Ford Fleet Purchase Planner Provides Financial, Eco Benefits
KONE, among the first to use the Ford Fleet Purchase Planner, has pledged to replace their entire fleet with Fusion Hybrid models.
Ford has developed a new tool, known as The Ford Fleet Purchase Planner™, to help businesses build their fleets in a manner that is both fiscally and environmentally responsible. This tool offers these businesses necessary guidance to help them choose the right vehicles from the standpoints of cost and environmental-friendliness, which ultimately results in a better way of doing business.
The 2014 Ford Fusion Hybrid
The Ford Fleet Purchase Plannertakes a one-size-fits-one approach to working with businesses, says John Ginder, manager of systems analytics and environmental sciences, Ford research and advanced engineering:
“The one-size-fits-all approach is outdated. Given what can now be done with analytics, customers shouldn’t settle for buying one vehicle for an entire fleet based on factors such as projected use or miles per gallon.”
Elevator and escalator manufacturer KONE has served as something like the beta tester for The Ford Fleet Purchase Planner. Using the Planner, KONE has committed to replacing its 160-vehicle fleet of Ford Fusions with Ford Fusion Hybrids by 2018. While the move may seem to be a costly one, the environmental yield is prodigious: KONE expects to reduce their carbon emissions by 850 metric tons a year while simultaneously saving money in fuel costs.
“We are proud to continue to do our part to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help provide our employees with a safe, reliable vehicle to travel to site locations,” said Adam Judd, KONE sourcing director, Americas.
The Ford Fleet Purchase Planner was among the three finalists for the 2014 Innovative Applications in Analytics Award by INFORMS, ultimately taking home second place behind an SMS text classification system to benefit UNICEF Uganda. Ford previously won the 2013 INFORMS Prize, which acknowledges a company’s overall achievement in analytics.
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