IHS Group and General Motors Sign Exclusive Data Distribution Agreement; IHS Group Companies to Provide Standards Information to GM Suppliers Worldwide.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(AutomotiveWire)--Oct. 14, 1999--

Information Handling Services Group (IHS Group) companies IHS Engineering, a leading engineering and technical information publisher, and Global Engineering Documents, the world's premier distributor of standards and specifications, today announced a long-term exclusive distribution agreement with General Motors (GM) to provide automotive standards data to GM's suppliers around the world.

The standards covered under this agreement are currently available with plans under development to make significant delivery and functionality enhancements to the IHS/GM products by the first quarter of 2000.

"As a long-time provider of standards information to GM North American Operations and its suppliers, we're very excited about the opportunity to provide this service to GM's worldwide operations," said Robert Wing, president and CEO of IHS Engineering, who brokered the deal. "GM's suppliers worldwide now have a common source for standards information and for the first time have the option of receiving that data in a variety of formats, from paper to CD-ROM and the Internet."

As part of this agreement, IHS Engineering is distributing materials and test specifications information for GM's North American Operations, Adam Opel AG, GM do Brasil Ltda., Delta Motor Corp. and Holden Ltd. Additionally, IHS Engineering is working with GM to make consensus standards data instantly available to all GM employees worldwide through GM's internal document management system.

"This effort is an integral part of GM CEO John Smith's directive that GM run in 'common,'" added Wing. "By helping GM convert its data sources from multiple legacy systems to a single, harmonized source, the company is going to see immediate improvements in all its business processes, from new product development to engineering and manufacturing."

Under the agreement, IHS Engineering is commercially distributing GM's standards data in paper and electronic formats. Suppliers can order through a toll-free request line and from IHS Engineering and Global Engineering Documents office locations and field sales force personnel around the world. Services include no-charge customer service and automatic notification of document change information.

In addition to GM, IHS Engineering provides automotive standards data for Ford, Navistar, New Holland and Delphi-I. The company also developed an internal standards data management system for Deere & Co., and provides standards data to automotive suppliers around the world.

About IHS Engineering

Englewood, Colo.-based IHS Engineering (www.ihsengineering.com) is the worldwide leader for engineering, technical and regulatory information published in a variety of media, from CD-ROM to the Internet and intranet. IHS Group (www.ihsgroup.com) is a leading publisher of engineering, energy and regulatory electronic information databases, with annual sales of $450 million. Its individual operating companies all serve the vital information needs of customers across a variety of technical, business and professional markets.

About Global Engineering Documents

Global Engineering Documents (global.ihs.com) is the world's premier distributor of industry, government, U.S., international and non-U.S. national standards, specifications and other technical publications in multiform including electronic delivery. Global serves more than 60,000 customers in 120 countries.

Note to Editors: IHS Engineering, Global Engineering Documents, IHS and the IHS logo are registered trademarks of Information Handling Services Inc. Registered U.S. Patent & Trademark office. All other trade names, trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.