...Ford Value Chain: The graphic above illustrates the major stages of our value chain and identifies key impacts, stakeholders, and examples of value we create at each stage. The value chain assessment was revised and updated for the 2013/2014 report as part of the “materiality analysis” which prioritizes the most significant issues in Ford’s value chain. (Circled in red are the areas in which Ford sees as most significant in adding value) http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2013-14/blueprint-value.html (Ford value chain and its impacts) Each link in a value chain consists of a bundle of value activities, performed by a firm to “design, produce, market, deliver and support its product”. ‘Value activities are the discrete building blocks of competitive advantage’. The value chain of the Ford Motor Company is comparable to that of competing manufacturers in the automobile industry. Many years of increased arbitrary demands on suppliers has led to poor supplier relations and so the 100 year-old company is taking a new approach to reinvent its’ value chain. ------------------------------------------------- Porter, M., “Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance”, Free Press, New York, and Collier Macmillan, London, 1985; 2nd edn, Free Press, London and New York, 19 References Automotive Industries. Norman Martin. April, 2005. December 2007. Ford Wages War on Waste. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3012/is_6_179/ai_55055336 ...
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...FINAL REPORT SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSRTY MARCH 13, 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2 OVERVIEW OF SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY: 3 FORD: LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY 3 About the company 3 Features of Ford system of manufacturing 4 Supply chain Design 4 Push Pull Strategy 5 Best practices 6 TOYOTA: LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY 6 About the Company 6 Supply chain design 7 Key features of Toyota business model 7 Drivers of supply chain 8 Parts Ordering 9 Parts and Supplier Master 9 Forecasting 9 Toyota distribution model 10 Best practices 10 COMPARISON 10 ISSUES 11 RECOMMENDATIONS 12 REFRENCES 13 INTRODUCTION The Indian automotive industry, comprising vehicle and component manufacturers, has grown steadily since the economic liberalization of the early 1990’s. The arrival of major global auto companies has galvanised the domestic sector into adopting Supply Chain best practices. The changing business conditions of the 21st century has led to companies facing issues ranging from globalisation, economic uncertainty to new technologies and increasing consumer demands. In the automobile industry, as manufacturers design and build vehicles globally, their supply chains become increasingly complex with challenges that often stand in the way of profitability and higher shareholder value such as long order-to-delivery lead times, unreliable production schedules, excess inventory...
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...Ford Motor Company – Case Study Jason Austin Denine Rood Jeanne Sands Like apple pie and a summer baseball game, Ford Motor Company has come to symbolize America, the land of opportunity. This America is a place where a person with scarcely any means can take little more than an idea and transform it into one of the most successful companies in the world. This is the story of Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company. Consider the following quote from the Ford Web site. Ford Motor Company entered the business world on June 16, 1903, when Henry Ford and 11 business associates signed the company's articles of incorporation. With $28,000 in cash, the pioneering industrialists gave birth to what was to become one of the world's largest corporations. Few companies are as closely identified with the history and development of industry and society throughout the 20th century as Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford and his business partners where true entrepreneurs. Today, when we think about Ford, we think about innovation. From Henry Ford’s revolutionary idea of the assembly line to the new vehicles that Ford introduces every day, innovation has always been a cornerstone of Ford’s business. One little known fact is that Ford embraced QFD (Quality Function Deployment) , a Japanese quality methodology, into their product design process significantly earlier than most companies in the United States. This embracing of new ideology has led Ford to offer products...
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...Ford Motor Company Case Study Executive Summary The Ford motor company has been a progressive leader throughout the history of the company. In order maintain this leadership, it has had to adapt to the ever changing business environment and market conditions. With the emergence of new information technologies and ideas from new high-tech industries, it must evaluate how these tools can be utilized to further the business. Recently, virtual integration has been proven very successful to companies like Dell and Cisco. However, this approach is best suited for companies that have very few layers of suppliers as well as more centralized production. The Ford motor company cannot simply change their entire supply chain to fit this model. That being said, some of these theories and practices can still be incorporated into Ford’s current supply chain. These must be calculated changes, involving various departments within Ford’s organization, collaborating with their most valued and dynamic suppliers. With Ford already moving somewhat toward this direction with suppliers who provide complete subsystems for their automobiles, further changes in these areas should prove feasible with limited risk. Issues • Determining whether or not to incorporate the virtual integration model used by other recently successful firms such as Cisco and Dell • Uncertainty on how to utilize emerging information technologies to interact with suppliers • Many...
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...to achieve success. It is no less of spectacle to attribute strategy to individual achievement, achievement from a company, a country or at the very least a non – financial institute to achieve strategic success. Ford Motor Company has in recent times lost its market share to emerging Asian companies such as Honda, Toyota, Hyundai and Nissan. As a new landscape of economic might surfaces, new car stereotypes are emerging. Finding a place in these segments is proving difficult for Ford Motors and hence need to change its strategies. Hyper-competition combined with tough economic times has pushed Ford to the edge of insolvency. This paper examines the issues that plague the company while using published models to make analysis on how and why the problems occur to better understand their potential impact on the company’s sustainable competitive advantage. Recommendations will seek to give strategic solutions to address the issues identified earlier. This research isn’t structured upon models to identify, analyze and solve issues but rather looks at the core of the problems within Ford Motors and provides models to analyze and solve the issues. TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents INTRODUCTION 1 SECTION 1: STRATEGIC ISSUES AT FORD 2 Underlying Issues at Ford Motor 2 1. Financial 3 2. Competition 4 SECTION 2: STRATEGIC MODELS AND FRAMEWORK SUITABLE FOR ISSUES IDENTIFIED 6 2.1. Competitor Analysis 6 2.1.1 Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis 7 2.1.2 SWOT ANALYSIS 11 2.2 Financial...
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...A.Baker University of Phoenix Management 521 Bernard Ruff April 10,2012 Business Analysis Part Two In this paper, the author will discuss Ford Motor Company’s business environment. The author has reviewed Ford’s income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow to determine the financial health of the company. The author will conduct a benchmarking analysis of the company as well. From reviewing Ford Motor Company’s income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow, the author has learned that the company needs to increase their revenue. Their revenue concerns the author because it is a little low, as compared to other companies, GMC and Toyota. It is lower than that of the other two companies. Toyota’s operating income is low, however, and their assets and liabilities equal to the same amount. GMC’s sales and revenue was very high along with its net income. GMC’s liabilities outweigh its assets though, which poses a very big problem. They are spending more than they produce, which is a bad thing. This makes their financial health very poor in that regard. To summarize Ford’s financial health, it could be better. Their gross profit is very low, in comparison to the two other companies. Their operating income leaves much more to be desired. Their income after taxes is more than their income before taxes. Their total assets outweigh their liabilities. They have quite a bit of debt. Moving forward, Ford can use this information to create...
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...CASE STUDY Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company, one of the world’s largest automotive manufacturers, has worked with Penske on several Six Sigma initiatives. As its lead logistics provider (LLP), Penske’s quality team of associates are trained in Six Sigma practices and work closely with Ford to streamline operations and create and maintain a more centralized logistics network. Together, they uncovered several areas for real cost savings as a result of reducing inbound carrier discrepancies, eliminating unnecessary premium costs and reducing shipment overages. Plus, Penske implemented accountability procedures and advanced logistics management technologies to gain more visibility of its overall supply network. Six Sigma initiatives streamline operations Penske Logistics began its relationship with Ford as lead logistics provider (LLP) for Ford’s assembly plant in Norfolk, Va. At the time, each of Ford’s 20 North American assembly plants managed its own logistics operations. A decentralized approach provided total control of logistics at the plant level, but presented costly redundancies in materials handling and transportation. Ford conducted studies to determine the benefits of transitioning the company’s decentralized logistic operations to a centralized approach. The decision was quickly apparent – centralization of the company’s logistics operations would increase both velocity and visibility throughout the network, as well as reduce supply chain costs. Shortly thereafter...
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...CASE STUDY Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company, one of the world’s largest automotive manufacturers, has worked with Penske on several Six Sigma initiatives. As its lead logistics provider (LLP), Penske’s quality team of associates are trained in Six Sigma practices and work closely with Ford to streamline operations and create and maintain a more centralized logistics network. Together, they uncovered several areas for real cost savings as a result of reducing inbound carrier discrepancies, eliminating unnecessary premium costs and reducing shipment overages. Plus, Penske implemented accountability procedures and advanced logistics management technologies to gain more visibility of its overall supply network. Six Sigma initiatives streamline operations Penske Logistics began its relationship with Ford as lead logistics provider (LLP) for Ford’s assembly plant in Norfolk, Va. At the time, each of Ford’s 20 North American assembly plants managed its own logistics operations. A decentralized approach provided total control of logistics at the plant level, but presented costly redundancies in materials handling and transportation. Ford conducted studies to determine the benefits of transitioning the company’s decentralized logistic operations to a centralized approach. The decision was quickly apparent – centralization of the company’s logistics operations would increase both velocity and visibility throughout the network, as well as reduce supply chain costs. Shortly thereafter...
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...Part A: Literature Review Logistic systems and supply chains are continuously impacted by a multitude of internal and external variables. These variables include globalisation, shorter product life-cycles, technological advances, the development of electronic supply chains (ESC), increased communication, breakdowns of trade barriers, development of national economies and ever continuing efficiency improvements in transportation, manufacturing and communication (Gunaskeran, Patel & McGaughey 2004, Persson 1991). These factors can make creating and sustaining competitive advantage in supply chain management (SCM) a complicated and difficult task (Cavinato 1992, Persson 1991, Mehrjerdi 2009). A range of measures of supply chain competitiveness have been developed throughout SCM literature. Bhatangar & Sohal (2005, pg. 445) stated that there are “no stable set of measures that can be used for assessing the performance of the supply chain” (Lee & Billington 1992, Gunaskeran et al 2004). The pair constructed a framework (see Appendix A) that categorises and combines many of the concepts developed in the literature surrounding the competitiveness of supply chains. Gunaskeran et al (2004) also developed a framework for measuring performance in terms of strategic, tactical and operational levels of supply chain activity (See Appendix B). Developments in the perceptions of SCM are moving from a basic, purely cost approach to one of value-adding and non-cost measures such as customer satisfaction...
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...manager of a Auto Parts retail chain all issues and steps for education and requirements are reviewed, to select the best replacement for the needed position. Advantages and disadvantages of selecting internally and externally are also stated. Keywords Ford Motor Co., Coca Cola Co., recruiting personnel, internal and external hiring, basic criteria, hiring methods Introduction The Ford Motor Co. and the Coca Cola Co. are being used for comparison in this report. Both are internationally known and will prove to be an excellent example tool. They both has been around for a lot of years and have proven to be successful, economically as well as notable. Here stated are examples of internal and external selection methods and guidelines. Job specifications are listed and the requirements needed to fill the position open. Three Major Criteria The Ford Motor Co. has three major criteria used when recruiting people. They look at education, if the person can make decisions based on facts and data, and if they have the drive to seek growth and improvement. The Coca Cola Co. has three major criteria as well. Education, experience in the industry of consumer products, and the person's beliefs and value of themselves is reviewed. The Ford Motor Co. The Ford Motor Co. places the education status of the applicants highest and of most importance. Ford looks for the most highly qualified personnel and engineers. All management or supervisory positions personnel...
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...Executive Summary: Ford Motor Company was incorporated in 1903 in Michigan,USA by Henry Ford and 11 partners with a starting capital of 28000 US $ in cash. The company witnessed tremendous growth and became one of the top three car manufacturers in North America. Sales reached 150 billion $ in 1996 with a total of 370,000 work force worldwide. The company stayed innovative and progressive in its strategy and business model. In the 1970's, the car market became more competitive with the Japanese manufacturers like Toyota and Honda gaining grounds in the auto market worldwide by producing high quality vehicles with extended life time. In 1999 Ford acquired the Swedish company Volvo to establish a foot hold in Europe and launched a campaign called "Ford 2000"to reengineer the company infrastructure and IT strategy that aimed at reducing their vehicle centers to 5 worldwide and requiring information technology to be the driving force and the link between the various company divisions. In doing so, Ford was trying to build a model similar to the one adopted by Dell computers to improve supply chain and delivery times. Dell launched the "direct business model" or "virtual integration" where Dell contracted with reliable suppliers to produce and assemble hardware and software for its computers and note books and tried to sell its products directly to organizations and individuals through the internet by cancelling the role of the retailers or intermediaries. I recommend the implementation...
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...FORD MOTOR COMPANY’S | SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY | | | 11/13/2012 | *The Virtual Integration Model Analysis at Ford Motor Company, to Companies like Dell* EXECUTIVE SUMMARY As director of Supply Chain Systems, I have decided to implement portions of the new supply chain strategy of Virtual Integration and strategies from companies like Dell. Although there are several key differences between the companies, Dell’s virtual integration strategy can be applied to Ford’s supply chain operation. A modification of the virtual integration system currently used by Dell could be applied to Ford’s dependent supplier base, distribution system, dealerships and divisions. Special care will need to be taken to address the unique dependency of our custom Tier 1 supplier. The management of lower tier suppliers of general or generic components would be more effectively suited by the standard procedures used by Dell. In order to adopt the Dell Model we would: · Sell direct · Mass-produce customized products · Build to order · Substitute virtual integration with suppliers for vertical integration If we at Ford could find a solution to the obstacles of virtual integration, which I will explain in detail below. It could essentially make our supply chain run smoothly with less bottlenecking, inventory, and better overall performance. Managers could overcome the complex and error-prone manual process of forecasting and procuring parts which would result in reduced...
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...[pic] BJMP 5023 Operations and Technology Management [pic] PREPARED TO: DR MARTINO LUIS PREPARED BY: SUHASINI PRAHAKARAN (810986) Title Company: Caterpillar Inc Background Caterpillar Inc. Overview The Caterpillar Tractor Co. was formed in 1925 as a result of the merger of the C.L. Best Gas Tractor Company and the Holt Caterpillar Company. Restructure as Caterpillar Inc. in 1986, and it is currently one of the world’s largest manufacturers of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. Caterpillar has over 3 million machines in usage and it runs in three primary lines of business such as Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. . Strategic Overview In order to remain to excellently grow the business and success against the competition, Caterpillar has implemented Vision 2020, an enterprise strategy that emphases on the Company’s customers, employees, and stockholders. Vision 2020 is built on Caterpillar’s strategic goals, operating principals, and core values. The three primary strategic goals of Vision 2020 are to produce superior financial results, be a global industry leader and have the greatest team. Involved in Vision 2020 are Caterpillar’s “Big 8” requirements for 2011 through 2015 which is focus on how Caterpillar will success and preserve and improve its leadership position. Over Vision 2020, Caterpillar expects to win by delivering valued, quality products, services...
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...FORD MOTOR COMPANY: SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY Teri Takai, the director of supply chain systems, had set aside this time on her calendar to contemplate recommendations to senior executives. The question they’d asked was widely agreed to be extremely important to Ford’s future: How should the company use emerging information technologies (i.e. Internet technologies) and ideas from new high-tech industries to change the way it interacted with suppliers? Members of her team had different views on the subject. Some argued that the new technology made it inevitable that entirely new business models would prevail and that Ford needed to radically redesign its supply chain and other activities or risk being left behind. This group favored “virtual integration,” modeling the Ford supply chain on that of companies, such as Dell, which had aggressively used technology to reduce working capital and exposure to inventory obsolescence. Proponents of this approach argued that although the auto business was very complex both for historical reasons and because of the inherent complexity of the automotive product, there was no reason such business models could not provide a conceptual blueprint for what Ford should attempt. Another group was more cautious, believing that the difference between the auto business and relatively newer businesses such as computer manufacturing were important and substantive. Some noted, for example, that relative to Dell the Ford supplier network had many...
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... NU ID: 001190870 SCHM 6215 SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN IT APPLICATIONS SUMMER 2 2014 Case 1 Ford Motor Company: Supply Chain Strategy Assignment Questions: 1. Based on your reading of the Harvard Business Review interview with Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Computers, what is your conclusion about the advantages Dell derives from virtual integration? How important are these advantages in the auto business? Explanation: Michael Dell’s insight on innovative combination of customer focus, supplier partnership, mass customization and just in time manufacturing enabled the coordination across company’s boundaries to achieve new levels of efficiency and productivity as well as extraordinary returns to investors. Michael dell termed it ...
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