Ford and Vastera Expand Relationship into Europe

Ford Motor Company has outsourced its global trade operations across Europe to software and services provider Vastera. The contract is worth $3.9 million per year for four years, and initially involves Spain, Germany, Belgium and the UK. Vastera began managing Ford’s US global trade operations in September 2000. Following its success there, the firm assumed responsibility for Ford’s Mexican global trade operations in February 2001, and subsequently also Ford’s Canadian operations a month later. This most recent European expansion with Ford has enabled Vastera to further establish its automotive global trade platform. “Vastera continues to drive substantial operational efficiencies within our global supply chain,” says Roman Krygier, group vice president of manufacturing and quality for Ford. “Since taking over our North American trade operations, Vastera has reduced our duties and brokerage costs significantly. We look forward to comparable hard-dollar savings … in Europe.” There will also be project-based improvement reward sharing opportunities and Ford has also agreed to extend the Vastera contract to cover the US and Mexico. Also, Ford and Vastera have now reached agreement on the transition of Ford’s operation to Vastera’s software. Over the past two years, Vastera has created a considerable automotive platform for global trade managed services. The firm is now providing services to some of the largest in the business, including Visteon, International Truck, Land Rover, Jaguar, Auto Alliance, DENSO and Unipart.