Ford Motor business - Case Study

Background (General Facts)

Ford Motors is one of three prominent automotive manufacturing companies in the United States. Based in Michigan in 1903 by Henry ford and grew to reach revenue of 0 billion and more than 370,000 employees by 1996 [1]. In the 1970's, the automobile market for the major auto makers - normal Motors (Gm), Ford, and Chrysler- was crunched by competition from foreign commerce such as Toyota and Honda. In 1999, Ford acquired the Swedish Volvo model in an endeavor to compete in the foreign market and progress to other regions. Furthermore, Ford launched a full society re-engineering company process plan called "Ford 2000" aiming at reestablishing the company's infrastructure. The process meant discount in their car Centers (Vcs) to only five covering the operations that spanned 200 countries. It also meant cutting redundancies and requiring data Technology (It) to be the driving force and the link in the middle of Ford centers worldwide.

Hardware Monitoring Software

In construction Ford's It infrastructure, the company focused on implementing a setup that supported the Tcp/Ip transportation protocol based on the U.S. Group of Defense requirements. At those days, Ford internal network was meant to serve files replacement unlike most companies that used the network generally for email communications. Throughout the 1990's, Ford industrialized a cost effective Global company Network Integration (Geni) process to link all its locations compromising on the type of the relationship and the cabling in favor of full coverage. During the same time, Ford started construction its Web Farm, which was basically a set of hardware and software managed by a team for construction Ford's public website. The work started by publishing documents for technical references and moved to more industrialized images from a live auto show. As a result, the website received 1 million visits a day in less than 2 years after its legal launch. Throughout the end of the 90's, Ford established its web services by addition the whole of data published, construction more consuming and appropriate web application in 12 weeks period, purchasing more Netscape browsers for setup on its users' machines, and creating a B2B server to allow the suppliers secured passage to Ford's Intranet.

Ford Motor business - Case Study

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In the path towards aid cost discount and bringing more company through the web, Ford worked intimately with its competitors in the U.S. market Gm and Chrysler to make what came to be known as "Automotive Network Exchange" (Anx) certificate. The protocols aimed at providing a unified communications appropriate through the Internet to enable suppliers to contribute base technology for all manufacturers. Moreover, Ford focused on development data on its web site more accessible and beneficial by deploying a team to manage the process of adding and updating data based on an pathology of how humans deal with information. One final aspect of Fords endeavor was to try to build a model through its infrastructure that benefited from the model implemented by Dell computers to enhance their contribute chain and delivery process. The direct model would not work well for automotives as it would with computers, as a ensue Ford worked on its retailing network remodeling and identifying what would eventually give it the extra edge in delivery time.

Enterprise Architecture Issues

• Ford's regional expansion to address the competition for market shares demanded cost management for the infrastructure upgrades
• It infrastructure places limitations on the type of application improvement based on the platforms
• Easy passage to data and prompt delivery of vital data to key individuals requires proper knowledge managementOrganizations reengineering and process remodeling is valuable when adapting new technologies to say the cost and increase efficiency
• Supply chain errors and delays can severely work on the progress of the company and the market value of the corporation

Analysis

Infrastructure Upgrade

Since the inception of the Internet in the 1960's, much endeavor has been made in standardizing how computers associate to it. In 1982, the International society for Standards (Iso) realized that During that duration many ad hoc networking systems were already using the Tcp/Ip protocol for communications and thus adapted it as a appropriate in its model for the Internet network [2]. The main driver for Ip convergence, at that period, was the increase in data traffic through wide area networks (Wans) established by local companies. Furthermore, in 1991, the Internet was open for market use, and that demanded a discount in the total cost of operating the network to cope with 1 million Internet hosts that materialized in only 1-year time. Telecommunications companies like At&T understood the inherent and worked on standardizing the network offering voice services over Ip networks that managed the separation in the middle of voice and data transmission [3].

At the same time, Ford had launched its plan to modernize its infrastructure, and seized the opening brought by the global movement of integrating the voice, fax transmission network with data transmission and expanded its Wan to include its offices in Europe and elsewhere. The financial benefits also came from the fact that Ford adapted the Tcp/Ip protocol from the beginning and made sure that all its technical infrastructure upgrades bind to the standards. This made the transition of its ideas to the Internet as cost effective as it could be.

Web Technologies

Intranets employ the hypertext and multimedia technology used on the Internet. Prior to 1989, when Tim burners-Lee invented the Web [4], most applications used appropriate improvement languages such as C and C++ to generate desktop applications that were possession and dependent on the platform. For example, applications running on a command-based operating ideas such as Unix would not run under Windows, and those working for Pcs might not work on Apple computers and vice versa [5]. The invention of Html (Hyper-Text Markup Language) introduced a new model for applications that conform to the standards provided by a particular program, the "Web Browser". Unlike appropriate applications, the browser brought a unified interface that had a very fast learning curve. Users seem to want no further training to work with web browsers. Furthermore, ideas administrators did not have to spend time installing upgrades on users' machines, since the Intranet client/server architecture facilitated all the updates through the relationship with the web server [6].

Since Ford established its Intranet, it was aiming at construction web applications through the preliminary pathology of "Mosaic", the early form of web browsers. The technical Group at Ford used web languages to generate the first web site in 1995. In 1996, the team started construction applications development use of the unified "Netscape" browser that was deployed on all machines at the company, and working on a appropriate template to cut on the improvement life cycle. There was a ample cut in training cost due to the user-friendly interface of web applications. Furthermore, the speed of improvement made vital applications ready to dissimilar individuals across the company. For example, the B2B site allowed suppliers remote and secured passage to various sections of Ford's Intranet. In addition, the improvement team created an application as a virtual teardown on Ford's website where Ford's engineers could explore parts of competitors' cars and rate any new technologies. The alternative would have been an actual trip to a bodily location where Ford tears down cars to explore the parts.

Knowledge Management

While there are many definitions for knowledge, each company might adapt its own based on how it pathology data and data to obtain knowledge. The University of Kentucky, for example, defines knowledge as "a vital society resource. It is the raw material, work-in process, and finished good of decision-making. Sure types of knowledge used by decision makers include information, procedures, and heuristics, among others... " [7].

Organizations go through dissimilar activities to manage the whole of data they obtain to form the knowledge base of the company. Activities include creating databases of best practices and market intelligence analysis, conference filtering and classifying data, incorporating knowledge into company applications used by employees, and developing focal points for facilitating knowledge flow and construction skills [8].

Ford was excited about the traffic it was receiving on the Web site and everybody was publishing all the material they have on desk on the Intranet. Nevertheless, there was a growing concern about the usability and usefulness of the material citizen were adding. As a result, Ford created a "Knowledge Domain Team" to build unblemished data in nine areas that were identified as vital to the business. The process Ford took was based on surveys and specialists input in how citizen realize information, and what is determined vital and what is distracting in the buildings of Ford's website. The aim behind the initiative was to sell out the time individuals spent in searching for data through proper indexing of the website content, and development sure that what was prominent could be accessed in due time, and what is trivial did not overwhelm the researcher with thousands of results.

Business Re-engineering

In the area of organization's re-engineering process innovation is the set of activities that accomplish ample company improvements. companies seeking to benefit from process innovation go through the regime of identifying the processes, the factors for change, developing the vision, understanding the current process, and construction a prototype for the new organization. History shows that organizations who define their processes properly will not have problems managing the issues and developing the turn factors [9]. When introducing technology, company redesign is necessary. The market fields have been using data Technology to remodel processes, control production, and manage material for generations. However, it is only recently that companies recognized that the fusion of It and company would go beyond automation to fundamentally reshaping how company processes are undertaken [10].

When foreign companies were allowed to compete in the U.S. Market, Ford understood that to ensue in company in a contentious arena it needed to implement strategies that competitors find difficult to imitate [11]. As a result, Ford bought Sweden Volvo to enter the European market, and partially owned Mazda to have a contentious edge with Japanese cars1 [12]. To accomplish that it re-engineered its production improvement activities and global corporate society and processes for dramatic cost reduction. Furthermore, it understood that expansion requires collaboration and alignment, and thus planned to make the It infrastructure through a Wan that related all the offices. In the process of innovation and re-engineering, Ford has set policies to manage the cost of establishing the network, built models for continuous implementation, and organized global meetings to align all parties with the process. Adding to that, when it came to managing the website, Ford facilitated an awareness campaign for all the branches to understand that Ford is using the web to collaborate and explore and adapting data technology as a way to maximize its company value. The goal for Ford was to say its leadership in the market and to do that in the most effective and cost effective method that is there.

Supply chain management

Supply chain management (Scm) is about coordinating in the middle of suppliers, manufactures, distributors, retailers, and customers [13]. The basic idea that Scm applications revolve around is providing data to all those who are complex in development decisions about the product or goods to manage delivery from the victualer to the buyer [14]. Studies show that reducing errors in contribute chain distribution, increases revenue, enhances productivity, and reduces the order-to-fulfillment duration [15].

Ford often compared its contribute chain process to that of Dell's, in an endeavor to close the gaps in its own process and reach the level of success Dell has reached. The difference in the distribution model in the middle of Dell and Ford lies in the middle link of using sell shops. Since Ford cannot skip sell as a focal distribution point, it worked on establishing a network of sell shops that it owned. Ford made sure shops are not affecting each other in terms of sales, and gave them all a appropriate look and feel to make itself in the consumer's market as a prestigious cars sales sell company. Furthermore, unabridged re-engineering initiatives were undertaken to enhance Ford external network by eliminating the correlation with smaller suppliers. In that way, Ford made sure that key suppliers have passage to forecasting data from customers' purchasing trends and production data to enable a faster order-to-delivery cycle. Ford foresight was to generate a model that allowed flexibility, predicable processes and delivered the product at the right time to the right consumer.

Conclusions

Ford is an example of how original organizations can mature to adapt what is current and maximizes the company value. The process that Ford went through necessitated the continuous support from management. In addition, it depended on alignment in the middle of those complex as a key for success. The correlation was not restricted to internal staff; it extended to cover competitors to reach mutual benefits, to work with suppliers to say similar grounds and enough infrastructure, and to generate training programs to educate all on the foresight and organization's objectives.

Ford technical progress came at a time where the Internet was yet to reach its full potential. The introduction of Fiber-optic cables in the late 90's and the ample increase in bandwidth would have helped Ford and cut on the cost in endured connecting its own offices. Furthermore, the Isp services that provided hosting servers were exiguous to only few players, which explained why Ford adored to manage its own web server and say the overhead of the 24 hours uptime and backup.

From this case study, I understood the level of commitment large firms have to maintaining their position in the market. These companies know the revolving nature of company in the sense of how easy it is to fall back if they did not keep up with the change. The Ford process also shows the need for quick and resourceful mental when faced with situations that might seem to be unfavorable. The way Ford ventured into the foreign market by acquiring local manufacturers was a strategic decision that did not only enabled Ford to merge with dissimilar technologies, but it also saved it the further cost of establishing production centers in Japan and Europe.

Recommendations

• Maintaining leadership in the market requires innovative organizations willing to reengineer to succeed.
• It fusion with the company means restructuring and remodeling to understand the role It would play to meet the company objectives
• Planning and modeling is vital when coordinating work with large teams.
• Constructing websites is not about content; it is about understanding what adds value and how humans interact with information.
• Knowledge management is a plan that companies need to make as part of their preliminary company process modeling
• It is not wrong for large firms to try to adapt to victorious processes implemented by other firms.

References

1. Robert D. Austin and Mark Cotteleer,"Ford Motor Co.: Maximizing the company Value of Web Technologies." Harvard company Publishing. July 10, 1997. Harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b02/en/common/item_detail.jhtml;jsessionid=Wdarnhinbsyksakrgwcb5Vqbke0Yoisw?id=198006 (accessed July 30, 2008).
2. Computer History Museum, Internet History 80's. 2006. Computerhistory.org/internet_history/internet_history_80s.shtml (accessed July 30, 2008).
3. Darren Wilksch and Peter Shoubridge, "Ip Convergence in Global Telecommunications." Defense Science & Technology Organization. March 2001. http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/publications/2400/Dsto-Tr-1046.pdf (accessed July 30, 2008).
4. Computer History Museum, Internet History 80's.
5. H. Joseph Wen, "From client/server to intranet." data management & Computer security (Mcb Up Ltd) 6, no. 1 (1998): 15-20.
6. R. Boutaba, K. El Guemioui, and P. Dini, "An outlook on intranet management." Communications Magazine (Ieee), October 1997: 92-99.
7. Joseph M. Firestone, company data Portals and Knowledge management (Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002), 169.
8. David J. Skyrme, "Knowledge management solutions - the It contribution." Acm Siggroup Bulletin (Acm) 19, no. 1 (April 1998): 34 - 39, 34.
9. Thomas H. Davenport, Process Innovation: Reengineering Work through data Technology (Watertown,Ma: Harvard company Press, 1993), 28.
10. Thomas H. Davenport "The New market Engineering: data Technology and company Process Redesign." Sloan management chronicle 31, no. 4 (Summer 1990): 11-28, 12
11. Gary M. Erickson, Robert Jacobson, and Johny K. Johansson, "Competition for market share in the proximity of strategic indiscernible assets: The Us automobile market, 1971-1981." International Journal of explore in Marketing (Elsevier Science) 9, no. 1 (March 1992): 23-37, 23.
12. Austin and Cotteleer, "Ford Motor " , 2.
13. Henk A. Akkermans, et al. "The impact of Erp on contribute chain management: Exploratory findings from a European Delphi study." European Journal of Operational explore 146 (2003): 284-301, 286
14. Thomas H. Davenport and Jeffrey D. Brooks, "Enterprise systems and the contribute chain." Journal of company data management 17, no. 1 (2004): 8-19, 9.
15. Kevin B. Hendricks, Vinod R. Singhal, and Jeff K. Stratman. "The impact of company systems on corporate performance:A study of Erp, Scm, and Crm ideas implementations." Journal of Operations management 25, no. 1 (January 2007): 65-82.

Ford Motor business - Case Study