Deere & Company Case Study

According to Ultimate John Deere By Ralph W. Sanders (), John Deere was as considered by many more of an adapter of technology an imaginative marketer rather than an innovator. He was a keen on seeing value in new ideas and adapted them to his products so that they could better serve his customers4. In addition his desire for quality transposed to become the family tradition transforming the on-man plough making shop to the largest farm equipments making company in the world.

The problem that Deere faces is how they can successfully move to the middle of the perceptual map to be respected as a manufacturer of both small tractors and large tractors. There are several observations that can be made regarding the positioning of the competitors. The first observation is both International Harvester and Case are competing in both the large and small tractor market. It is evident that International Harvester experience financial difficulties perhaps as a result of not having a singular focus. Another observation is that Caterpillar’s decision to “reposition” itself from a small manufacturer to a large manufacturer could easily be explained by Paretti’s 80/20 rule. Caterpillar enjoyed an extensive dealer network, and their dealer sales ranged from $12 million to $70 million, versus Deere’s $1 million to $16 million in sales per dealer. By tapping into Paretti’s 80/20 principle, Deere could enjoy increased margins from the sale of parts alone.

One of the five oldest companies in the United States, Deere and Company is the world's largest manufacturer of agricultural equipment and a major U.S. producer of construction, forestry, and lawn equipment. The

This paper thoroughly examines Deere & Company from multiple perspectives. First, a review of the company’s history, products and service offerings, corporate strategy, and a summary of the agricultural and construction equipment industry will be provided. Next, the Deere and Company’s current financial position will be examined. This includes reports of John Deere’s earnings, cash flows, assets and debt management, profit margins, and future projections. These financial statistics will then be compared to the primary competitors of John Deere in order to show the company’s financial viability. After the analysis is complete, a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) will be conducted in order to identify key success factors and driving forces. Based on the analysis, strategic recommendations that Deere and Company should leverage in order to avoid potential threats and to maintain its position as an industry leader.

John Deere & Company manufactures and distributes agriculture equipment as well as a broad range of construction and forestry equipment. The company is partnered with FedEx in order to maintain the logistics flow involved with the company’s transactions. FedEx is responsible for providing outsourced transportation services to 11 Deere facilities across the US and Canada. The 11 Deere facilities have different service agreements with FedEx in terms of cost and service depending on the type of business unit.

Buyers. As of 2013 Deere has 34% share of the exports of agricultural equipment. Buyers tend to go with a known brand name. Deere has been around 1837 and have been known for their excellent quality farm equipment. Since the buyers are a small group of farmers, government and big corporations, the buyers cannot influence the prices of the equipment. Deere is known for not repossessing farm equipment when there is a down turn, like the depression. This does instill the brand into the buyers. They established operations in strategic countries to keep the prices down and have product ready when it is needed.

John Deere was born in Rutland, Vermont, on February 7, 1804. He was born to William Rinold Deere and Sarah Yates Deere. John had three brothers, Charles Francis, Francis Albert, and another that died as a baby. He also had six sisters, Jeanette, Ellen Sarah, Alice Marie, Frances Alma, Emma Charlotte, and Mary Frances. In 1805, the family of twelve moved to Middlebury, Vermont. Three years later, William, John's father, boarded a boat for England. He hoped to come back to America as a wealthy man. After he left, he was never heard from again and was assumed to be lost at sea. John and his 8 living siblings were raised by a single mother on a small income. His education was probably not the best and was limited to the public schools

Supplier Power: Deere was able to keep its competition from driving supply chain prices up by being able to develop their own supply chains. The company opened manufacturing plants both domestically and internationally that were specifically designed to manufacture different parts. With these plants being Deere plants this has enabled the company to have no need to rely on external suppliers and has been able to rely on itself.

Deere & Company, together with its subsidiaries (John Deere), incorporated in 1958, operates in three business segments: agriculture and turf segment, construction and forestry segment, and credit segment. The agriculture and turf segment, created by combining the former agricultural equipment and commercial and consumer equipment segments, manufactures and distributes a range of farm and turf equipment, and related service parts. The construction and forestry segment manufactures, distributes to dealers and sells at retail a range of machines and service parts used in construction, earthmoving, material

The reason of implementing supplier integration in the design and fabricating processes for Deere & John is to move towards a new business model to stay competitive in the increasing global competition.

The company’s goal is to provide more than just a product. Deere “is committed to those linked to the land” as company strategy says. It enjoys high customer loyalty thanks to a superior customer service and maintains a

In mid-September 2005, Ashley Swenson, the CFO of large CAD/CAM equipment producer must choose whether to pay out profits to the firm¡¦s investors or repurchase stock. On the off chance that Swenson pays out profits, she should likewise settle on the extent of the payout.

the world. These partners range from suppliers, to farm growers which are at the heart of its

4. In a service supply chain, the (explicit) cost of information is higher than in a product

Sears is facing a huge problem when it comes to making profits anymore and they are continuing to shut down stores. They have already shut down over 100 locations due to them not being as successful as they used to be. They also have a failed stock, drained all their resources, and they are loaded with debt. This company is not able to pull through and make profits anymore because their CEO is not capable of making changes to the company to bring it out of it. He sees that the company is not as presentable as it used to be and it does not have the same appeal. People are not going to want to go to a store where it does not have anything to offer anymore. How can sears become profitable again if they are in such debt and trouble with stocks