mkt Case study
MKT S350
Ford Case
Alec Sadowski
Question 1. During the year 2006, Ford Motor Company suffered its biggest operating loss to date at the cost of $12.6 billion. A year later in 2007, things didn’t improve much as Ford posted a $2.7 billion loss. This corresponded with increasing deterioration in market share, with the majority of these losses being captured by other competitors. Ford had seemingly fallen down a slippery slope, and found itself in a hole it was struggling to surface from. This was all gearing up to the three-year recession that hit the U.S. and Global economies extremely hard. Ford’s competitors, General Motors and Chrysler, found themselves also struggling to get a foothold suffering such losses that both companies had to ask the government for massive bailouts while also filing for bankruptcy. Ford was apparently heading for the same disastrous bailout, but then Alan Mullaly stepped in as the new CEO and implemented a series of crucial strategic maneuvers. These strategic maneuvers that he coined as “One Ford,” aided them in getting a foothold out of the hole in which they dug for themselves by losses in market share. One such important strategic maneuver utilized by Ford was the reorganizing of its product line. It did so by standardizing components and making a stable of products that is more clearly defined for each market segment (Senna, 2013). Some benefits Ford has achieved through reorganizing its product line come from standardizing components globally and making a stable of products that is more clearly defined for each market segment (Senna, 2013). Before the change in demand, vehicles in Europe verses the U.S. were made with different components which built variations for their respected continents. These different unique components complicate production and with that complication came more cost. Ford then, under Mullaly’s direction, began to address this problem by building different models with the same or similar high quality
Ford Case
Alec Sadowski
Question 1. During the year 2006, Ford Motor Company suffered its biggest operating loss to date at the cost of $12.6 billion. A year later in 2007, things didn’t improve much as Ford posted a $2.7 billion loss. This corresponded with increasing deterioration in market share, with the majority of these losses being captured by other competitors. Ford had seemingly fallen down a slippery slope, and found itself in a hole it was struggling to surface from. This was all gearing up to the three-year recession that hit the U.S. and Global economies extremely hard. Ford’s competitors, General Motors and Chrysler, found themselves also struggling to get a foothold suffering such losses that both companies had to ask the government for massive bailouts while also filing for bankruptcy. Ford was apparently heading for the same disastrous bailout, but then Alan Mullaly stepped in as the new CEO and implemented a series of crucial strategic maneuvers. These strategic maneuvers that he coined as “One Ford,” aided them in getting a foothold out of the hole in which they dug for themselves by losses in market share. One such important strategic maneuver utilized by Ford was the reorganizing of its product line. It did so by standardizing components and making a stable of products that is more clearly defined for each market segment (Senna, 2013). Some benefits Ford has achieved through reorganizing its product line come from standardizing components globally and making a stable of products that is more clearly defined for each market segment (Senna, 2013). Before the change in demand, vehicles in Europe verses the U.S. were made with different components which built variations for their respected continents. These different unique components complicate production and with that complication came more cost. Ford then, under Mullaly’s direction, began to address this problem by building different models with the same or similar high quality
Citations: Dolan, M. (2009, Jun 23). Ford 's Mulally sees a Taurus in his future -CEO hopes to revive sedan that once was best-seller; high price, large size are obstacles. Wall Street Journal Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/docview/399050980?accountid=39473 Ford. " Ford introduces new curve control technology to help protect against crashes on curves."Http://corporate.ford.com/news-center/press-releases-detail/pr-ford-introduces-new-curve-control-32869?cmp=ford_rss_tags%7CTechnology. 2014. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. Ky, Samantha. "Chapter 10 Product Items." Prezi.com, 12 Oct. 2012. Web. 03 Oct. 2014. <http://prezi.com/rn672tpngv39/chapter-10-product-items/>. Senna, Alvin. "COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE FORD MOTOR COMPANY." NEWS WEEKLYLOGISTIC. 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2014. <http://wpsenna.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/competitive-advantage-ford-motor-company/>. Ford. "Year in Review." - Sustainability 2011/12. Ford Motor Company, 2011. Web. 29 Sept. 2014. Zboch, Heather. "Innovation and Its Importance at Ford Motor Company."HubPages. Phoenix Business, 28 Oct. 2009. Web. 27 Sept. 2014. <http://phoenixbusiness.hubpages.com/hub/Innovation-and-its-importance-in-the-Automobile-Industry>.