Ford Motor Company

A motor car for the great multitude a goal for Henry Ford(Schlager 593). In the 1920s, automobiles are rapidly changing the American lifestyle forever because of their affordability and also the development of new assembly technology to lower the cost. Technological innovations of assembly begin to expand and advance for the better throughout the 1920s, which impacts Americans and the people of the world today. Henry Ford, a bold figure during the 1920s, owner of Ford automobiles. His ideas and innovation like the assembly line forever changes the automobile and the way goods are produce. Although there are many technological advancement during the 1920s, the assembly line designed by

The Ford Motor Company’s Supply Chain Management ABSTRACT The influx of foreign automobiles that flood the United States market is higher than ever before and American companies are struggling to adapt to this decrease in market share. Ford is one of the organizations that has restructured its supply chain strategy to better integrate suppliers into their system reducing cost and

Ford entered into the automobile market many years ago and became the oldest car manufacturers. It is the first company which specialized in large scale manufacturing of the cars. The production of Ford cars is done in highly engineered way with the help of moving assembly lines.

According to Misra and Choudhary (2010), advanced information and communications technology such as virtual private networks, allows organizations to reduce cycle times and operational costs. Target utilizes an efficient ready-to-ship process to get their products out to thousands of vendors. Technology links all the vendors into a customized online community with extensive reporting and management systems. Vendors can easily and efficiently order shipments from regional distribution centers. Technology has streamlined costs in this process by eliminating thousands of faxed documents from vendors. Target is also able to fill trucks with more products at lower prices (“Target Corporation”, n.d.).

By grafting its system of custom direct sales onto the Internet infrastructure, Dell has transformed these activities, creating an innovative and efficient procurement, production, and distribution network. The innovative advance made by Dell in deploying Internet communication as the foundation of its production network, is a process innovation. Although to some extent, the Internet has enabled Dell to create a new product -- a PC custom-configured through Internet communication -- it is the process of organizing flows of materials and information within its network, from customer order to procurement, production and delivery, by means of Internet communication, that defines the innovation at the Firm. The case supports this notion by stating “While most other PCs were sold preconfigured and pre-assembled in retail stores, Dell offered superior customer choice in system configuration at a deeply discounted price, due to the cost-savings associated with cutting out the retail middleman. Additionally, an important side-benefit of the Internet-based direct sales model was that it generated a wealth of market data the company used to efficiently forecast demand trends and carry out effective segmentation strategies. This data drove the company’s product development efforts and allowed Dell to profit from information on the value drivers in each of its key customer

Through external databases for example, businesses can identify the cheapest suppliers and therefore reduce the bargaining power of existing suppliers (Bocij, 2008). The use of CAD/robotics and CBIS automation can also reduce the power of suppliers in the form of reducing the need for human labour (Robson, 1997). Such CBIS’s in the shape of computer-integrated manufacturing can also be used to speed up the development of new products, and reduce the threat of competitors being able to offer acceptable substitutes. In addition, integration of organisations CBIS’s with that of its buyers can help strengthen the business relationship, and reduce their relative buying power. Such information resources ‘can be used to build switching cost that make it less attractive for customers to purchase from competitors’ (Pearlson, 2004: 44). Amazon.com’s ‘one click’ policy for example, uses CBIS’s to store buyer information, to make future purchases easier for the buyer, and increasing the costs of switching suppliers in terms of both time and effort (Pearlson, 2004). With CBIS’s being able to increase entry barriers and decrease the strength of suppliers, buyers and substitute product, competition among existing competitors is likely to remain relatively stable, and based on differentiation of products and services. The ability of CBIS’s to influence the five forces of industry profitability demonstrates how critical such systems are

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

The dealers ordered the requirements through fax or phone. This resulted in confusions between the manufacturer and the dealers. The technology that integrates all the different department’s needs should be communicated properly in any organization. This was lacking in the Four Star industries.

The key to achieving this goal lies in the ability to take advantage of the Ford Company’s size and global presence to invest in information technology. This can be accomplished by using its intelligence resources to renegotiate the way it does business with suppliers, including partial integration of the “virtual integration model”, such as Dell Corporation

Founded in 1903, Henry Ford managed to get investor support to open the first manufacturing automobile company in Detroit, Michigan. Ford Motor Company has been known for its mass production of vehicles using a perfected assembly line method and its innovations in the automobile industry. Ford’s famous Model-T was developed as an innovative automobile that could be produced quickly, while keeping the cost to a minimum. This allowed people with a lower income the opportunity to afford an automobile. One of the biggest changes in the automobile industry occurred in 1913 with the introduction of a perfected assembly line method. This assembly line method was the one of the main reasons Ford Motor Company was able to keep the cost of vehicles and the production time to a minimum. Ford also took the first step to increase wages of their employees above the industry standard. Although it was still a very low value, Ford offered $5 per day which was a huge improvement from the $2.34 per day that most companies offered.

After closely examining Dell’s “virtual integration”, Teri realizes the differences between Ford’s purchasing organization and that of Dell’s pose complications. The redesign of the process must

Faced with an overwhelmingly complex situation, Alan Mulally has been brought in as Ford Motor Company's new president and CEO. As diverse global dynamics confront the company and competitive pressures continue to build, he has the challenging task of improving Ford's brand image and returning the company to profitability. Mulally has invited your consulting firm to advise his management team on restoring the company's reputation and viability. Assigned to the project, you have been asked to evaluate Ford's situation and prepare a report with the following content:

Although the direct business model of Dell is most attractive, there are several key differences between the computer and auto industries which serve as barriers to Ford‘s implementation of uniform, supply chain virtual integration. Ford must tackle many diverse obstacles that were, simply, not a factor with Dell‘s implementation. These obstacles range down the delivery chain from the supplier to the manufacturer to the dealer and, ultimately, to the customer. Overall, the intricate and historic process of manufacturing and selling automobiles contradicts the technological innovation necessary for a true virtually integrated system to exist.

I will recommend the BOD to approach the Dell model with a prudent attitude, neither too aggressive nor too timid. Emulating the virtual integration should focus on developing the strategic partnerships with technologically advanced suppliers and eliminating the correlation with smaller ones. Ford would make sure that key suppliers have access to forecasting data from customers' purchasing trends and production information to enable a faster order-to-delivery cycle. The difference in the distribution model between Dell and Ford lies in the middle link of using retail shops. Since Ford cannot skip retail as a focal distribution point, it should work on establishing a network of retail shops that it owned. Ford make sure shops are not affecting

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