ARI's Fuel Cost Reduction Program, which has helped companies better understand, manage and reduce their annual fuel costs by improving driver behavior and identifying less expensive gas stations, has earned the company a place on the first-ever Analytics 50 ranking.

A collaboration between Drexel University's LeBow College of Business and CIO.com, Analytics 50 honors companies in any industry that have discovered innovative ways to use analytics to solve common business challenges.

ARI introduced the Fuel Cost Reduction Program to support corporate fuel policies with technology to help improve its clients' bottom lines.

"Fuel is one of the biggest expenses for a fleet and our customers have asked us to help them proactively examine and reduce their fuel costs," said Steve Haindl, executive vice president of technology and innovation. "Our program analyzes the data a fleet returns to help manage miles per gallon and cost per gallon — easily the two metrics that impact the cost of fuel the most."

The ARI Fuel Cost Reduction Program identifies the drivers and vehicles performing at the top and bottom of the scales for each metric that is measured to help pinpoint behaviors that need to be corrected. Through ARI's mobile application, drivers can search for nearby fuel stations that offer a lower cost alternative. The efforts are supported with analytical reporting, alerts, KPIs and predictive/prescriptive feedback, which produces a more transparent picture that identifies trends and the spending habits of fuel cardholders. 

With SAP technology and proprietary software developed in-house by ARI's team of more than 200 IT professionals, the company is able to provide its clients with statistical analysis of events as they occur, which allows them to trend behavior and make real-time recommendations.

"Though fuel costs are relatively low currently, analysts believe it will rise over time," Haindl said. "The ARI Fuel Cost Reduction Program demonstrates that we are already thinking ahead to give our clients a method to monitor fuel expenses when fuel prices increase again in the future."

ARI joins companies representing sports, media, technology, healthcare and other industries on the Analytics 50 list. The winners will be recognized by Drexel's LeBow College of Business and CIO.com at an Analytics 50 event on Nov. 9.