation in the world for five consecutive years.

For more than eight months, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Mexico searched for a business partner that would provide the required infrastructure, as well as the appropriate environment for implementing the Direct Delivery project. The initial goal was to reduce the number of distribution centers worldwide to 56, beginning in Latin America, specifically in Mexico and the Caribbean. With this business model, all products would be sent from the headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida, directly to each of the clients in Mexico.

J&J Vision Care México set a strategic alliance with a competitive business partner who offered an integral logistics solution for the shipments and the administration of the distribution center.

Alter analyzing different alternatives, J&J Vision Care Mexico decided to build an alliance with DHL Mexico, due to its good reputation and the fact that it is the leading company in the industry. In Mexico, DHL has a 25-year history, and today it has more than 400 points of sale throughout the country. DHL Mexico manages 57 stations and employs more than 3,000 people, including 1,800 messengers, which guarantees the delivery on time, and the widest coverage in the industry. It also owns a ground network with more than 1,400 vehicles, 12 domestic flights, and 8 international flights, as well as the additional agreements with commercial airlines.

By signing this strategic alliance, coupled with the integral solutions DHL Mexico provides, J&J Vision Care Mexico will be able to allocate in the same location the logistics team, client service, and the distribution center, in order to improve inventory administration, response times, and to dramatically reduce the delivery time; as well as to negotiate with clients better delivery times and more efficient service levels, reduce inventory and investment in labor capital.

Eventually, it plans to implement a comprehensive direct distribution model, delivering from door to door to key accounts from Jacksonville to its respective locations in Mexico.

“We will know how to take advantage of the opportunities in order to show we are capable of exploiting DHL Mexico’s strengths to benefit their clients, and enrich our specialized service offer with better solutions”, said Leticia Navarro, General Director, DHL Mexico.

J&J Vision Care is the Johnson & Johnson’s division that revolutionized the market in 1988 when it invented the first frequently replaced contact lens (also known as disposable lens), under the Acuvue® brand.

Today, Acuvue is the market leader in the soft contact lens category. It’s the most popular brand in the world, more than any other existing brand in the market. J&J Vision Care reported 1.5 billion dollars sales worldwide in 2004, representing an 18% increase from the previous year. This positions the brand as one of the franchises with the fastest growth in the consumer division. This growth is driven by the innovation train the franchise has had during its history, especially during the last two years.

Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Mexico and DHL México announced the alliance with an exclusive cocktail where top executives from both companies participated: Leticia Navarro, General Director of DHL; Martin Alvarez, Commercial VP, DHL; Erika Quezada, Operations Planning Director, DHL; Ramon Ojeda, General Director, DHL Solutions Mexico; Fran Mirmina, World Distribution Director, J&J; Jodi Leafer, World Transportation Manager, J&J, Alejandro Giangaspero, Director, J&J Vision Care Latino America; and Eduardo Mayorca, Director, J&J Vison Care Mexico, as well as clients and media.

For J &J Vision Care México this alliance is a great achievement, and a great commitment with our clients, visual heath care professionals, consumers and our team work”, said Eduardo Mayorca, Director J&J Vision Care Mexico.