Supplier & Customer Service Excellence, Supplier Diversity Efforts, and Excellence in Contract Management

Premier Honors Owens & Minor with the Premier 2009 Polaris Award, the 2009 Premier Supplier Diversity Award, and the Premier 2009 Supplier Pinnacle Award

RICHMOND, Va., Jun 24, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Owens & Minor (NYSE: OMI), a leading distributor of national name-brand medical and surgical supplies and a healthcare supply-chain management company, won top honors in three award categories from Premier Inc., a national healthcare alliance. Owens & Minor was cited for its high supplier quality and customer service, for its efforts to increase the diversity of its suppliers, and for its contract management excellence. The awards were announced on June 17, 2009, at Premier's Annual Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition in Anaheim, California. According to Premier, Owens & Minor was the only supplier to receive three individual awards.

"We are honored that Premier has chosen Owens & Minor for three significant awards this year, as we place a high value on our relationship with Premier and its member healthcare providers," said Craig R. Smith, president & chief executive officer of Owens & Minor. "We welcome Premier's recognition of our ongoing dedication to providing superior customer service and the highest quality supply-chain management services, our successful efforts to encourage and promote diversity among our suppliers, and our expertise at managing the Premier contract."

Premier awarded Owens & Minor with the following distinctions:

* Owens & Minor was one of only two organizations awarded the first annual Premier 2009 Polaris Award. The Polaris Award, which "aligns supplier contract performance with the customer service expectations" of Premier alliance members, recognizes excellence on a range of quantitative measures, as well as qualitative aspects of excellent customer service such as high relationship value and customer service, as determined by the votes of Premier members.

* Owens & Minor was awarded the 2009 Premier Diversity Award for "efforts to purchase goods and services from Premier contracted diverse suppliers, as well as develop procurement strategies aligned with the communities they serve." The award recognizes Premier-contracted suppliers that support efforts to increase purchasing from diverse suppliers and provide economic development opportunities for communities throughout the U.S. Of the more than 800 Premier suppliers eligible for this award, Owens & Minor was the only supplier chosen for this recognition.

* Owens & Minor was also awarded the Premier 2009 Supplier Pinnacle Award, which is based on excellence in managing the Premier contract. Owens & Minor was one of 19 suppliers chosen to receive this award out of 800 Premier-contracted suppliers.

"Premier is pleased to recognize Owens & Minor as one of our top performing suppliers with three separate awards recognizing commitment to excellence," said Premier Purchasing Partners President Mike Alkire. "Owens & Minor works to exceed the needs and expectations of alliance member hospitals, and we commend their unsurpassed efforts to help our members better serve their communities."

Premier healthcare alliance: The Premier healthcare alliance is more than 2,100 hospitals and 58,000-plus other healthcare sites working together to improve healthcare quality and affordability. For more information, visit www.premierinc.com.

Owens & Minor, Inc., (NYSE: OMI) a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a leading distributor of national name-brand medical and surgical supplies and a healthcare supply-chain management company. Owens & Minor is also a member of the Russell 2000(R) Index, which measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe, as well as the S&P MidCap 400, which includes companies with a market capitalization of $750 million to $3.3 billion that meet certain financial standards. With a diverse product and service offering and distribution centers throughout the United States, the company serves hospitals, integrated healthcare systems, alternate care locations, group purchasing organizations, and the federal government. Owens & Minor provides technology and consulting programs that improve inventory management and streamline logistics across the entire medical supply chain--from origin of product to patient bedside. For news releases, or for more information about Owens & Minor, visit the company Web site at www.owens-minor.com.

SOURCE: Owens & Minor