Endeca Technologies, Inc., a search and information access software company, today announced that Ford Motor Company, has selected and deployed Endeca’s Spend Analysis solution, built on the Endeca^® Information Access Platform (IAP). Launched in late summer 2008, the solution supports a corporate initiative to reduce direct material costs and identify opportunities for parts consolidation and efficiencies for existing and new vehicle programs. The Endeca solution integrates data from more than seven different source systems. These include purchasing, finance, supplier, engineering, and part catalog applications, offering sourcing professionals 360-degree visibility of part and supplier related data. The solution will also serve to improve collaboration between engineering and sourcing professionals by offering first-of-their-kind tools to evaluate the complex tradeoffs that occur during the new product design process. As a result, key decision makers have immediate access to information that had previously taken weeks or even months to gather and analyze.

The new Endeca application – which combines search, business intelligence and Guided Navigation® capabilities into a single experience – powers Ford’s Global Commodity Hub, a portal which offers one-stop access to parts, program, supplier, technical attribute, and cost target data.

“Ford offers a great example of how information visibility can be used to create new operational efficiencies and competitive advantage in the face of shifting consumer demand and new economic realities,” said Steve Papa, CEO of Endeca. “Manufacturers are among the most information rich of all enterprises, but the ultimate value of this information remains limited by legacy systems that were never architected for such integration, exploration and discovery. We are now witnessing the beginning of a shift to a whole new class of information architecture that will unlock this latent value.”

Ford Motor Company joins a growing list of discrete manufacturing companies, including Boeing, John Deere, Harris Corporation, and LG Electronics, who rely on Endeca’s Manufacturing solutions for business-critical strategic sourcing, engineering, warranty and supply chain initiatives. These organizations are using Endeca to create applications that bring together data from numerous source systems and provide information visibility and access benefits not possible through legacy search, business intelligence, database or packaged enterprise applications.

About Endeca

Endeca’s innovative information access software helps people explore, analyze, and understand complex information, guiding them to unexpected insights and better decisions. The Endeca Information Access Platform, built around a new class of access-optimized database, powers applications that combine the ease of searching and browsing with the analytical power of business intelligence. More than 500 leading global organizations including ABN AMRO, Boeing, Cox Newspapers, the (US) Defense Intelligence Agency, Dell, Ford Motor Company, Hyatt, IBM, John Deere, the Library of Congress, Texas Instruments, and Walmart.com rely on Endeca to power business-critical applications that increase revenue, reduce costs, and streamline operations.

Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Endeca has operations in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. For more information: endeca.com or info@endeca.com.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 244,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Mazda, and until completion of their sale, Jaguar and Land Rover. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com.

Endeca and Guided Navigation are registered trademarks of Endeca Technologies, Inc. All other product and service names mentioned herein are or may be registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective companies or organizations.