Ford Motor Co. announced that its 12-month-old alliance with UPS Logistics Group, a subsidiary of United Parcel Service, has successfully sliced vehicle transport time by 26 percent, or four days. The initiative is six months ahead of schedule and winning praise from Ford dealers. “With the results we’ve already achieved, we expect to meet our goal of decreasing delivery time by up to 40 percent,” said Frank Taylor, vice president, Material, Planning and Logistics, Ford Motor Co. By shaving four days off the delivery cycle and re-engineering the network, Ford is realizing a $1 billion dollar reduction in vehicle inventory and more than $125 million in inventory carrying cost reductions on an annualized basis. Ford and UPS Logistics Group launched the alliance a year ago to re-engineer Ford’s vehicle delivery system amid rising consumer demand for on-time vehicle delivery. UPS Logistics Group created UPS Autogistics as a business unit to manage the project. Ford executives said the Autogistics network is running well ahead of schedule, even with record vehicle volumes in 2000. By the end of the first-quarter 2001, the newly re-engineered network will be fully operational in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. UPS Autogistics will ultimately oversee the distribution network serving 21 Ford Motor Co. assembly plants, four rail centers, and 55 destination ramps, providing delivery to more than 6,000 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury dealers throughout North America. UPS Autogistics is working with a vehicle delivery subcommittee comprised of dealer council members from Ford and Lincoln Mercury that serve as an advisory board. Subcommittee member and dealer Chuck Spaeth notes that the initiative has been successful on a number of fronts. “There is less damage to the vehicle when it arrives -- such as dents and scratches,” said Spaeth, who owns two Ford dealerships in southwestern Minnesota. “Since customers don’t have to wait as long for vehicles, we make the sale sooner, our inventory turn is better and we get the trade-in vehicle earlier. So when you start adding it up, this venture is really beginning to make a difference to our bottom line.” One of the initiative’s early achievements has been the ability to integrate the entire supply chain and provide Autogistics operators complete visibility to track the journey of each vehicle along the transport route via a Web-enabled system. The new system, developed by UPS Autogistics, will provide Ford the latest information on vehicle transit status. This data can be rapidly communicated to update dealers on a vehicle’s progress en route.