Ford Motor Company Case Study
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Ford Motor Company Case Report
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Executive Summary
Ford Motor Company has a long history, starting in Michigan in 1903. They have focused on designing and manufacturing and have been very successful, however with increasing competition, global markets and over-capacity the company needs to look at ways to improve profitability. The company has implemented various programs and processes to create a lean, responsive system with better consumer forecasting. Their challenge is to continue to research ways to stay viable in current market and industry conditions. Dell Computers has been very successful with a direct model and virtual integration that may or not work well for Ford.
CONTENTS
* ISSUE 3 * ANALYSIS 4 * ALTERNATIVES 6 * RECOMMENDATIONS 7 * IMPLEMENTATION 8 * CONCLUSION 8 * REFERENCES 9
* ISSUE:
The Ford Motor Company is facing a number of challenges including the direction of CEO Jac Nasser to focus on customer responsiveness and shareholder value to deal with increasing competitiveness, an industry with potential over-capacity and the expansion into globalized markets.
Ford had begun to implement systems to reduce cycle-time, improve quality and to lower costs. Programs included consolidating product development into five Vehicle Centres (VCs), reeingineered processes such as Order to Delivery (OTD), Fort Production System (FPS) and Business to Business (B2B) capacity. Additionally, information flow was examined to overcome geographical constraints, thus becoming a critical component of Ford’s global approach. During the past decade the company has implemented many programs and processes becoming the most improved automaker with steady upward trending sales and record profit sharing. The supply chain initially had a base of many
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Ford Motor Company Case Report
-------------------------------------------------
Executive Summary
Ford Motor Company has a long history, starting in Michigan in 1903. They have focused on designing and manufacturing and have been very successful, however with increasing competition, global markets and over-capacity the company needs to look at ways to improve profitability. The company has implemented various programs and processes to create a lean, responsive system with better consumer forecasting. Their challenge is to continue to research ways to stay viable in current market and industry conditions. Dell Computers has been very successful with a direct model and virtual integration that may or not work well for Ford.
CONTENTS
* ISSUE 3 * ANALYSIS 4 * ALTERNATIVES 6 * RECOMMENDATIONS 7 * IMPLEMENTATION 8 * CONCLUSION 8 * REFERENCES 9
* ISSUE:
The Ford Motor Company is facing a number of challenges including the direction of CEO Jac Nasser to focus on customer responsiveness and shareholder value to deal with increasing competitiveness, an industry with potential over-capacity and the expansion into globalized markets.
Ford had begun to implement systems to reduce cycle-time, improve quality and to lower costs. Programs included consolidating product development into five Vehicle Centres (VCs), reeingineered processes such as Order to Delivery (OTD), Fort Production System (FPS) and Business to Business (B2B) capacity. Additionally, information flow was examined to overcome geographical constraints, thus becoming a critical component of Ford’s global approach. During the past decade the company has implemented many programs and processes becoming the most improved automaker with steady upward trending sales and record profit sharing. The supply chain initially had a base of many
References: Austin, Robert D., Ford Motor Company: Supply Chain Strategy, 9-699-198, Harvard Business School Publishing, 1999. Magretta, Joan (2001) “The Power of Virtual Integration: An Interview with Michael Dell,” Harvard Business Review