Explain The Supply Network Of Ford Motor Company

Landon Orchard 292 Windermere Court West, London, Ontario, Canada 519-661-7006 Landon Orchard is currently an undergraduate business management major at Ashland University, Ashland, Ohio North Central Ohio APICS Chapter Full-time undergraduate student

Ford motor company offers a wealth of variety to the automotive consumer. As they start their second century of business, they are now in a position to appeal to the widest range of potential customers. Each of their automotive brands has a unique personality

When you hear the word “Ford” more often then not people are going to think of automobiles. This is not surprising because a man gave

Ford Motor Company has been and till the date is known as the king of innovations in the automobile industry. Their research & development department and innovation of interchangeable parts in moving assembly lines resulted in extraordinary global extension for them. They are an old heritage who ruled and still doing impressive jobs in the global automobile market. Some prestigious motor brands are also owned by Ford.

Ford supply chain strategy case study is an in-depth analysis report based on the inside and outside factors affecting the organization. Our analysis have included two alternatives and a few other attributes of the Ford which focuses on production on various countries and how the factor supply chain is contributing to the company policies. Moreover the report will focus on the current objective and suggest new ideology of Ford with global environment changes in mind.

"Trust our company, love our brands and delight in our services." This is the theme of Ford's global brand strategy. Ford's approach to brand marketing is that of six distinctive vehicle brands and four distinctive service brands. Among these vehicle brands are Mercury, Lincoln, Ford, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Mazda, and soon Volvo. With several different brands under the name Ford a number of products with an overwhelming set of characteristics has been developed. These strong brand names, along with unique models within each brand assist Ford to build long-term, sustainable links to customers throughout the world. (For a listing of Ford models, see appendix.) People automatically associate certain nameplates to Ford, such as the Mustang, Thunderbird, and the ever popular Taurus. The brand characteristic of a Ford truck is "Built Ford Tough," while the characteristics of a sport utility vehicle is ,"go anywhere, do anything, practical adventure." The Jaguar XJR is another example of a unique brand of Ford. There are no others like it on the market today. The XJR is targeted at those customers who are looking for that extravagant "muscle" car. All of these sub-brands share the same global promise of the Ford Motor Company.

There were opportunities in India and in China to diversify the market and raise revenue for Ford Motor Company by introducing new vehicles that was suitable for their population and needs

Many companies produce products from parts of raw materials that are purchased from suppliers, till these products are reach the markets and presented for the customers, then you have the supply chain starting from the purchase of raw material from different areas , through the manufacturing steps and stages till is being sold by the consumer. Some of supply chains are well defined and easy to determined, while there are other supply chains complex to analyze. However, supply chains vary with the size of the facility such as; complexities, performance, abilities, flexibility, quality, speed, dependability and cost of preparing goods for manufacturing and the chain length distribution. So the supply chain is a network of wholesalers, retailers, distributors, workers in the transport, storage facilities, suppliers, and manufacturers who participate in the production, delivery and sale of the product to the last consumer. A supply chain is a group of facilities that coordinate activities among it and to avoid the competitors. Moreover, to ensure the supply chain management is operating efficiently and generating the highest level of customer

The amount of cash that Ford is carrying on its balance sheet is too much considering that additional money not used for the advancement of the company belongs to the owners of the firm, the shareholders. Having too much cash on its balance sheet will be a disincentive to Ford’s employees who consequently will feel not feel an urgency to perform and add value to the company. Notwithstanding the fact that the company is always on the lookout for acquisition targets even after already purchasing Jaguar Cars, Volvo Cars, and Land Rover in the past ten years, it is imperative that the company does not engage in such activities for the sole purpose of “empire

Based upon his ten years research on supply chain issues in diverse industries such as food, fashion, apparel and automobiles he devises a framework which will help

Profitability (performance) ratios are used to assess a company’s ability to create equity as compared to its debt and other appropriate expenses created during a particular time frame. A favorable analysis of profitability ratios will reveal that a company’s value is higher than a competitor’s value.

Over the years, the U. S. auto industry's market has been experiencing fluctuations due to many reasons including: price, quality and foreign competition. General Motors Corporation (GM) which had been the leading car and truck manufacturer had been experiencing declining market share and facing stiff competition from both U.S manufacturers and foreign imports such as the Asian auto producers that included Toyota, Honda and Nissan. The main reason for increased foreign competition was that foreign cars were more fuel efficient, smaller, less expensive, and often more reliable than their American counterparts.

In 1913, Henry Ford revolutionized product manufacturing by introducing the first assembly line to the automotive industry. Ford’s hallmark of achievement proved to be a key competence for the motor company as the low cost of the Model T attracted a broader, new range of prospective car-owners. However, after many decades of success, customers have become harder to find. Due to relatively new threats to the industry, increasing numbers of cars and trucks are parked in dealer lots and showrooms creating an alarming trend of stagnation and profit erosion. Foreign-based automakers, such as Toyota and Honda, have expanded operations onto domestic shores and, in turn, have wrestled

2) What advantages does Dell derive from virtual integration? How important are these advantages in the auto business?

Over the past decade, Ford was struggling from strategic challenges in order to gain market share against its competitors or even keep its competitive standing; as a result, Ford have liquidated its luxury car brand in order to fund its new line up which is a part of its new strategy. This new strategy calls One Ford which aims to reduce Ford lineup numbers. In other words, it means producing one car platform to be sold worldwide rather than producing a particular car platform for each marketplace which in turn will reduce Ford factories numbers. Implementing this new strategy, Ford is going to shut down its factories in many countries like Australia. In terms of implementation the new strategy of Ford in Australia, this paper aims to provide a competitive analysis study among Ford competitors focusing on Australian automotive market by identifying Ford’s major competitors, their objectives and strategies, strengths and weaknesses, market share and size; beside, it highlights the new trends of Australian automotive market to examine the effect on competition during the next few years.