...CASE: ROMEO ENGINE PLANT (ABRIDGED) 1. What were the main objectives of the Romeo Engine Plant’s manufacturing strategy? According to the Mission and Operating Philosophy of the Romeo Engine Plant (REP) Manufacturing Handbook of August 1989, “The Purpose of the Romeo Engine Plant is to produce the highest quality production engines in the world that meet all of our customers' requirements at a cost lower than the competition, and to develop teams of employees who are the best engine builders in the world.” Ford seemed to continue to use REP with the same objectives; only to market their brand instead of REP’s. During 1992, REP produced 400,000 engines in two engine models: a 4.6 liter, 2 valve engine used in the Lincoln Town Car, Ford Crown Victoria, and Mercury Grand Marquis, and a 4.6 liter, 4 valve engine used in Ford Motor Company's Lincoln Mark VIII luxury car. Sales of these automobiles for Ford were strong and Ford Motor Company would continually introduce new car models that would use the Romeo engines; so REP was to be Ford’s captive supplier. By 1996 REP expected to produce more than 800,000 engines per year. 2. What specific initiatives did the management of Romeo implement to achieve these objectives? REP was continuously striving towards better efficiency and high productivity. In this regard they were set target of increasing production from 400,000 engines per year in 1992 to reach at least 800,000 engines by 1996. This goal of increasing production output...
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...Over the ten days I have asked my blog followers what they think should be the theme of my Alfa Romeo Giulietta advert. Their thoughts have been unanimous. The ad should tie in with my theme throughout the year, namely the ad should be aimed at selling the Giulietta as a family car for real people. Thirty seconds is such a short time that I am going to be quite definite in my target audience. My advert will be targeted at women and small-to-established families where I believe the Giulietta fits perfectly. These modern women are conventional but each has a strong independent inner voice and also likes to do their own thing. I am going to make an advert that sells the Alfa Romeo Giulietta as a family car for women who want to have it all. Women who want to do the “family thing” but who really do not want to lose their identity as a “Real Person”. Women who want to immerse the precious years between 30 and 45 in their families, careers and interests that make them happy. Women who are dynamic, who value their friendships, freedom and independence and who take on life’s challenges with strength and poise. It is hard to summarise my favorite practical features in our much loved Giulietta but for the purposes of the advert I will focus on the the features I believe women (and men) value highly today. I have spoken to so many people in the past year about what they look for in a car and I believe Safety, Space, Style, Price and Reliability are the most important features they...
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...MEMORANDUM To: George Pfeil, Plant Manager, Romeo Engine Plant From: Tyler Ledford, Auburn University Date: February 24, 2015 Subject: Romeo Engine Plant Manufacturing Analysis ------------------------------------------------- The main objectives of the Romeo Engine Plant’s (REP) manufacturing strategy are to decrease costs through quality control, increasing efficiencies in work processes and automation, and empowering lower level supervisors. The plant manager, George Pfeil, introduced key initiatives that helped foster this strategy into what it has become today. The Romeo Quality Process (RQP) was established to ensure customer expectations were met and was a disciplined approach to total process design and production that would virtually guarantee that customers would get zero defect parts with minimum variations. The primary elements of the RQP were forming teams that functioned as individual business units and were responsible for product and manufacturing engineering, quality, production, systems, and supplier relationships. Target levels were established for each team that reflected customer expectations, and process control methods that are consistent with the nature of the process were established and implemented on the production floor. Romeo was attempting to become lean through decreasing costs and challenging their teams to meet certain standards. The creation of the Life Education Center and the employee education requirements were key in disseminating...
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...STRATEGIC MARKETING The wish for Alfa Romeo to come back to the US Market Plan: 1) Introduction 2) The Us Market a. Pestel Analysis b. Main actors in the Market c. Porter Analysis d. State and trends e. Key factors to success 3) Strategies and recommendations a. The situation of Alfa Romeo b. A challenger position c. The threats and opportunities d. Marketing Mix (4P) 4) Conclusion 1) Introduction: Alfa Romeo is an Italian carmaker born in 1910, in Milano. Since 1986, the brand is a part of the Italian Automotive group Fiat. The Fiat Group owns the brands Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ferrari, Iveco, Jeep, Lancia and Maserati. The CEO of Fiat is Sergio Marchionne and Harald Wester is the CEO of Alfa Romeo. Alfa Romeo left the Us Market in 1995, because its situation was dire, after a gold period in the middle of the sixties. Since 1995, Alfa Romeo officially sold only two models in the USA, representing 125 units. Fiat Group aims to develop its position on the world market, in September 2010, Fiat was the ninth automotive group in the world, with a production of 2.46 millions of vehicles. To develop itself on an international way, the group is counting on the US market and had implemented many strategies to increase its market shares. The main one was to progressively acquire the Chrysler...
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...plan January 21, 2009|Ken Bensinger By taking a stake in Chrysler, Fiat may be providing a glimpse of the future of the auto industry, one that's a lot more global -- and where everybody scratches each other's back. The deal, announced as a letter of intent Tuesday, is not final but would give the Italian automaker a 35% stake in Chrysler, as well as access to Chrysler's U.S. manufacturing facilities and huge distribution network. In exchange, Chrysler would be able to sell its larger vehicles in Fiat's international dealerships and to add much-needed small, fuel-efficient cars to its fleet using Fiat's small engine and transmission technology. As such, it's a partnership that could, in theory, lead to Italian-engineered, U.S.-built Fiats being sold as Dodges at a dealership near you, and Mexican-made Dodges sold as Fiats in France. "I would love to sell Alfa Romeos or Fiats or Fiats badged as Dodges," said Jon Gray, owner of Orange Coast Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Costa Mesa. The partnership is the leading example of the business model du jour in the auto industry, one in which companies trade their strengths with competitors to cover their own weaknesses in the hope that both come out stronger. "Maybe the future for the industry consists in a series of alliances," said Thomas Klier, who, as a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, has studied the auto business for 15 years. "It has potential, but will they be able to pull it off?" Other companies, including...
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...Student name: ________________________________ Student ID _______________________ York University Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies School of Administrative Studies AP/ADMS 4250 Marketing Strategy, Fall 2013 Instructor: A. Rusetski, Ph.D. EXAM 1: Case AP/ADMS 4250 Marketing Strategy Exam 1 Page 1 of 7 FIAT RETURNS TO CANADA1 A.RUSETSKI, PH.D F IGURE 1: A 2011 FIAT 500 On March 18, 2011 two hundred strange looking tiny cars lined up on the streets around the Quebec Business Centre. FIAT, a major European car manufacturer, was celebrating its return to Canada after 28 years of absence. This comeback became possible thanks to a partnership with one of the Detroit Big Three car manufacturers – Chrysler. From Montreal, columns of FIAT 500 cars paraded to designated Chrysler dealerships where FIAT opened its “FIAT Studios”. A number of important and at times sad developments led to this celebratory moment. Once a powerful player in the North American market, in early 2000s Chrysler Corporation was struggling with declining demand and decreasing market share. In 1998 the company “merged” with German Daimler Benz to form DaimlerChrysler AG. In fact, the German automotive giant took ownership of Chrysler, but after nine years the new owner acknowledged that the “marriage” was not successful and it could not improve Chrysler’s financial ...
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...Fiat plays double or quits with Chrysler Introduction Below are two articles about the merger between Fiat and Chrysler. Please read these and analyse them in the context of TWO of the theoretical frameworks ( One from OS, One from HR) which have been reviewed and considered in this course. Your answer should include: A brief summary of the relevant theories, and any evidenced based critique of those theories You should then apply those three concepts to this case study, so as to illustrate how they apply, or may be contradicted, in the Fiat –Chrysler merger. From The Economist, 27 November 2010, P 73-74 IN JANUARY Fiat cars will be back on sale in America for the first time in 27 years. The tiny, retro-styled Fiat 500 will appear in the showrooms of 130 dealers across the country. It was launched at the Los Angeles motor show last week, alongside a revamped Chrysler range. Fiat’s return to America is the first visible result of what is intended to be an ever closer union with Chrysler, agreed on last year when the Detroit giant was in bankruptcy. The two companies are betting that the Fiat 500—designed by Frank Stephenson, the man behind BMW’s transatlantic success with the MINI—will also prove as popular with Americans as it has with Europeans. Returning to a country from which Fiat was driven out by poor quality—Americans used to quip that its name stood for “Fix It Again, Tony”—is a big risk. But the reward is to get back into one of the world’s largest...
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...1. What are your views of the 2009 Chrysler-Fiat strategic alliance and its future prospects in the auto industry? The alignment between Fiat and Chrysler does not exactly save Chrysler. It gives Fiat an entry into the U.S. In short, Fiat is to get 35% of Chrysler, will not pay any cash for the stake, and it will give Chrysler access to its technology. Fiat had publicly said it wanted a production base in North America for its Alfa Romeo brand--and presumably the Fiat brand, too. Through its35% interest that it is getting in Chrysler, it would presumably have access to a U.S. plant to build its cars. The case is intended to have students look at the 2009 Chrysler-Fiat strategic alliance, its current issues, and future viability in the global auto industry. The new landscape of the American auto industry and the role of Fiat is analyzed in the cross-border tie-up. After de-merging with Daimler in 2007, Chrysler did not do well because of the 2008-2009 global financial crises and its bankruptcy filing. Chrysler’s other problems included its financial constraints and heightened competition in North America. The company had no choice but to look for a partner. During this process, Chrysler explored the possibility of a tie-up with GM, Ford, Volkswagen, Tata Motors, Nissan and Fiat. Eventually Chrysler decided on creating a strategic alliance where Fiat agreed on taking a 20 percent stake in Chrysler. In the next five years, the tie-up may increase Fiat’s ownership of Chrysler to...
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...Supplying BMW Translating sales into profitability through tighter control on costs A traditional problem affecting the growth of BMW over the last decade is the difficulty in translating sales volumes growth into net profits. In fact there is very little correlation between these two parameters in BMW's case. While deliveries of automotive products to customers have grown by an annual average of 2.2% starting from 1999, profits have been rather less proportionate because of some bad financial performances especially in 1999 and 2008. This takes us to the new strategic guidelines BMW's management board have set with their Number One strategy which was presented in 2007. The first direction along which the plan is being deployed is increasing profitability. The profitability target, which has not been revised lately, unlike the volume target, foresees a return on capital employed (ROCE) of 26% and a ROE (Return On Sales) of 8–10%. All this for the sole automotive division and for the year 2012. The underlying policy to achieve this challenging goal is a tighter control on costs. The very first activity that was carried out to reach the above mentioned target encompasses a generalised reduction of headcount. BMW cut 8,500 positions in 2008, 4,500 through buyout offers and 3,000 through natural not replaced turnover. The reduction allowed €500m in savings in 2008. Additional 1,000 jobs are expected to be axed in 2009 through natural attrition. This will take total workforce...
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...Introducing Alfa Romeo into Canada Introducing Alfa Romeo into Canada P720 – Strategic Management Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Company Background/History 3 Statement of Problems 3 Analysis 5 Brief History Overview 5 Industry Overview 5 SWOT 6 Porters 5 Forces 7 PEEST 8 VRIO 10 Competitor Overview 12 Alternatives 12 Decision Criteria 14 Implementation 16 Contingency 19 References 21 Exhibits 22 Executive Summary Alfa Romeo, a company steeped in automotive performance history is being evaluated for re-entry into the North American and specifically Canadian consumer market. The company was founded in 1910, and has been producing high performance vehicles to present day. To-date its sales focus has been focused on the European market, with over 90% of units sold in Europe. It was acquired by, then Fiat Group, in 1986 from this acquisition a partnership was brokered between Fiat and Chrysler Motor Company in 1988 for exclusive rights to sell Alfa Romeos through Chrysler dealerships from 1988 to 1995, at which time Alfa Romeo pulled out of the North American market. In 2015, due to the recent partnership between Fiat and Chrysler and the creation of Fiat Chrysler Automotive Group, Alfa Romeo is returning to North America. Three key problems have been identified that must be overcome for Alfa Romeo to be successful in the Canadian market place and North American market overall. The first is to develop strong brand recognition...
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...our first African-American president, the American public has had much to be excited about and to fear. In more recent history, the American economy has been the main topic. From the Fall of Wall Street, crashing of the housing market, to the fall of the American Automakers. The government has stepped in to save the private market and attempt to restore life to what was once a corner stone in America. Chrysler was one of many companies to be bailed out by the government during 2008. This is a look at where Chrysler started to where they are today. The Chrysler name doesn’t mean much to residents of Kenosha. The auto plant has been called by many names since 1900, when Thomas Jeffery bought a bicycle factory and started mass-producing vehicles. These vehicles had two groundbreaking innovations: steering wheels and front-mounted engines. Historians say it was in Kenosha, not Detroit that cars began “to look like cars.” Vehicles jokingly referred to as Kenosha Cadillacs, were small, inexpensive, and sometimes, homely looking Ramblers. (Nichols, 2009) The company originally started out as the Thomas B. Jeffery Company, then as Nash Motors, next as the Nash-Kelvinator Company, and then the American Motors Company (AMC). AMC partnered with the French firm Renault in the 1970s. They sold out to Chrysler in 1987. (Nichols, 2009) In 1987, American Motors Company was the number four automaker. After the...
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...RESEARCH ON INDIAN HATCHBACKS BY KUNTAL CHOWDHURY PGDM FS; ROLL NO - 12 THE INDIAN HATCHBACKS A Detailed Analysis of the Hatchbacks in the Indian Automobile Market(An Independent Study) AUGUST 2012. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 | Introduction | 2 | Market Share | 3 | Participants | 4 | Brand Overview | 5 | A Segment | 6 | B Segment | 7 | B+ Segment | 8 | Slogans Of Brands | 9 | Conclusion | A hatchback is an automobile designed such that the boot is integrated with the cabin space. The Indian hatchback market is growing each day. Any car maker who is looking for significant volume has a hatchback model in its bucket. The financial year 2010-2011 has seen good growth among hatchbacks in the country. The companies such as Honda and Toyota are keenly eyeing the hatchback space in India. Honda has recently launched the Brio, while Toyota recently launched the Etios Liva. Honda’s premium hatchback, the Jazz, however, has not won much favor with customers and sales have dropped 35 percent year on year. Among hatchbacks in India, Maruti Suzuki is the most dominant player followed by Hyundai and then Tata. Maruti’s Alto is the country’s and the world’s largest selling hatchback, at 346,840 cars being sold in India last year, a growth of 47 percent. The second-largest selling hatchback in the country is again from Maruti – the Wagon R. However, the Wagon R has close competition from the Hyundai i10, which is just behind it, though the i10 hasn’t grown as much...
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...April TRAINING EXECUTIVE EXECUTIVE BUSINESS SIMULATION MARKET RESEARCH MARKET RESEARCH PACKAGE FOR THE EUROPEAN PASSENGER AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY 2009-2010 Release 9 MARKET RESEARCH MARKET RESEARCH PACKAGE FOR THE EUROPEAN CAR INDUSTRY THE EUROPEAN CAR MARKET The European motor industry is the world's largest car market, having exceeded the US market in total units sold (excluding light trucks). It is also an extremely competitive arena. Some of the patterns to emerge from this market over the last few years are listed below. 1. Sales Figures1 Historical and Current The last strong rise in sales was in 1998 (14.3m), continuing into 1999, however, in 2000 sales fell by 2.2% (14.7m) and stayed at this level in 2001. In 2002 sales fell by 3%, 2003 saw an increase of nearly 5% but this was a result of an expanding marketplace, in reality there was another fall of 1% when comparing sales in the same EU member countries. 2004 saw a genuine 2% increase in registrations, remained stable in 2005, showed a substantial 4% rise in 2006 but then the percentage increase dropped to 1% in 2007. In 2008 European car sales figures were easily the worst for over a decade: 14.6m in extended Europe, 13.6m in the core economies, a drop of 8.2% and 8.1% respectively over 2007 figures. Gloomy forecasts for 2009 proved to be well founded with the whole market falling by a further 0.7% to 14.5m, however, the market excluding the new EU countries did show a 0.7% improvement to 13.7m...
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...The current 3 Series model is a market leader in a mature market sector. Its high market share leads to a high cash flow rate, and its position in a mature market means that investment supports in areas such a product and process development is low. The 5 series too, is comfortably positioned as a cash cow. It is a mature product, placed and sold in a less volatile market than the 3 series. This means that the 3 and 5 series family of products have extremely high profitability, due to their high level of sales, and the low level of expenditure needed to maintain the sales levels. The 7 series however is a model in decline in terms of its lifecycle. It is found at the ultimate destination of all products, a ‘dog’. The production does have market share, but its desirability is waning and its performance relative to its competitors is not what it once was. The market for the 7 series however, is still performing well. This means that BMW should, and will review the model with a view to re-launch in the near future. The above products are all fairly settled. Many of them have been being manufactured for many years now with several re-designs and re-launches. BMW has however recently begun expanding its portfolio, and the result of this is some new star and problem children. One of these stars is the X5. The X5 is a new market area for BMW. The 4x4 market can be extremely profitable, especially the ‘On road’ 4x4 products. This market is very large and growing, and BMW have made an...
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...Hyundai Motors Globalization strategy 1967-2013 06/06/2013 Research project: Hyundai globalisation strategy Executive summary The following report maps out Hyundai Motor Corporation’s (HMC) internationalisation strategy from its creation in 1967 to the current period. This strategy can be chronologically divided into four phases according to HMC’s objectives and rationale for expansion at different stages of its existence. From the research carried out, it appears that HMC’s choices of specific internationalisation patterns at different stages essentially stemmed from: The dynamics of the relationship between HMC, the Hyundai business group and the South Korean economic and political environment; Political, social and nationalistic incentives deriving from the specificities of Chaebol management and later the influence of the Asian crisis on this management and decision taking processes; Korea’s initial factor dotation, i.e. the prevalence of certain factors over others which pushed the company to seek knowledge and resources abroad at a very early stage; The replication of Japanese strategies (Nissan, Mitsubishi, Toyota). - Due to the complexity of HMC’s environment, strategy over time cannot be illustrated using a single internationalisation framework. The report therefore discusses two different frameworks – namely Porter’s diamond and Dunning’s eclectic paradigm – to analyse the company’s strategy at different stages of its international development. 2 ...
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