Premium Essay

Ford Motor Company Aligning Case

In:

Submitted By Jonathanb
Words 494
Pages 2
Aligned Business Framework, or ABF is a supply chain strategy that requires a goal oriented relationship between buyers and suppliers. Considering Ford’s vast amount of suppliers, it would be difficult for Ford to align themselves with so many different suppliers, so first he needs to shrink the supply base. However, the most important task for implementing ABF is receiving support from top management. Tony Brown needs Ford to commit to the principles of ABF in order to gain the trust of suppliers. If the suppliers believe that Ford is not actually committed to ABF, then they will not be willing to do it themselves. Also, if lower level Ford employees do not believe that top management is committed to ABF, they will continue working their own culture. Basically, it all starts from the top, management needs to show that they are seriously committed to change in order to convince others to commit to change. According to the case, Ford has historically based their supply chain strategy on price instead of efficiency, which upset both suppliers and employees. This shows both a lack of alignment from the suppliers and employees. This lack of alignment and trust shows that even though the business model has stayed the same for 100 years, it probably should be have changed earlier, so they need to start changing as soon as possible. As a Ford supplier, I would be concerned about Ford’s commitment to ABF and if my company would make the cut. Ford is asking if we can make a culture change in our practices, but why should we believe that they will too. Also, if we are cut from the supply base, we have just lost a big time buyer. Suppliers can take advantage of Ford in ABF considering that they will have less competition for selling supplies. If the supplier makes the cut but does not commit to ABF, they will be able to manipulate prices. Ford cannot afford

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Assignment 3 - Business Level & Corporate Level Strategies - Ford Motor Company

...Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies – Ford Motor Company Strayer University BUS499, 14 February 2016 Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies – Ford Motor Company It all began in 1896 when Henry Ford built the Quadricycle that rode on four bicycle wheels, operated by a four-horsepower engine with only two forward gears and no reverse ability. Henry soon joined a group that founded the Detroit Automobile Company but left within one year and would soon incorporate the Ford Motor Company with 12 investors and 1,000 shares in 1903. The Ford Model A was the first car sold on July 23, 1903 (http://www.corporate.ford.com). Ford Motor Company has endured many challenges during its 113 years in business. Altering business strategies and staying competitive have not been easy against other car companies, however they have overcome and are focusing on the One Ford Plan (One Team, One Plan, and One Goal) and their vision for future success. 1. Business Level Strategy The business level strategy deployed by Ford Motors is the cost leadership strategy, which puts emphasis on operating at lower costs, but not essentially offering the lowest prices in the market (Haines 2004). Therefore, a firm can use such a position to reduce its prices in order to increase its market share or maintain the current prices and increase its revenue per unit items compared to its competitors. The principal idea of the low cost strategy is that cost and prices are not dependent, and the...

Words: 2079 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Mgt498 Week 1

...Strategic Management Process Gregory Solomon MGT/498 January 16, 2012 John Kanz, PhD Strategic Management Process Business strategy is chaperoned through its execution by management with the intention of growing the business, attracting customers, and achieving targeted objectives. A former Chief Executive Officer of Greyhound Corporation, John W. Teets, summates that “management’s job is not to see the company as it is…but as it can become” (Thompson, Gamble, & Strickland, 2005, p. 2). The purpose of this paper is to describe the primary components of a strategic management process, and indicate why a strategic management process is needed in an organization. Additionally, the strategic management process of Ford Motor Company will be briefly discussed for clarity. Although the strategy management process is an intricate part of an organization’s strategic plan execution, it is noteworthy to review the strategy making and executing phases. The five interrelated and integrated phases: Developing a strategic vision, setting objectives, crafting a strategy to achieve the objectives and vision, implementing and executing the strategy, and monitoring developments, evaluating performance, and making corrective adjustments (Thompson et al., 2005). As related to strategic management, this equates to a good strategy coupled with good strategy execution begets good management performance. In brief, poor management can wreck the soundest strategy whereas, good strategic management...

Words: 1043 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Buyer

...Ford Motor Company Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 Issue Identification 5 - 7 Environment and Root Cause Analysis 8 - 9 Alternatives and Options 10-11 Recommendations 12 Implementation 13-14 Monitor and Control 15 Conclusion 16 Ford Motor Company Executive Summary As director of Supply Chain Systems, Teri Takai recommends implementing virtual integration strategies from companies like Dell to portions of Ford’s supply chain strategy. Although there are several key differences between the companies, the restructuring plans of Ford 2000 have set a viable foundation to implement Dell’s virtual integration strategy in inventory management, customer service and support and suppliers’ management. The redesign of the process must include design not only of the supply chain but also of fulfillment, forecasting, purchasing, and a variety of other functions that historically been considered independently within the Ford hierarchy. Teri believes that implementing virtual integration by building on Ford’s key initiatives and projects including Ford Production Systems (FPS), Order to Delivery (OTD) and Ford Retail Network (FRN) that are currently underway will make their supply chain run more smoothly with less bottlenecking, reduced inventory, and better overall...

Words: 3148 - Pages: 13

Free Essay

Outsourcing

...save organizations resources and money if done correctly. Outsourcing - Personnel There are many more factors that need to be considered when analyzing outsourcing: health benefits, time off for the employee, employee pay, the job at hand (will the job be a short-term or long-term project). One of the first items an organization must determine is how long their project is anticipated to take. In the IBM article, they took over for Visteon Corp in making computers for Ford Motor Co. Visteon Corp can anticipate this to be an ongoing project as vehicles are not going anywhere, thus they had to determine which situation would be more beneficial: outsource the work to IBM or continue to make the computer systems themselves. Because Visteon is trying to diversify its business away from the auto industry, they found that outsourcing was their best option (Hechinger, 2003). In the case of IBM and Visteon, even though the project will be a long-term project, by the company analyzing costs and revenues and aligning their business strategies, this allowed them to make the decision to outsource to IBM. Even though project length may help in determining whether or not to outsource a job, this may not always be a determining factor. Should the project be determined that it will be a short-term project,...

Words: 1091 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Ford Motor Company

...CASE ANALYSIS ON FORD MOTOR COMPANY Name: sunil sharma Madonna ID: Subject: Business Policy Subject Code: MGT_4950_WB_58_01_2014_10 Date of Submission: The Ford Motor Company Brief Profile The Ford Motor Companyis an American multinational automaker headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand and luxury cars under the Lincoln brand. In the past it has also produced heavy trucks, tractors and automotive components. Ford owns small stakes in Mazda of Japan and Aston Martin of the United Kingdom. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford family, although they have minority ownership. Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 by Henry Ford in Detroit, MI. Not only did Ford revolutionize the development of the automobile as a product, he is also the visionary behind the idea of mass production. Ford's ability to make automobiles affordable for the masses is cited as a driving force behind both the automobile industry and the creation of a middle class in America. Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines; by 1914 these methods were known around the world as Fordism. Ford's former UK subsidiaries Jaguar and Land Rover, acquired in 1989...

Words: 4342 - Pages: 18

Premium Essay

Ford Swot

...Harper Date: March 6, 2012 Re: SWOT and Value Chain Analysis The purpose of this memo is offer the Ford management team advice and recommendations based on an internal and external analysis of the Ford Motor Company. A SWOT analysis will be conducted and the memo will outline and explain the processes involved with the analysis. A SWOT analysis will provide the decision makers of the company with information about the positive and negative aspects of both the external and internal environments currently facing Ford. The internal analysis will provide better insight into the strength and weaknesses of the company, and the external analysis will recognize opportunity and threats presented by the external environment. In addition to the SWOT analysis, the memo will provide an analysis of the primary and support activities that make up Ford's Value Chain, which is a systematic way of examining how these activities create customer value. External Analysis The external analysis was conducted by scanning and evaluating Ford's external environment. It is important that both the general and specific sectors of the Ford's external environment are scanned in order to identify the opportunities, which are positive trends, and threats, which are negative trends, facing the company. When analyzing the general environment of Ford, the economic sector should be a major focus for the company. A major aspect of Ford's decline has been due to poor economic conditions of the last ten years, which...

Words: 1269 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Ford Strategy Analysis

...explained as the effective use of well laid out plans to achieve success. It is no less of spectacle to attribute strategy to individual achievement, achievement from a company, a country or at the very least a non – financial institute to achieve strategic success. Ford Motor Company has in recent times lost its market share to emerging Asian companies such as Honda, Toyota, Hyundai and Nissan. As a new landscape of economic might surfaces, new car stereotypes are emerging. Finding a place in these segments is proving difficult for Ford Motors and hence need to change its strategies. Hyper-competition combined with tough economic times has pushed Ford to the edge of insolvency. This paper examines the issues that plague the company while using published models to make analysis on how and why the problems occur to better understand their potential impact on the company’s sustainable competitive advantage. Recommendations will seek to give strategic solutions to address the issues identified earlier. This research isn’t structured upon models to identify, analyze and solve issues but rather looks at the core of the problems within Ford Motors and provides models to analyze and solve the issues.   TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents INTRODUCTION 1 SECTION 1: STRATEGIC ISSUES AT FORD 2 Underlying Issues at Ford Motor 2 1. Financial 3 2. Competition 4 SECTION 2: STRATEGIC MODELS AND FRAMEWORK SUITABLE FOR ISSUES IDENTIFIED 6 2.1. Competitor Analysis 6 2.1.1 Porter’s 5 Forces...

Words: 5717 - Pages: 23

Premium Essay

Human Resources 587 - Assignment 3

...Running head: INNOVATIVE CHANGE AT FORD MOTOR COMPANY Innovative Change at Ford Motor Company Keller University Human Resources 587 August 24, 2014 Abstract Since Alan Mulally took over as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Ford Motor Company the business has been transformed into a powerful competitive force in the global automotive industry. An examination of the company’s communications surrounding Mulally’s retirement and the appointment of Mark Fields as the new CEO demonstrate how Ford used positive and candid communications to overcome resistance to the change. Actions as simple as providing verbal and nonverbal cues have a powerful influence on how others perceive a change (Nekoranec & Fourrier, 2013). A proposed alternative communication plan, including the use of more communication channels with increased frequency, would have helped the company address some of the fear and uncertainty among stakeholders. An example of an internal memo is provided to show how the use of positive and supportive descriptions of the change can motivate stakeholders to act as change agents on behalf of an organization by embracing the change and recognizing their essential role in the process. Innovative Change at Ford Motor Company In the past few decades Ford Motor Company has experienced a series of disruptive changes pertaining to the company’s leadership. In 2006, the appointment of Alan Mulally as the company’s Chief Executive Officer...

Words: 3991 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Ford Motor Company

...Capstone Project Ford Motor Company Submitted By Anurag Vats Ford Motor Company Company Information and Core Activities Ford Motor Company (Ford), incorporated in 1919, is a producer of cars and trucks. The Company and its subsidiaries also engage in other businesses, including financing vehicles. The Company operates in two sectors: Automotive and Financial Services. Its Automotive Sector includes Ford North America, Ford South America, Ford Europe and Ford Asia Pacific Africa. Financial Services includes Ford Motor Credit Company and Other Financial Services. Ford North America includes the sale of Ford- and Lincoln-brand vehicles and related service parts in North America (the United States, Canada and Mexico), together with the associated costs to develop, manufacture, distribute and service these vehicles and parts. Ford South America includes the sale of Ford-brand vehicles and related service parts in South America, together with the associated costs to develop, manufacture, distribute and service these vehicles and parts. Ford Europe includes the sale of Ford-brand vehicles and related service parts in Europe, Turkey and Russia, together with the associated costs to develop, manufacture, distribute and service these vehicles and parts. Ford Asia Pacific Africa includes the sale of Ford-brand vehicles and related service parts in the Asia Pacific region and South Africa, together with the associated costs to develop, manufacture, distribute and service these vehicles...

Words: 4836 - Pages: 20

Premium Essay

Strategic Analysis - Automotive Industry

...suppliers (Low) 13 Bargaining power of Buyers (High) 14 Threat of Substitutes (high) 15 Industry rivalry (Medium – High) 15 3.0 Company Overview 17 3.1 Company Overview 17 3.2 Operational Model 17 3.3 Company Evolution 18 3.4 Life Cycle 18 3.5 Growth Strategy 19 3.6 Financial Ratio Analysis 20 4.0 Customer Profile 21 4.1 Target Market 21 4.2 Product Usage 21 4.3 Purchase Motivation 21 5.0 Company Strategy 22 5.1 Resources 22 5.2 Value Drivers 22 5.3 Cost Drivers 23 5.4 Corporate Strategy 23 5.5 Business Level Strategy 23 5.6 Functional Level Strategy 24 5.7 International Strategy 24 5.8 Value Chain Analysis 24 6.1 Competitive Analysis 25 6.3 Effectiveness of Strategy 26 Volkswagen Group 27 3.0 Company Overview 28 3.1 Company Overview 28 3.2 Operational Model 28 3.3 Company Evolution 29 3.4 Life Cycle 29 3.5 Growth Strategies 30 3.6 Financial Ratio Analysis 30 4.0 Customer Profile 31 4.1 Target Market 32 4.2 Product usage 32 4.3 Purchasing Motivation 34 5.0 Company Strategy 34 5.1 Resources 34 5.2 Value Drivers 35 5.3 Cost Drivers 37 5.4 Corporate-level Strategies 37 5.5 Business-level Strategies 38 5.6 Functional-level Strategy 38 5.7 International Strategy 39 5.8 Value Chain Analysis 40 6.0 Observation and Conclusions 40 6.1 Competitive Analysis 40 3.0 Company Overview (per 44 Customer Profile 51 Target Market 51 Product Usage 52 5.0 Conclusion 56 Executive Summary...

Words: 9978 - Pages: 40

Premium Essay

Ford Motor Company: Supply Chain Strategy

...integration strategies from companies like Dell to portions of Ford’s supply chain strategy. Although there are several key differences between the companies, the restructuring plans of Ford 2000 have set a viable foundation to implement Dell’s virtual integration strategy in inventory management, customer service and support and suppliers’ management. The redesign of the process must include design not only of the supply chain but also of fulfillment, forecasting, purchasing, and a variety of other functions that historically been considered independently within the Ford hierarchy. Teri believes that implementing virtual integration by building on Ford’s key initiatives and projects including Ford Production Systems (FPS), Order to Delivery (OTD) and Ford Retail Network (FRN) that are currently underway will make their supply chain run more smoothly with less bottlenecking, reduced inventory, and better overall performance. Managers could overcome the complex and inaccurate manual process of forecasting and procuring parts which would result in reduced OTD lessen costs and enhance customer satisfaction. Further improved Supply Chain management will improve Supply Chain responsiveness and increase shareholder value to keep investors interested in the company. ------------------------------------------------- Introduction Due to increase in market competition, supply chain superiority of competitors, high profitability of financially equal companies, Ford’s CEO, Jac Nasser...

Words: 3074 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Earning Resources Planning

... 08 7. Reference…………………………………………………………………… 10 8. Bibliography………………………………………………………………... 13 9. Appendix………………………………………………………………….… 15 1. Introduction Last few decades there is a rapid change in IT sector which created impact on business organisations and there is a wonderful gift from IT sector is Enterprise Resource Planning System Software (Mazzawi R, 2014). Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system has been increased in using in developed countries by large companies, government corporations and in other different industries. And there is a wide adoption of Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP) in organisational management to improve their performance and productivity (Otieno J, 2010). Recently different companies turning into the implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning System to improve performance, better service to the Customer’s response, efficient control in their accounting, supply chain and inventory management. ERP is a set of software module helps a company to their business aspects collect data from various business processes and...

Words: 3165 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Lemonade Stand

...magazine and a catalogue), which aimed to inform its customers—roughly 200 million of them in a month—on actions they could take, while shopping at Wal-Mart, to help the planet. This was great business strategy not only for Wal-Mart in promoting the greenness of its own brand but also for General Electric, Procter & Gamble, Horizon Organic, and Clorox—all of whose environmentally friendly products are given premium promotional space in the magalogue, not to mention premium in-store shelf space. As we have already seen, CSR is quickly gaining corporate mindshare— an increasing number of companies in almost every industry are adopting CSR principles and initiating CSR programs. The realization that companies can and should play an important role in their communities—and across the nation and around the world—while making a profit is quite a step up from the old belief that the sole purpose of companies is to increase value for shareholders. Today, many businesses are taking the next step in the evolution of CSR in business. Many business leaders are realizing that CSR is also a viable component of their overall business strategy, along with such traditional functions as marketing, branding, research and development, innovation, 13 BK-McElhaney-ToPress.indd 13 9/16/08 10:21:39 AM 14 | CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY A budget-friendly guide to helping the planet. walmart.com/green (Wal-Mart, Earth Month, April 2008) Sure, an electric car can help the environment. But so can a...

Words: 3507 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Motors Bissness

...FORD MOTOR COMPANY BUSINESS PLAN SUBMITTED TO THE SENATE BANKING COMMITTEE December 2, 2008 INTRODUCTION Ford Motor Company welcomes the opportunity to submit our Plan to the Senate Banking Committee, and appreciates the time and attention Congress is devoting to the critical issues that confront the domestic automotive industry in the current economic environment. In this submission, we first provide an overview of the current business environment, then discuss our Plan for viability, and conclude by answering the specific questions posed in the correspondence received from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. We all have a shared interest in protecting American jobs, a vital American industry and American innovation. As the Committee knows so well, the ongoing economic and credit crisis has affected many Americans – from losing their jobs to losing their homes. The recession also has had very negative ramifications for the U.S. auto industry, which supports five million jobs in all 50 states and spends $12 billion annually on research and development in the U.S. – more than any other industry. We fully appreciate that the industry needs to transform itself to better compete by developing safer, greener and even better quality vehicles. We recognize Congress’ important role as guardian of the American taxpayers, and we hope in our submission that we address your valid concerns about our potential for future viability and restore your...

Words: 11361 - Pages: 46

Premium Essay

Tesla Motors Strategic Analysis

...Tesla Motors Strategic Analysis Prepared by: Lexen Beran Brenna Hayes Travis Heidemen Jenna Hughes Jake Latimer In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements For: MANGT 595: Business Strategy M/W/F at 12:30pm   1   Table of Contents Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………...……2 Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………...3 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………4 External Analysis………………………………………………………………………...5 Internal Analysis…………………………………………………………………………8 Strategic Challenges………………………………………………………………….…10 Strategic Recommendation……………………………………………………….……11 Implementation Plan……………………………………………………………...……13 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………14 Bibliography……………………………………………………………….……………15 Appendices………………………………………………………………………………16   2   Executive Summary Tesla’s uniqueness and innovative products has served as a catalyst to an entire industry seeking an alternative to the complacent market of gas-powered only vehicles. But what strategies where utilized in their great success? How will the firm continue to innovate after the growth stage? This report will introduce you to Tesla and its current operating environment by examining the industry in which it operates via internal and external analysis. The report will tell of how Tesla pioneered technologies that were mostly untapped and unavailable to the masses. By examining the resources and capabilities of the firm, it will better help to delineate the...

Words: 4466 - Pages: 18