Owens & Minor, Inc. (NYSE:OMI) announced that, for the fifth year in a row, it was named the sole winner of the 2013 Premier Polaris Award by the Premier healthcare alliance. The Premier Polaris Award recognizes supplier performance that goes beyond excellence in contract compliance to high relationship value and exceptional customer service. The winner of the award is selected by members of the Premier healthcare alliance.

"When our customers recognize us for providing high quality service and bringing real value to the healthcare supply chain, all of us at Owens & Minor are honored to receive these awards," said Craig R. Smith, chairman, president & chief executive officer of Owens & Minor. "In the marketplace, we work closely with our customers to reach their supply chain goals for efficiency and effectiveness, and these awards from Premier and its alliance member hospitals strongly validate our collaborative efforts."

Among Premier's annual supplier accolades, Owens & Minor, for the fifth consecutive year, was also named a winner of the 2013 Pinnacle Award, which recognizes Premier's contracted suppliers that support mutual goals, drive contract utilization and commit to performance improvement. In addition, for the third year in a row, Owens & Minor was given an Honorable Mention for the Diversity Award. The awards were announced at Premier's 2013 annual Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition in San Antonio on June 12, 2013.

"Over the years, Owens & Minor has truly supported Premier alliance members with high-quality, cost-effective products and services so they can continue efforts to drive toward value-based care," said Durral R. Gilbert, president of supply chain services, Premier. "We're very proud to recognize Owens & Minor with the Polaris Award."

About Owens & Minor

Owens & Minor, Inc., (NYSE: OMI) a FORTUNE 500 company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a leading national distributor of name-brand medical and surgical supplies. Owens & Minor also offers global third-party logistics services to pharmaceutical, life-science, and medical-device manufacturers through its European business unit, Movianto, and through its U.S.-based service, OM HealthCare Logistics. With a diverse product and service offering and distribution centers throughout the United States, the company serves hospitals, integrated healthcare systems, alternate site locations, group purchasing organizations, healthcare manufacturers, and the federal government. Owens & Minor also provides technology and consulting programs that improve inventory management and streamline logistics across the entire medical supply chain. For news releases, or for more information about Owens & Minor, visit the company website at www.owens-minor.com.

About the Premier healthcare alliance, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient

Premier is the nation's largest performance improvement alliance of more than 2,800 U.S. hospitals and 95,000 other sites using the power of collaboration and technology to lead the transformation to coordinated, high-quality, cost-effective care. Owned by healthcare providers, Premier operates a leading purchasing network with more than $5 billion in annual savings. Premier also maintains clinical, financial and outcomes databases based on 1 in every 4 patient discharges. A world leader in measurably improving patient care, Premier has the largest performance improvement collaboratives in America, including one in partnership with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has an office in Washington. https://www.premierinc.com. Stay connected with Premier on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Owens & Minor
Truitt Allcott, 804-723-7555
truitt.allcott@owens-minor.com