FORD REPORTS DROP IN VEHICLE DELIVERY TIME

FORD REPORTS DROP IN VEHICLE DELIVERY TIME    Ford Motor Co., based in Dearborn, Mich., said Wednesday that it had cut the transport time of new vehicles to dealers by four days, or 26 percent.
   Frank Taylor, Ford’s vice president for material, planning and logistics, credited Ford’s year-old alliance with UPS Logistics Group for “the supply chain innovations … that have decreased delivery time.”
   Shaving four days off the delivery cycle saves Ford $1 billion in vehicle inventory and more than $125 million in inventory carrying costs. “The savings will continue to grow as our Web-enabled system reaches maturity, and we surface and eliminate more non-value-added activities,” Taylor said.