Ford and WhereNet Team Earn the Prestigious Henry Ford Technology Award.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 16, 2000

Jointly Developed Technological Breakthrough Garners Top Ford

Motor Company Award -- Enabling Streamlined Operations that

Deliver Dramatic Productivity Advantages

WhereNet(TM) Corporation, a leading provider of Supply Chain Visibility (SCV) solutions for locating, tracking, and managing supply chain resources within enterprises, today announced that the development team of its WhereCall(TM) Parts Replenishment System has been selected to receive the annual Henry Ford Technology Award (HFTA). The Ford Motor Company is honoring WhereNet's WhereCall(TM) Parts Replenishment System development team and Ford's Technology Center during an exclusive two-day ceremony in Dearborn, Michigan on Oct. 16-17, 2000. Jacques Nasser, Ford Motor Company president and CEO, will address this year's winners.

Ford Motor Company established the HFTA in 1981 to recognize innovative technical contributions of employees, suppliers, consultants, contractors, retirees, and academic personnel. The Henry Ford Technology Award salutes both WhereNet and Ford employees for their technological, first-of-its-kind invention, the WhereCall Parts Replenishment System. The system, based on WhereNet's patented, wireless real-time locating solution, is resulting in cost savings for Ford of millions of dollars through productivity enhancements. The system is operating in plants throughout the United States and Europe.

The WhereCall Parts Replenishment System consists of WhereNet's wireless WhereCall tags, antennas, location processors, and software that integrates with Ford's SMART parts replenishment system within vehicle and component manufacturing facilities. When operators need more parts along an assembly line, they push a button on the WhereCall tag. The tag transmits a signal and alerts material replenishment personnel to deliver more parts to the line-side operator. The WhereCall device has a timer that keeps track of time elapsed since the replenishment request was made. This timer also provides the operator with verifiable feedback that the call was made for more parts and gives the operator the opportunity to take action if significant time passes.

"The Henry Ford Award is the highest honor bestowed by Ford Motor Company for technological advancement and productivity enhancement. There is a rigorous evaluation of more than 150 applications for this award and no more than 15 are selected," said Mark Wrubel, WhereCall project engineer for Ford Motor Company. "We are delighted to have teamed with WhereNet to earn this award and to bring these benefits to Ford Motor Company. WhereNet joins an elite group that comprises only the world's most successful technology companies."

About WhereCall

Using low-power, spread-spectrum radio frequency technology, the WhereCall transmission is only two mill watts in power, yet provides a wide coverage area of up to 750 feet on the manufacturing floor. Because it operates at such low power, each WhereCall tag can last up to eight years without changing the battery. Already installed at nearly 20 Ford facilities throughout the United States and Europe, the WhereCall system will be deployed at all of Ford's North American and International plants within one to two years. WhereCall is providing Ford with unprecedented speed and flexibility advantages, including:

-- Efficiency -- The WhereCall system enables Ford to install its parts
replenishment systems in one quarter of the time it previously took to install
a wired call system. In addition, WhereCall allows new vehicle model launches
and line re-balancing operations to be done in a fraction of the current time
with virtually no additional capital expenditures for hardware and equipment.
Upon completion of production, all of the WhereCall tags are collected,
re-associated with new parts, and given back to the workers to install at their
respective stations along the assembly line.

-- Cost-Effectiveness and Greater Individual Empowerment -- Since Ford no
longer has to run cable all over its factories as part of a wired material
replenishment system, the company is saving installation costs in the millions
of dollars through WhereNet's wireless application. With the WhereCall system,
the devices are associated with a particular part, properly labeled with a
graphic picture of the part, and then handed out to each respective line-side
operator assigned to those parts. Literally, within minutes, the workers can
mount their WhereCall buttons in their assembly line workstations and commence
operation. The WhereCall system offers these employees a sense of empowerment,
resulting in a warm reception of this new technology as workers are allowed to
install the tags themselves in the location that suits them best.

-- Streamlined Productivity -- With the WhereCall system's count-up timer, the
operator can improve the overall material delivery process, reducing minimum
inventory replenishment levels, and enabling lean manufacturing. With access to
crucial information about how much time elapses between a call for parts and
delivery, vehicle manufacturing personnel can provide better and more timely
feedback to work groups, alleviate bottlenecks, and optimize supply chain flow,
resulting in unprecedented time and cost savings.

"We are delighted to be members of a team that Ford recognizes for innovation and the development of solutions that support Ford Motor Company's business objectives," said Tom Turner, senior vice president, marketing and business development for WhereNet. "The Henry Ford Technology Award acknowledges WhereNet's success in providing industry-leading solutions for the world's largest corporations, enabling reduced operating costs, improvements in return-on-assets, and higher levels of customer service."

About The Henry Ford Technology Award

Ford Motor Company established the HFTA in 1981 as part of an effort to provide greater management attention to, and recognition of, exceptional technical contributions by employees. Suppliers, consultants, contractors, retirees and academic personnel are also eligible to participate if they significantly contribute to the outstanding technical accomplishment of a team comprised primarily of Ford employees.

With more than 400,000 Ford workers worldwide and hundreds of vendors, like WhereNet, eligible for the HFTA, the competition is fierce, with Ford receiving more than 150 nominations each year, but recognizing no more than 15 technologies. Throughout the automotive industry, the HFTA is recognized as a significant achievement.

The Henry Ford Technology Award is a sculptured, polished stainless steel flame mounted on a black acrylic base. The flame is symbolic of professional excellence, superior accomplishment, and is the highest level of technical achievement within Ford Motor Company.

About WhereNet

WhereNet is the first company to design, build, and market wireless Supply Chain Visibility (SCV) solutions for locating, tracking, and managing supply chain resources, critical to success in today's competitive global business environment. WhereNet systems seamlessly connect a company's resources to its information systems, in real time. WhereNet's real-time location and tracking technology utilize patented advances in spread-spectrum wireless technology to provide the ability to locate any tagged object with an accuracy within 10 feet (3 meters). The result is constant, on-demand information about valuable assets in the supply chain, their physical location, and status. Driven by wireless tags, fixed position antennas and Web-enabled software, WhereNet SCV solutions offer lower operating costs, improved return-on-assets, and higher levels of customer service for some of the world's leading companies such as Ford Motor Company, Coca Cola, and FMC. WhereNet is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with sales offices throughout the United States. Information is available on the WhereNet Web site at www.wherenet.com or by calling 408/845-8500.

Note to Editors: WhereNet and WhereCall are trademarks of WhereNet, Inc. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of, and are used to identify, products or services of their respective owners.