•The HBR Spotlight Cihauv Two Japanese automakers have had stunning success building relationships with North Annerican suppliers-often the same companies that have had contentious dealings with Detroit’s Big Three. What are Toyota and Honda doing right? by Jeffrey K- Liker and Thomas Y- Choi uilding Deep supplier^ "The Big Three [U.S. automakers] set annual cost-reduction targets [for the parts they purchase]. To realizo those targets‚ they’ll do anything. [They’ve unleashed] a reign
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Building Deep Supplier Relationships Toyota and Honda have been able to establish close cooperative relationships with suppliers by following six individual steps. Toyota and Honda understand how their suppliers work. They turn supplier rivalry into opportunity. The companies supervise their vendors to ensure their specific needs are met. Furthermore‚ they develop their suppliers technical capabilities by investing in the company‚ but making it back exponentially in the long run. Also‚ Toyota
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Product The Smart Car concept derives from an artistic feel; mainly‚ small‚ fun to drive‚ a fashionable car‚ urban centred‚ and image base (its association with Mercedes). Product Design The Smart Car Roadster Coupe is a small‚ plastic-bodied‚ two seater weighing 1836.5 lbs‚ 134.9 in long‚ and offers a bit of power for being relatively light in design with a top speed of 137 mph (220 km/h). (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/1800/Smart-Roadster-Coupe-V6.html) Rating 0-60 in 5.9 sec‚ the Roadster
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Supplier Relationships: A Strategic Initiative Jagdish N. Sheth Goizueta Business School Emory University Arun Sharma University of Miami Jagdish N. Sheth is Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing‚ Emory Business School‚ Emory University and Arun Sharma is Associate Professor of Marketing‚ University of Miami. This paper extends research published by the authors in Industrial Marketing Management (March 1997). Please address correspondence to Arun Sharma‚ Department of Marketing‚ University
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Mercedes Canada Smart Car Building on its success in the European market over the past few years‚ Mercedes-Benz Canada has launched the Smart Car in Canada! Following a few modifications to meet Canadian safety and emission standards‚ Mercedes-Benz is currently selling the Smart in Ontario as a trial before a full North American launch the following year. The Smart is unique - almost revolutionary in the auto market. The people at Mercedes believe that the market for the Smart is untapped with
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Christina L. Brown MRKT 454 Case # 10-2 The Smart Car June 16‚ 2012 Competitive advantage exists when there is a match between a firm’s distinctive competencies and the factors critical for success within its industry (Keegan & Green‚ 2011). There are two basic ways to achieve competitive advantage. First‚ a firm can pursue a low-cost strategy that enables it to offer products at lower prices than competitors. Next‚ an advantage can be gained by a strategy of differentiating products
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Smart USA Marketing Plan Smartfortwo Megan Barnett‚ Johnathon Bish‚ Nathan Downes‚ and Hannah Loyd DeVry University‚ BUSN 319 April 6‚ 2009 Introduction and Mission Statement What seems to be the trend in today’s market and what some are already practicing is the “green” life style. There is a need to create a product that can adhere to this lifestyle in a way that helps the planet‚ can be done safely and in style‚ with effortless routine‚ while clearly stating that you are contributing to the
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The Smart car is definitely one of the best inventions of the century. It is probably one of the best businesses in the world that generates high profits while materializes environmental conservation visions. The Smart car is an incredibly tiny car that is made of plastic body panels and a reinforced steel shell‚ which means less energy and heavy-industrial raw materials required in the process of manufacturing them. The best feature of this car is its excellent gas mileage. In other words‚ the Smart
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Suppliers provide an essential service for any industry.Whether a company is product or service oriented‚ it usually relies heavily on suppliers in order to meet their customers’ demands. Companies today rely more on suppliers than ever before to cut down costs and improve quality. Because of this‚ every company’s approach to suppliers should be part of their strategic plan. Unfortunately‚ many business owners do not see the value in developing strong relationships with their suppliers. They
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Case study on Smart Cars entering Nigeria and how it can be a success after its launch in Indonesia. Lagos‚ Nigeria is one of the fastest growing cities in Africa continent and is in a desperate need of the automobile industry. The car black market and high taxes are killing the automobile industry in Nigeria. Smart cars would prove to be a boon for the country‚ both economically and environment. South Africa wants to support Nigeria set up the automobile industry in Nigeria‚ which would provide
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