John Wolf, president of Wolf Motors, had just returned to his office after visiting the company’s newly acquired automotive dealership. It was the fourth Wolf Motors’ dealership in a network that served a metropolitan area of 400,000 people. Beyond the metropolitan area, but within a 45-minute drive, were another 500,000 people. Each of the dealerships in the network marketed a different make of automobile and historically had operated autonomously. Wolf was particularly excited about this new dealership because it was the first “auto supermarket” in the network. Auto supermarkets differ from traditional auto dealerships in that they sold multiple makes of automobiles at the same location. The new dealership sold a full line of Chevrolets, …show more content…
Wolf invested in training and equipment to ensure that the trained personnel and technology were provided. What he worried about, as Wolf Motors grew, was the continued availability of the right parts and materials. This concern caused him to focus on the purchasing process and management of the service parts and materials flows in the supply chain. Wolf thought back on the stories in the newspaper’s business pages describing the failure of companies that had not planned appropriately for growth. These companies outgrew their existing policies, procedures, and control systems. Lacking a plan to update their systems, the companies experienced myriad problems that led to inefficiencies and an inability to compete effectively. He did not want that to happen to Wolf Motors. Each of the four dealerships purchased its own service parts and materials. Purchases were based on forecasts derived from historical demand data, which accounted for factors such as seasonality. Batteries and alternators had a high failure rate in the winter, and air-conditioner parts were in great demand during the summer. Similarly, coolant was needed in the spring to service air conditioners for the summer months, whereas antifreeze was needed in the fall to winterize automobiles. Forecasts also were adjusted for special vehicle sales and service promotions, which increased the need for materials used to prep new cars and service
| Jonathan Archer and Zefrem Cochrane are employees of the Rugged Trucks Company, a light truck division of Gigantic Motors Corporation.
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.
General Motors, an American borne company established in 1908, designs, builds and distributes a wide range of cars, trucks, crossovers and automobile parts worldwide. The company’s automotive operations adhere to the demands of consumers stationed internationally through its four primary automotive regions: GM North America, GM Europe, GM International Operations and GM South America. GM North America targets and serves the demands of customers based in North America with vehicles manufactured and marketed under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC brands. The demands of consumers outside of North America are primarily met with vehicles manufactured under the brands Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden,
Ford Motor Company is America's one of the largest car manufacturer and seller. In year 1987 it faces an external business environment change in the form of new warranty policy announcement by its major competitors General Motor, which changes the current philosophy of warranty in U.S car market. This policy change may have implications not only on Ford’s sales and market share but also on various departments within organization (such as manufacturing, quality assurance, parts and service, and extended service plans) and their dealer network. In answer, Ford executives have to respond through a best suitable course of action by carefully analyzing the current market variables.
The goal of this consulting report is to analyze the strategy for General Motors. To start, a five forces analysis of the automobile industry was conducted. The five forces include the following factors: competition among rivals, threat of new entrants, supplier power, buyer power, threat of substitutes, and role of complements. Understanding the influence of each of these factors provides insight into the attractiveness of the automobile industry. Such an understanding is necessary for an effective critique of General Motors’ strategy for the future.
There were multiple issues weighing heavily on the mind Wally, a VP at Sports Obermeyer, in November of 1992. Sports Obermeyer, a successful manufacturer of ski apparel was having trouble planning the manufacturing levels of its various skiwear items for 1993-94 based on whatever scant information it had on the end customers’ likes and dislikes. Waiting to make these decisions till after the Las Vegas trade show, the one event which would give reliable retailer feedback, would prove very costly given the extremely long lead times of it’s suppliers in Hong Kong and China. In the past, Sports Obermeyer had relied on a group of company managers, called the “buying committee” to make a consensus forecast on the demand of
The company has been implementing the dual market strategy since the early 1970’s. O’Reilly currently has 4,571 stores in 44 states (Financials , 2016). O’Reilly, AutoZone, Advanced Auto Parts and Genuine Parts Company (NAPA) are the dominant competitors (O 'Reilly Automotive, Inc. , 2015). The company did not have any distinct competitive advantages during the1970’s-1990’s (O 'Reilly Automotive, Inc. , 2015). The company’s operational execution was far superior relative to their primary mom and pop shop competitors. O’Reilly has a competitive advantage in the area of operational expertise. The company has grown its store base most aggressively out of the competitors (O 'Reilly Automotive, Inc. , 2015). O’Reilly’s acquisition of CSK in 2008 doubled the corporations store count. The company has experienced margin expansion by improving the operation of CSK stores. In January 2014, Advanced Auto Parts acquired General Parts International, Inc., the parent company of CARQUEST, which gave Advance 1,248 stores company operated CARQUEST stores across the US and Canada, 1,400 independently owned CARQUEST stores, and
Tesla Motors, Inc. was founded In 2003 by Elon Musk, Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning, JB Straubel and Ian Wright. The name Tesla came from the engineer and physicist Nikola Tesla. Tesla designs, develops, manufactures, sells advanced electric vehicles and electric car components In the United States and internationally. It also develops electric components and electrical systems for other automotive companies.Tesla started to get the attention of the world when they produced the first electric sports vehicle, The Roadster, based at a price of $109,000 dollars In 2008. Between the years of 2008 and 2012, Tesla sold 2,250 Roadsters. Tesla has stopped all production on the Roadster since then to focus on advancing the company to more the average consumer. Next, came the Model S, an electric luxury sedan which debuted In the United States In 2012 and Is American made In California. The Model S, base priced at $57,000 dollars, was the first of It’s kind bringing the luxury of a Mercedes-Benz and combining It with a electric battery to give you 208 to 315 battery miles without refueling or charging. The Model S Is the second-best-selling plug-in electric vehicle behind the Nissan Leaf. Tesla decided to go ahead and develop the first electric SUV, called the Model X In 2015. In march of 2016 Tesla revealed It’s next car, called the Model 3. The Model 3 Is only going to cost consumers $35,000 and Is on track to be released In 2018. Only one week after Tesla announced the Model 3,
Arnold Communications undertook extensive market research in order to understand the modern VW buyer and their position in the industry. They set about collecting primary data through extensive interviews, visiting 95 of the top VW dealers and drving VX over 50,000 miles
General Motors (?GM? or ?the company?) has a rich history longer than a century starting with its corporate organization in 1908. Following its organization, GM acquired its first brand, Old Motor Works, which was followed in 1909 by the purchase of Cadillac for $5.5 million. Two years later, GM organized both General Motors Truck to handle sales of GM?s Rapid and Reliance products and General Motors Export Company to handle export sales out of the US. In 1918, GM purchased Chevrolet Motors. In 1926, GM entered Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Egypt, Uruguay and Argentina through the General Motors Export Company. General Motors Truck became the modern GMC in 1943 when GM acquired the assets of Yellow Truck & Coach. In 1945, GM finally established all of its historical core brands (Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac) when the Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac Assembly Division, which would be renamed the General Motors Assembly Division in 1965, was formed.
CERTIFICATION OF AUTHORSHIP: I certify that I am the author of this paper and that any assistance I received in its preparation is fully acknowledged and disclosed in the paper. I have also cited any sources from which I used data, ideas or words, either quoted directly or paraphrased. I also certify that this
As for South America, Harley-Davidson Inc. HOG +0.31% opened a permanent Latin America headquarters, joining a growing list of U.S. companies looking to tap into the emerging market. (By Melodie Warner in Market Watch) South America has a growing economy and a huge acceptance for an icon in the motorcycle industry like Harley Davidson. In the same way Japan embraced Harley “Their economy is a fast growing luxury market” p.c11.
The Global Purchasing and Supply Chain division was responsible for streamlining the supply chain and the year 2013 was a good one for the U.S. automotive market as sales rose 7.6 percent to 15.6 million vehicles. This is a substantial comeback from the levels of 2009-2010 when severe recession forced the bankruptcy of General Motors and other automobile companies and caused many other automakers to lose revenue and profits hence reducing labor and operation costs by massive worker layoffs and downsizing by closing manufacturing plants.
At 4:30 p.m. on December 6, 2010, Meredith Collins, VP of Marketing for Reed Supermarkets, walked down the sidewalk of the 10-store strip mall that housed Reed’s Westgate Plaza branch in Columbus, Ohio. Collins didn’t shop; instead she took mental notes about store traffic, first at the Reed store and then at an indirect but increasingly worrisome kind of competitor—a dollar store. The Reed was predictably well lit and inviting, and Collins could see three registers open and two or three customers in line at each. “Not too bad” she thought, “but not what I would hope for at this time of day, this close to the holidays.” She’d felt the same way at two other Reeds
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