trong emphasis on effectiveness and efficiency in everything we do has been a priority at Colgate for many years.

The Company continues to make good progress in building a truly global supply chain supported by enterprise-wide SAP software. Since 2004, Colgate has reduced the number of manufacturing plants worldwide by over 25%, which includes five new state-of-the-art facilities. We have changed the management of our manufacturing operations to a global structure, and we are improving the way we do business at existing plant locations. In Brazil, for example, by formally separating the manufacturing and distribution functions into two independent entities, the Company was able to streamline the exportation of goods to other Colgate locations, while still providing superior service to the local business.

Aiming for the highest level of effectiveness and efficiency at all plants, during 2008, Colgate implemented a new global approach to factory performance and reliability. The program sets global standards that gauge performance against numerous benchmarks in areas ranging from cycle time to waste management. Each site is required to perform a self-assessment of its compliance with these standards, which is then followed up by an audit performed by a management team from another Colgate location. Still in its first year, the program has already achieved excellent results, including increased asset utilization and reduced scrap levels.

Another global initiative accelerating profitable growth is Colgate Business Planning (CBP), a fully integrated commercial planning and execution discipline, from the budget process through to the store-shelf. Supported by SAP software, CBP incorporates a strong return on investment methodology into all work routines, which together with greater focus on the customer and regular meetings to assess performance against goals, fosters executional excellence. With 87% of our business having implemented at least the first phase of the program as of the end of 2008, CBP is contributing to increased sales, market shares and margin.

In Australia, for example, the CBP process helped to quickly identify certain inefficient oral care promotions. The commercial team promptly ended the ineffective trade promotions and reinvested some of the savings into media campaigns that repositioned Colgate Sensitive toothpaste and Colgate Plax mouthwash into more upscale, premium-priced products. The result was a significant increase in sales, margin and market share for Colgate and its retail customers.

Millions of dollars of savings each year are also coming from more efficient purchases of indirect materials and services, such as telecommunications, printed materials and marketing services. In just one example, in 2008, the Company cut the cost of employee recruitment services by 24% in Poland by reducing the number of suppliers from six to two.

-