Reinventing Nissan Essay

As Sheila Austin works out the decision to source from one of the two suppliers that have responded to her request for quotes for a new wiring harness for Autolink, she is faced with a decision to go with an international supplier in China, or from a local supplier. The initial look at the price quotes would steer towards the international source, but the underlying fees and costs associated with the international seller would make her think twice about accepting that deal. The in-depth analysis will steer her in the right decision to which supplier is the better candidate as well as how the cost per

Economies of scale: Timken has started consolidating operations into global business units to reduce costs. They have expected annual savings of $80 million by the end of 2007 after Torrington’s acquisition.(case) As large size is usually expected to yield production economies if manufacturing operations can be amalgamated, marketing economies if similar distribution channels can be utilised, and financial economies if size confers access of capital markets on more favourable terms.(book).Moreover, by reducing the combined sales forces, Timken expected to realize significant purchasing synergies by giving much large volume to a reduced list of suppliers in exchange for price reductions. One analyst estimated that those

Nissan functions using these two major components. Service and manufacturing organizations face many similar issues that affect the end result of the operation. For example, both face issues of cost control, and create mission statements and a vision for how the organization will be run and perceived by customers. They however their operations answer different questions and formulate different strategies when it comes to planning and managing the way in which an organization is run. The manufacturing operations at Nissan are in contrast to that of TPS, they leveraged a regional, decentralized supply chain structure, but still imposed a strong central control and coordination in times of global crises. Service wise they maintained a flexible organization by integrating and embracing diversity into their team. These two operations gives value to the customers and meets the organizations overall objective of customer

Overview: The Toyota Production System has long been hailed and admired as the source of Toyota’s outstanding performance as a manufacturer. TPS aims to eliminate waste, reduce defects and maximize flow. TPS aims to increase efficiency and productivity by employing a unique production system that cuts costs through continuous improvement. Long term goal is to yield sharp reductions in product development and manufacturing lead times. Toyota want to be the industry best and they stand behind their culture to share the wealth of how they do it.

In 2011 two Asian firms entered the Canadian market in 2011. An Asian competitor made a major sales push by slashing prices in late 2011, cutting dramatically into Alliston’s sales in 2012. This move caused Alliston to lay-off 50 employees their largest layoff in company history. Alliston introduces new products to its line to counter the Asian firm but employees had no interest in working on the new products and preferred the old products to work on. Alliston in late 2012 in an effort to increase efficiency persuaded the union to accept an incentive program in exchange for job security. An individual performance pay plan was implemented with no detailed records to set standards. Standards

Looking into the competitive threat more closely, the auto industry in the United States is rather sensitive to price, with a price elasticity of 2, or a 5% increase in price contributing to a subsequent 10% fall in demand. Thus, based upon the sticker price decreases potentially implemented by Japanese automakers, Japanese companies’ combined market share (roughly 4.1m units in 2000) stands to increase substantially, and could eat into General Motors’ overall market share. To highlight the sensitivity to the USD-JPY spot exchange rate, GM’s VP of Finance, Eric Feldstein, suggests that just a one-yen depreciation increases competitors’ operating profit by $400m. With $900m in net yen receivables, $500m in outstanding yen-denominated bonds, and more

The topic selected is (Strategic Procurement & Supply Chain Management). For this study, we have selected Toyota Motor Corporations as our company of choice. Toyota is without doubt the best in the world, with its many philosophies and principles on how to make the best out of the least; JIT, lean production and elimination of waste and the desire for continuous improvement are just a few ways how Toyota has become the best in the auto industry. Toyota as a name, a company, and as a brand has become synonymous with Quality.

The salary structure is inconsistent with people carrying out identical jobs having pay differences of up to £3,000 pa. This may cause friction within the team. Even when the company promotes an incentive bonus scheme for the production staff, the targets have not been met. And so the bonuses have never been paid. We do not know from the information given whether the targets are unrealistic or the workers do not see the scheme as being worthwhile. The production workers seem to be on a different path to the company’s.

Just like the other industries such as apparel, electronics, and consumer goods, the automobile industry has accelerated its foreign direct investment, cross border trade and global production. The automobile industry has increased outsourcing and bundled value chain activities in major supplier chains. As a result, more developed countries that serve as suppliers have increased their involvement in trade and FDI. With these increased supplier capabilities, large national suppliers have become global suppliers and are now controlling multinational operations. This is because of their increased capability of providing good and services to various lead firms all over the world. The automotive industry has a distinct firm structure. This

Toyota and Honda succeeded in constructing effective supplier relationships because of the methods they used for it. In article they were the following:

The average general supply and average population of supplier’s gives suppliers’ substantial but finite bargaining power on companies like Ford. Plus, many of the suppliers have low forward vertical integration, meaning that they have no stake or controlling power on the dispersion and selling of their products to Ford. The suppliers bargaining ability becomes even weaker due to Fords backward vertical integration by the Ford River Rough Complex. Through the Complex, Ford makes several materials it uses to make cars and colligated completed products. This suggests that Ford needs to understand the substantial but finite outside factors connected with its supplier’s effect on the company.

Renault seeks to order CKD-parts from various suppliers, acquire them at a competitive price and in enhanced quality; therefore CKDs were not only ordered form the mother site in Romania but also from local plants. Domestic vendors or other regional sites were also taken into consideration. Sourcing parts from the mother site in Romania could come with a 0% duty however outbound logistics could eat into theses saving. Purchasing parts from local suppliers than using CKD parts would also depends on the competiveness of the supplier in each country. A volume increase correlated to the increases in competiveness of local suppliers. Cost reduction in operations came about due to Renault’s usage of segments of the B-platform, which was also used for the Nissan Micra and Renault Modus. Depending on the end market, Renault would use either its own name or the brand name Dacia. Foreign Trade Related Risks Inflation and foreign exchange related risks are very dominating risk factors which are closely watched and analysed. Here the inflation rate of the local currency and also the exchange

By 1999, Nissan had tied up over $4 billion in the stock shares of hundreds of different companies as part of this keiretsu philosophy. These investments, however, were not reflected in Nissan’s

Ford Motor Company was incorporated in Delaware in 1919. They acquired the business of a Michigan company, also known as Ford Motor Company, which had been incorporated in 1903 to produce and sell automobiles designed and engineered by Henry Ford. They are one of the world’s largest producers of cars and trucks. They and their subsidiaries also engage in other businesses, including financing vehicles.

Honda is one of the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturers and of the leaders in the automakers industry. It was founded in 1948 by Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa. It’s headquarter is in Tokyo, Japan and it serves worldwide. Honda has 492 subsidiaries and affiliates accounted under its equity. The company develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of products such as: automobiles, motorcycles, scooters, ATV’s, electrical generators, water pumps, lawn and garden equipments, robotics, jets, jet engines, and thin-film solar cells. In 2001, Honda became the second-largest Japanese manufacturer and in 2008, it became the fourth largest automobile manufacturer in the United States. Honda’s major products are