...BMW: The 7-Series Project Case Team 7: Jonghoon Ahn, Sangdong Kim, Chae Won Lee, Wonil Shin, Jonghwan Lee Question 1: How does one define design quality? Answer: Design quality means the product attributes that enhance the utility of the product for the customers. It is that making products for consumers to use the products better with more conveniences and values. Question 2: What are the causes and consequences of BMW’s quality problems with newly launched products? What should be done to improve “launch” quality? Answer: I think there are several reasons in BMW’s new model development way like below; 1. BMW doesn’t use pre-production tools during prototyping. -> BMW has less opportunity to uncover and solve many kinds of quality problems earlier in development process. 2. BMW let suppliers involve into development after “cubing”. -> Suppliers meet quality problems during their first production and they don’t have enough time before new model introduction. 3. When BMW starts the first commercial production, BMW produces new models in old models’ production lines together to reduce fixed costs. -> It causes greater confusion and makes logistics more complex. All these things result in quality problems with newly launched products. To reduce these kinds of things; 1. Use pre-production and production tools earlier to find and to have more time to prevent quality problems expected in commercial production. 2. Involve reliable suppliers earlier...
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...BMW was one of the major players in the luxury car market (retail price above $20,000) having a market share of 10%. Companies in this market segment competed on both tangible and intangible product characteristics. BMW’s focus was on R&D, both in the engineering and styling of its cars, and had built a reputation for high performance engineering. Its launch quality had always been on par or better than that of its major competitors. However, since the late 1980s, the entry of Japanese competition (Honda’s Acura and Toyota Lexus) had set higher standards of conformance in this industry. 1. What are the causes and consequences of BMW’s quality problems with newly launched products? What should be done to improve launch quality? One of the primary reasons for BMW’s quality issues was its strategy of using different tools and materials in the prototyping process when compared to the production runs.BMW supported such a ‘dual’ development process to provide flexibility to its prototyping craftsmen to make changes to the design quickly. For instance, the prototype shop was able to make new parts within a week of being intimated of a design change. In contrast, the lead time for procuring pre-production tools from suppliers was 6 months. Providing such flexibility though had a flip side to it - something which worked in the prototyping phase may not work in the production phase. This meant that potential problems in the design could be identified very late in the development...
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...suppliers? 1. Improvement in product quality 2. Stronger communication between firms 3. Decrease in process time and production cost 4. High utilization of sources 5. Decrease in cycle-time leading to shorter time-to-market 6. Improvement in manufacturability 7. Innovative products and ideas 8. Increase team work 9. Alignment of technology roadmaps/strategies 10. Cross-functional training Q2 – If a buying company has an objective of involving suppliers early during product development, what type of questions should the buying firm ask a supplier during evaluation and selection? 1. Is the supplier willing to have a long-term commitment? 2. Does the supplier’s roadmap & policies align with those of the buyers? Do they share buyer’s vision? 3. Is supplier flexible to vary production on a need-by basis and flexible to changing demands (quantities, timeframe)? 4. Is supplier willing to share technical expertise and process knowledge to improve Product Development efficiency? 5. Is the Supplier willing to share Accounting records to compare actual cost v/s estimated cost? 6. Is the supplier willing to continuously evaluate cost reduction opportunities? 7. Is the supplier willing to share expertise to develop and share cost improvements and eliminate any costly processes? 8. Does the supplier share your same values and commitment to quality? 9. Is the buyer willing to...
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...An investigation into JIT of Menlo Research Paper Word account: 4982 Lecturer: Dr. Shawn Wong Student name: Chen Li Student ID: 11300205 Content 1. Introduction………………………………..3-9 1.1 overview of Menlo and logistics industry………..3-7 1.2 Research Topic, question, objective…………..7-8 1.3 Research Rational/Contribution…………..8-9 2 Research Methodologies………………………..10 2.1 How to conduct paper search……………10 2.2 Research Limitation……………10 3. Presentation and discussion of research find……..11-22 3.1 What is the JIT system in the Menlo? ……………11-13 3.2 How to Menlo use JIT system in the operation? ……………13-17 3.3 What are the key challenges Menlo facing when use the JIT system? ……………17-20 3.4What are the advantages of using the JIT system? ……………20-22 4 Conclusion: ……………23-24 4.1 Summary……………23 4.2 Implication: ……………23-24 4.3 Further research opportunities: ……………24 5.Reference List…………………………….25 1. Introduction: 1.1Overview of the company: Menlo logistics was originally formed in the late 1980s. Its initial plan was to create an organization which offers customer warehouse, inventory and transportation management. On October 26, 1990, Menlo was officially formed and started as third-party logistics (3PL) services provider. The company achieved profitable growth after 1990.( http://www.con-way.com/en/logistics) Menlo...
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...brand. However, although the market position of Volvo is clear and both Geely and Volvo are full of confidence, the prospective seems very tough. Firstly, long positioned in luxury vehicle market, Volvo has a share in Chinese luxury vehicle market, but compared to other big brands, it is too small and growing very slowly. In 2010, Audi sold 225,580 cars, enjoying an increasing rate of 43.5% comparing to last year; Bens reached sales of 147,670 cars and an amazing growth rate of 115%; the sales of BMW was 169,000 cars which increased by 87%. Volvo, however, only sold 31,000 and increased by 36.2%. These figures are not only inferior to the three competitors, but also disappointing to the target of Volvo, which is to reach 200,000 sedans sales in 2015 with an annual increasing rate of 50%. Besides the low growth rate which is far behind market average, Volvo is also the one with the largest discount rate of selling prices. Although Volvo is quite ambitious to challenge Bens and BMW which Volvo sees as competitors, the image building and brand value of Volvo in Chinese luxury vehicle market are far inferior to the competing brands. Secondly, Volvo’s capacity is not large enough to support such an ambitious target of production. Currently, China market is only the fourth largest market of Volvo and the manufacturing has been outsourced. Volvo’s productivity is very limited in China. Although Geely has planned to set up a new plant for Volvo production, the project is still...
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...| BMW Strategic Analysis | | | | Management 452.301 | Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction of Company and Current Situation 3 External Environment Analysis 4 General Environment 4 Industry Environment 6 Competitor Environment 7 Conclusion of External Environment Analysis 8 Internal Analysis 10 VRIN Analysis 10 Financial Analysis 12 Conclusion of Internal Analysis 15 Strategy 16 Identification of Key Problems 20 Recommendations and Implementations 21 References 24 | Executive Summary BMW is known for its manufacturing of premium-brand cars and off-road vehicles under the BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce labels, as well as motorcycles under the BMW and Husqvarna brands. Many manufactures such as BMW, Mercedes, and Audi produce cars in foreign markets. The three car makers that are BMW’s main competitors in the luxury auto industry are Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi. The companies are worried most about the exchange rate fluctuations that threaten their profits if the euro starts appreciating against other currencies. With that, BMW is trying to come out with new technology that keeps them ahead of the competition. To do so, they released what is called Efficient Dynamics to ensure a noticeable reduction of consumption and emissions while simultaneously increasing the performance and driving pleasure of the vehicle (BMW EfficientDynamics). The company has also discovered such items as the BMW ActiveHybrid...
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...BMW Group Information 2004 Employing environmental principles to build cars Holistic concepts that lead to optimum solutions Taking an actively responsible approach to the protection of our natural environment is of fundamental importance to the development, manufacture, use and recycling of vehicles and their components. The BMW Group has thus for many years consistently employed methods such as Life Cycle Assessment and Design for Recycling in its decision-making. The application of these holistic philosophies generates results that are often surprising – and decisive. BMW Group research & development The BMW Group Concept: Sustainable Mobility In every corner of the world, individual mobility is an essential requirement for maintaining economic growth and prosperity. As traffic on the road grows steadily, it is imperative that solutions be found which are compatible with the needs of people and the environment. In this context, the BMW Group pursues a holistic approach in its efforts to entirely eliminate or continuously reduce the environmental impact of its products and processes through intelligent technology-based solutions. Key aspects of this strategy are: • Mobility-based research focused on the intelligent networking of various modes of transport • Improving environmental awareness and safety in the transport sector • Encouraging suppliers and partners to adopt the BMW Group guiding principle of sustainable development. • Further integration of the automobile...
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...board. This accounts for almost 90 percent of vehicle produced thus a scramble for available markets, attention now turns to upcoming economies like Russia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, Governments in developing economies aware of the value of their prospective growth auction off their market share to the highest bidders, like BMW, this investors hoping to increase manufacturing capacities so as to build their intended market bid away their economic returns and in so doing multiply the overcapacity problem on a large scale (Griffin & Pustay 2009). Risks involved in venturing into new markets weigh in and most companies aware of the consequences of losing a market place bid, this either plays out in the company over bidding or throwing in the towel and losing the market. Differentiation Successful ECO-Specialties must emphasize their differentiation. Differentiation means that the marketing mix is distinct from and better than what is available from the competitor; product differentiation is the core to a healthy market share. An abundance of option for the vehicle buyers exists with vehicle models with almost similar functional characteristics, BMW is now forced to manufacture unique products for a particular region at a point in time, and this is to cope with tastes and fickle needs of consumers. This differentiation wanes on their budget heavily since financial consequences of missing a market are disastrous (Prahalad & Hamel 1990). Innovation Commitment to innovation...
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...environment, strategy plays a very critical role in ensuring the success of a company. This report gives a limelight on the extent to which strategy has contributed to the superiority of BMW in the UK automobile industry. In analysing this, the report will begin with an evaluation of BMW as a premium car manufacturer. The report then employed the use of PESTEL and Porters five forces to analyse the external car industry environment. The internal environment are analysed by use of value chain analysis. Bowman’s Strategy Clock is also explored in understanding the marketing strategy used by BMW Company. Finally, Resource/ competence framework has also been explored in understanding the key competencies and resource capabilities that has enabled the BMW to maintain market leadership position. In compiling this report, major sources of information used were journals, empirical literature and the internet. The findings of this report show that strategy has played a pivot point in BMW’s overall performance. Generally, the report shows that unstable political environment in the UK and the global market is greatly affecting the industry. Moreover, socio-cultural environment greatly affect the industry as consumers are becoming more environment conscious. This has especially reduced the sales volume of BMW. The UK government legal policies have also been addressed in the report. Advances in technology have also spurred competition in the industry thereby reducing the significance of branding...
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...from 2002 shows BMW attempting to focus purely on branding BMW in order to surpass competition in marketing innovation, gain market share and reach new sales goals of an additional 40% in the US. This focus on branding resulted in the production of 5 short films under the name BMWFilms that attracted the younger generation and neglected the current consumers. BMW should supplement this with advertising focused on their current consumer as well as additional customer service benefits for their current consumers who could progress from the 3 Series to 5 Series to 7 Series if properly maintained. Additionally, BMW in efforts to differentiate itself with seven new series in 2002 may potentially cannibalize the brand and force entrance into the mass-market. In order to avoid this issue BMW should focus on differentiating series and cars models from each other to better target their customers. In 2000, BMW had reached new record high sales in the United States after recovering from a record low in 1992. Due to this new high of sales along with no new car production for the next six months, there was an opportunity for branding BMW’s name specifically to differentiate it from the competition. This opportunity led to the creation of five short films that were only available online at BWMFilms.com. BMW hired Clive Owen as well as A-list producers to create these 5 short films that showcased BMW cars as supporting actors in dramatic plots. These films neglected the BMW customer profile...
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...‘silly’, which is of great value for its young energetic target audience. Digital marketing initiative also corresponds to the latest IT and social trends worldwide by ‘digitalising’ marketing initiatives and active social networking with the consumers. Brand is a core competence and ‘everything’ for Mini. Marketing is centered on its brand, not vice versa. An analysis of the Mini’s strategy shows that it is efficient in terms of its branding strategy. Ethical values also play an important role for Mini as well as the other organisations. It is important to pursue them nowadays as it helps to support the communities and the organisations both in the same direction and with dynamic progress. Unauthenticated | 41.234.151.21 Download Date | 5/7/14 12:06 AM CRIS Bulletin 2013/01...
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...ASSIGNMENT 2 Q1. GENDER EQUITY IN THE WORKPLACE * Gender Discrimination in employment – Title VII of the Civil Rights Act * Equal Employment Opportunity Commission * HR data on gender POSITION | GENDER | TOTAL | | Male | Female | | Managerial | 8 | 3 | 11 | Professional | 31 | 13 | 44 | Technical | 52 | 17 | 69 | Clerical | 9 | 22 | 31 | Total | 100 | 55 | 155 | a) What is the probability that a worker is a woman? b) If a managerial person is selected, what is the probability that the person is a woman? c) A special bonus is given to a person in the technical area – what is the probability that it will go to an woman given that the worker is in the technical area? Is this discrimination against male technical workers? What factors might enter into the awarding of bonus other than random selection? d) What is the probability that a professional person will be a winner to Hawaii? e) What is the probability that the winner will be either a man or a clerical worker? f) What is the probability that the winner will be an woman and in management? g) Suppose the winner is a man. What is the probability that he is from the technical group? Q2. Probability Distributions - Discrete BANKING INDUSTRYs PUBLIC IMAGE * Gallup Survey of 1002 bank customers * 80% bank their primary financial institution * 65% very satisfied with the bank * 79% banks are very important * 64% banks are more competitive today ...
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...------------------------------------------------- CASE 2-1 BMW Taps the Emerging Chinese Luxury Markets ------------------------------------------------- MAR 4503 Consumer Behavior FIU JEREMIAS CUADRA, CHARLES KETTEL Abstract BMW is one the largest automobile industries in the word, when you think of BMW you can surely say it's a high quality luxury car. The focus is to re-position itself in a new market. Which is the Chinese luxury market. How does a powerful company like BMW get ahead start in this un-tapped market with so much potential for growth? Leading to more global exposure and also more revenues. (JEREMIAS CUADRA) Q1. There is often a natural tendency to assume that in collectivist cultures such that in China, luxury products would not be popular. a. Explain how luxury products such as the BMW automobile might fulfill needs even within the traditional collectivist value set of China. I believe by growing this economy will give Chinese citizens more opportunity and more purchasing power to one-day own a luxury vehicle. Also social status is something that can represents that you’re doing well. I also believe it can lead to a showing off culture. b. Explain other factors that might be driving the desire for luxury in China. Well we all want what we can’t have, I believe that's human nature, but in China I other factors could play a role such as advanced luxury shopping experiences. More options would be available theirs a perfect gift for everyone...
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...An analysis of the repositioning of the “BMW Mini” brand C. Simms and P Trott . Business School, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK Downloaded by Myongji University At 05:37 14 May 2015 (PT) Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to adopt a consumer behaviour perspective and investigate the extent to which BMW has repositioned the new “Mini”. It builds on a previous paper that explored perceptions of the “Mini” brand. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted a two-stage approach to data collection, consisting of 66 in-depth interviews with a cross section of important stakeholders with high brand awareness and knowledge. The paper develops a conceptual framework and offers a novel way for firms to consider the effects of their repositioning strategies on consumers perceptions of a brand. Findings – The findings reveal a substantial repositioning of the brand’s functional appeal, moving away from the car’s price as an appeal towards product build quality. Furthermore, the Mini’s symbolic appeal, which is based on its fun and sporty image, has largely remained in place. Practical implications – Firms need to recognise the importance of repositioning at both the symbolic and functional level. Originality/value – The paper presents a novel conceptual framework for viewing repositioning strategies and presents evidence of repositioning at both the functional and symbolic level. Keywords Brands, Consumer behaviour, Cars, Brand image Paper type Research paper ...
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...BMW AG; Financial Performance Analysis This paper is prepared by: Asif Ahmed BBA 13th Batch Department of Accounting & Information Systems Faculty of Business Studies University of Dhaka, Bangladesh E-mail; asif.ahmed0001@yahoo.com Cell Phone; +8801922939126 BMW AG; Financial Performance Analysis (Asif Ahmed) 1 of 24 Executive Summary: The world is just recovering from a big recessio n. Various big corporations became bankrupt because of this. Many of the automaker giant posted loss during the last 2 or three years, like – Toyota and the biggest corporation of the world General Electric (GE) became bankrupt. More or less all the big corporations are affected by it. BMW, one of the automaker giant, could retain its’ profitability over last three years when the global recession take place. It also affected by the recession but cannot lose the profitability. This interesting thing inspires me to conduct research on the financial performance of BMW AG. In the beginning of my paper I give an overview on the BMW. Later I analyze the net profit, sales revenue, costs and assets base of the corporation for the last 10 years. Then I go for ratio analysis to judge the financial health of the organization. In ratio analysis I use Return of Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), Basic Earning Power (BEP), Liquidity ratio, Profitability Ratio, Divided Payout (DP) Ratio and Du Pont Chart to conduct my analysis. The findings on the analysis are discussed along...
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