CINCINNATI, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) hosted over 50 external companies the afternoon and evening of November 5th in Cincinnati, Ohio to acknowledge and celebrate successful external partnerships with P&G’s Global Business Development Organization, a group responsible for P&G’s Connect + Develop(SM) approach to open innovation.

"This event is about our external partners, not P&G. The annual awards dinner gives us the opportunity to recognize partners who have significantly contributed to P&G’s business either through enabling networks or partnerships to create new and improved consumer products and services," remarked P&G vice president of global business development Jeffrey D. Weedman. "We seek out collaborations where both sides see value creation and, ideally, envision long term relationships. Most of the awards we’ve given out tonight reflect the lasting relationships we have with external companies."

The following companies were recognized for significant contributions as external partners:

• External Business Partner of the Year - Corium International. This award recognized the external company that is an exemplary business partner with P&G and has achieved outstanding business results. P&G licensed the adhesive technology behind Crest Whitestrips Advanced Seal from Corium;
• University Partner of the Year - University of Cincinnati. This award recognized the university which most effectively has worked with P&G to foster research and new business models. University of Cincinnati, P&G and several other companies created a non-profit organization called the Live Well Collaborative (LWC) whose purpose is to design new products and services for people ages 50+;
• External Enabling Partner of the Year - YourEncore
• External Key Enabler of the Year - Ernst & Young (E&Y): These awards recognized the external companies which have best advanced P&G’s open innovation efforts. YourEncore’s network of 5700+ retired experts with unique capabilities has enabled P&G to build efficiency and accelerate innovation projects. E&Y has a long standing relationship with P&G and has worked with P&G on a number of tax and internal controls projects. P&G has also enlisted E&Y’s help to commercialize P&G’s Reliability Technology (a proprietary set of practices to improve manufacturing efficiencies);
• Distinguished Service Award - Unicharm. This recognizes the external partner with an exemplary long-term relationship and a track record of sustained excellent business results with P&G. Unicharm is P&G’s licensor for the technology used in P&G’s Swiffer Duster product, which has been a very successful addition to the Swiffer line.
  

"P&G is fostering a culture of cooperation and partnership as part of our objective to serve more consumers," said P&G senior vice president and treasurer Teri List. "This event celebrates our long-term partners and demonstrates our commitment to our Connect + Develop(SM) strategy to bring external ideas and opportunities into P&G and to be the preferred partner for open innovation."

For more information about P&G’s Connect + Develop(SM) approach, go to pgconnectdevelop.com.

About Procter & Gamble

Four billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Gain®, Pringles®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun® and Fusion®. The P&G community includes approximately 135,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

SOURCE Procter & Gamble