Case Analysis What are the key factors for the success of Ford Motor Company
The key factor for the success of Ford Motor Company is its positive changes in its internal environment. The analysis of the company's internal conditions helps it Strengths and weaknesses in many aspects internally are established. For example:
(1) In terms of financial status, Ford Motor Company operates with a lower quantity of inventory and just-in-time production to ensure continued growth; the reduction in cash, marketable securities and working capital also has an impact on the company. Its continued growth helps a lot; it is insulated from the threat of dividend declines by offering attractive and safe dividend distributions.
(2) In terms of product status, Ford focuses on leadership in style and quality.
(3) In terms of marketing capabilities, Ford wisely turned to advertising agencies to improve competitiveness; later, Ford creatively used super dealers to dilute its brand image.
(4) In terms of the status of facilities and devices, necessary funds have been invested in building the factory. The advanced facilities have reduced the need for personnel, and the facilities and devices can be utilized with lower inventory and more on-time production; also Computer-controlled robots, infrared and ultrasound are used to assist production.
(5) In terms of organizational culture, Ford today pays as much attention to the role of corporate culture as it did in the past, and forms new corporate files in a timely manner to encourage employees to participate in management and receive lifelong education.
Ford Motor Company is one of the world's largest automobile companies. It was founded in Detroit, USA in 1903 by Henry Ford. In 1908, Ford Motor Company produced the world's first car for ordinary people, the Model T, and the world's automotive industrial revolution began. In 1913, Ford Motor Company developed the world's first assembly line. This pioneering effort brought the number of Model T cars to 15 million units in one go, setting a world record that has not yet been broken. For this reason, Mr. Ford is revered as the man who "put the wheels on the world." In 1999, Fortune magazine named him a "Business Giant of the Twentieth Century" in recognition of his and Ford Motor Company's outstanding contributions to the development of human industry. In 2003, Ford's 328,000 employees in Ford manufacturing and sales companies in more than 200 countries around the world collectively created total operating income of US$164.2 billion.
Ford Motor Company has achieved impressive success over the past decade. One obvious reason is that Ford Motor Company has made positive changes to its internal environment. Analysis of a company's internal environment helps it establish its strengths and weaknesses in many areas within the company.
From the analysis of Ford Motor Company's financial situation, we can see that Ford Motor Company's current assets are lower than the industry average. Ford's current ratio in 1988 was below the industry average of 1.35, and its inventory turnover ratio was also slightly below the industry average of 13.2. Although Ford Motor Company's inventory turns are below average, it has still made progress in the automotive sector by operating with lower inventory quantities and just-in-time production, which ensures that Ford's production continues to grow each year. At the end of 1988, cash and marketable securities totaled $9.2 billion, a decrease of $933 million from 1987. Working capital was $2.5 billion at the end of 1988, $587 million lower than in 1987. Lower cash, marketable securities and working capital will help support record capital expenditures, higher dividend payments, continued purchases of Ford common stock and reductions in debt.
Ford has maintained the highest profitability among all automobile manufacturers. It maintains higher-than-industry profit margins, and its sales continue to grow. Ford's sales in 1988 were US$82.2 billion, an increase of 14% over 1987. The company's net profit margin was 5.7%, which was higher than the industry average of 4.5%.
In 1988, Ford invested 4.8 billion in new products and facilities, and reduced the debt of the automobile business by 851 million yuan. The company also purchased 816 million shares of Ford common stock. In the same year, the company also increased its dividend by 46% to $2.30 per share, distributing $1.1 billion in dividends. Ford achieved unprecedented earnings per share of $9.53, compared with the industry level of $4.19 per share.
Shareholders received a return of 26% on their investment. Ford stock is poised to keep pace with the market, insulating itself from declining dividends by offering an attractive and safe dividend distribution. The company's shares are expected to provide above-average returns over the next five years.
In the first quarter of 1989, Ford's market share was 23.4%, an increase of 1.6 percentage points from the previous quarter. The remaining market shares are: General Motors (GM), which occupies the leading position, has a 37% market share; Japanese companies hold 26%; Chrysler holds 10%; and the remaining 4% belongs to other companies. While the news is encouraging for Ford, company leaders aren't exactly celebrating. In the spring of 1989, Ford announced that it would temporarily close two U.S. assembly plants, its first shutdown since 1983. In addition, for American companies that have been in the automotive industry for many years, the market share is unstable.
There are also more car and truck manufacturers making models and styles than ever before, making it increasingly difficult for any one brand to distance itself from the majority. Imports continued to capture more and more of the domestic market, putting the Big Three in trouble in the latter years of the 1980s. However, there is some good news for Ford Motor Co. and other domestic automakers. A 1988 survey showed that consumers perceived the quality and style of American cars to be steadily improving.
As mankind enters the new century and after three new technological revolutions, people have higher and deeper requirements for cars. This requires Ford to not only continuously explore new products in terms of innovation, but also seek multi-level and diversified strategic prospects in large-scale marketing. Over the past 100 years, Ford Motor Company has vividly demonstrated how a large company can strike in many strategic directions.
1. Early development strategy by focusing on the production of a single product
In the early days, Ford's development was through continuous improvement of its single product-cars. The Model T sedan built in 1908 was a considerable improvement over all previous models. In its first year of production, more than 10,000 units were sold. In 1927, the Model T sedan began losing ground to its competitors. Ford launched the Model A sedan, which was popular in several body styles and changing colors. When the Model A began to lose ground to its competitors, in 1932, Ford Motor Company introduced the V-8. Six years later, in 1938, the Mercury became Ford Motor Company's breakthrough in the mid-range car market. Ford Motor Company also grew by expanding geographically. This was demonstrated by its entry into the Canadian market in 1904. Also early in its development, Ford adopted a concentric diversification strategy, beginning production of trucks and tractors in 1917 and, in 1922, acquiring the Lincoln Motor Company.
2. Vertical Integration War
Ford Motor Company’s diversified production group is an outstanding example of backward integration strategy. The following describes the role of Ford's several departments in this group.
1. Plastics production department - supplies 30% of Ford's plastic needs and 50% of ethylene needs. 2. Ford glass production department - supplies Ford North America All glass required for cars and trucks, but also supplies glass to other car manufacturers. This division is also a major supplier to the construction industry, specialty glass, mirror industry and automotive aftermarket. 3. Electrician and Fuel Processing Department - supplies ignitions, alternators, small motors, fuel delivery and other components to Ford vehicles.
3. Ford New Holland Co., Ltd. - Concentric Diversification Strategy
In 1917, Ford started a concentric diversification strategy by producing tractors. Ford New Holland Ltd., now one of the world's largest manufacturers of tractors and farm equipment, was founded on January 1, 1978. Ford New Holland Co., Ltd. was formed by combining Ford's tractor business with New Holland Co., Ltd., the agricultural equipment manufacturer acquired from Sperry Company. Ford New Holland Co., Ltd. subsequently merged with Universal Equipment Co., Ltd., the largest four-wheel drive tractor manufacturer in North America.
These two transactions are the best examples of Ford's concentric diversification strategy through acquisitions.
4. Financial Services Group - Compound Diversification Strategy across Industries
Ford Motor Credit Company was established to provide loans to dealers and retail automobile customers. This can be said to be the implementation of a concentric diversification strategy. However, in the 1980s, Ford used this division to aggressively engage in compound diversification. In 1985 it acquired National First Financial Corporation, the second largest savings and loan organization in North America. In late 1987, it acquired American Leasing Corporation, which was involved in corporate and commercial equipment financing, leveraged lease financing, commercial fleet leasing, transportation equipment, corporate finance and real estate financing.
5. Other cross-industry composite diversification strategies
Ford Motor Land Development Co., Ltd. is a department that operates diversified products and is also a typical example of cross-industry diversification. By 1920, the division had erected 59 commercial buildings surrounding Ford's world headquarters in Michigan. The market value of the facilities and land owned and managed by the department is estimated to be more than $1 billion.
6. Adjustment strategy
In its development history, Ford has been forced to implement several adjustment strategies. After World War II, Ford was losing millions of dollars a month. Henry Ford II reorganized the company and implemented decentralization, which quickly restored the company's strength. Perhaps the most dramatic realignment strategy employed by many American companies was accomplished by Ford in the early 1980s. From 1979 to 1982, Ford's profits and losses totaled $511 million. Sales dropped from $42 billion in 1978 to $38 billion in 1981. Needless to say, Ford was in serious crisis. One of the reasons for the losses is fierce international competition. Perhaps more importantly, many of the losses stem from the way Ford operates. The new cars look the same as they did many years ago; there is little communication between departments (e.g., design and engineering); management does an unsatisfactory job of managing the company's employees; there is little communication of information to higher-level departments, etc.
What did Ford management do to change this situation? First, they significantly reduce operating costs. Between 1979 and 1983, $450 million was saved in operating expenses. Second, quality becomes a top priority. Management also changed Ford's approach to car design. Previously, each work unit worked independently. Now, design, engineering, assembly and other departments are all working together in this process. But the most important change Ford implemented was a new corporate culture. Starting with CEO Philip Caldwell and President Donald Petersen, the company's priorities changed. A new management style was established that emphasized joint action and the participation of all employees at work toward the same goal. At Ford, people have established closer relationships and placed more emphasis on the relationships between employees, dealers, and suppliers, presenting a new collective work spirit.
7. Abandonment Strategy
Over the years, Ford has had to reluctantly abandon some of its business units. For example, in October 1989, Ford signed a memorandum of understanding to sell its Rouge Steel Company to a group of investors. Ford sold the company because it didn't want to pay the cost of modernizing it. The cost of modernization is estimated at $100 million per year during the years it will be modernized. Other abandonment decisions made by Ford include selling the chemical business and paint business to DuPont in 1987 and 1986 respectively.
8. Acquisition and joint venture strategy
On November 2, 1989, Ford acquired Jaguar Private Limited for US$2.5 billion as a way to eliminate its presence in the automobile market. One weakness means that the product lacks competition in the luxury sedan market. Some of the competing sedans in the luxury category are Toyota's Lexus LS400, Honda's Acura Legend and BMW's Three Series. In 1989, the demand for luxury cars was US$25 billion, and it is predicted that it will grow to US$40 billion by 1994. This growth rate is much greater than the growth rate of the entire automobile market.
Ford sees the Jaguar sedan as an opportunity to enter the U.S. and European luxury sedan markets.
Ford has also adopted a joint venture strategy - the two more significant joint ventures are with Mazda and Nissan. Ford and Mazda work together to produce five vehicles. For example, the Probe, which is produced in Mazda's production plants, has exterior and interior design by Ford, and detailed engineering by Mazda.
Nissan and Ford are collaborating to develop a front-wheel-drive car. The minivan, which Ford will build at its truck plant in Ohio, will be sold by both companies. In Australia, Ford's Maverick is a variant of the Nissan Patrol all-wheel drive vehicle, which is sold through Ford dealers, who in turn sell Ford's Falcon passenger van and delivery van.
Today, Ford Motor Company is at a crossroads. Where is the company's future development direction? How long can Ford support it? Does the company need to sell off assets or reorganize assets? Is there enough cost savings that can be achieved? ?Many series of problems are in front of us. How can Ford improve its products to reverse or at least prevent the continued decline of market share? The situation is indeed very serious. In order to deal with these challenges, Ford has to reorganize all its businesses. This requires Improved products with new designs and better quality, improved operations through more flexible costs, improved marketing through better brand image and focus on customer interests. What are the key ingredients to Ford Motor Company's success?
The key elements of Ford Motor Company's success are the positive changes in its internal environment, followed by the arrangement of internal personnel, the formulation of strategic goals, the expansion of suite visibility, and so on.
A key element of Ford Motor Company's success was the positive changes it made to its internal environment. The company's internal condition analysis helped it identify its strengths and weaknesses in many aspects. For example, the following aspects:
(1) In terms of financial status, Ford Motor Company operates with a lower quantity of inventory and just-in-time production to ensure continued growth; cash, marketable securities and working capital The reduction also helps the company's continued growth; by providing an attractive and safe dividend distribution, it is protected from the threat of dividend declines.
(2) In terms of product status, Ford focuses on leadership in style and quality.
(3) In terms of marketing capabilities, Ford wisely turned to advertising agencies to improve competitiveness; later, Ford creatively used super dealers to dilute its brand image. Leave a message for Ford Motor Company
The telephone number of Ford headquarters is 023-67458876
Ford domestic car sales and service hotline: 800-8108168 (call from landline)/400-8877766 (call from mobile phone ) What are the key factors in Nike's success?
There is no doubt that Nike faced extremely favorable initial demand in the 1970s, which was an external factor in its success. But simply relying on favorable initial demand was not enough to lead to Nike's success. In fact, during these years, most running shoe manufacturers have made significant revenues. But Nike defeated the dominant Adidas at the time and stood out among many companies. The mystery of the ever-lasting success of foreign manufacturers such as Adidas, Puma and Tiger is clearly evident in Nike's path to success.
Nike has given full play to its potential and produced more types of products than Adidas, making its own shoe styles diverse, which is a pioneering work. People are worried that excessive production scope will damage production efficiency, greatly increase production costs and cause a lot of trouble. Many people have suggested that Nike cut off those products that are not good enough, reduce the scope of production, and concentrate manpower, material resources and attention on those flagship products to enhance competitiveness. This countermeasure was not adopted by Nike, but Nike was the most successful among many companies in the 1970s. Obviously, this is a different business strategy from Adidas and a strategic product portfolio.
Nike's product portfolio concept is obviously contrary to the traditional concept, but this violation comes at a price. Nike's products have different styles, different prices, and different uses, which attracts people from all walks of life. All kinds of runners, millions of all kinds. Runners with different abilities all have the concept that Nike provides the most complete variety of running shoes, which helps Nike establish a good image in the rapidly developing running shoe industry. Moreover, as the market expands rapidly, Nike's wide variety of products also help it develop the broadest market. General retailers such as department stores and shoe stores are regular customers of Nike. At the same time, the company can also sell shoes to various specialty running shoe stores. The company can supply various models and styles of shoes, and different types of retail stores can enter them. Shoes of desired style. In addition, the company can also take appropriate care of some cheap stores that sell some Nike shoes. In this way, Nike and the shoe stores each have their own place and are happy.
There are many models and the production volume of each product is small, which will generally increase production costs. However, this is not a big problem for Nike. The company contracts most of its shoe production tasks to other factories, 85% of which are contracted by foreign factories, especially those in the Far East. These foreign factories produce some of the company's products according to contracts. Therefore, for Nike, the small production volume of various products is not a critical problem.
Nike has attached great importance to research and development and technological innovation from the beginning. The company is committed to seeking to produce softer and lighter running shoes that protect the wearer and allow athletes (world-class athletes or amateurs) to have access to the most advanced products made in running shoe technology. Nike employs nearly 100 researchers who specialize in research and development of new products. Many of these people have degrees in biomechanics, experimental physiology, engineering technology, industrial design, chemistry and various related fields. In addition, the company also employs coaches, athletes, athletic trainers, equipment operators, podiatrists and Plastic surgeons, etc., form a research committee and advisory committee. They meet regularly with the company to review various design projects, materials and ideas for improving sports shoes. Some of them conduct high-speed photography analysis of the human body in motion, some analyze athletes' use of arm boards and treadmills, some have 300 athletes conduct planned durability experiments, some test and develop new running shoes, or improve original ones. Some running shoes and materials. The company spent $2.5 million on product research, development and testing in 1981, and its 1981 budget was nearly $400,000. Shoes are very common items, but it is unprecedented for Nike to carry out such major research and development work and invest so much manpower and material resources into them.
In terms of business strategy, Nike's unconventionality is not very outstanding. It mainly follows the market strategy established by Adidas decades ago: focusing on testing and developing better running shoes; expanding the production line to attract all parties consumers; inventing logos that can be printed on all products so they are instantly recognizable; using famous athletes and major sporting events to demonstrate product use. These strategies have been recognized as successful by the shoe industry. Even the practice of contracting most of the production tasks to low-cost foreign processing plants is not unique to Nike. However, these business skills that have long been proven to be effective are even more handy and offensive in the hands of Nike, and even Adidas is ashamed of itself. Ford Motor Company of the United States
Ford Motor Co. has no hope of making a profit in 2009. Ford Motor Co. of the United States announced last week that it would give up its goal of turning a profit in 2009 due to the impact of high commodity prices such as oil prices and continued weakness in its U.S. business. Ford CEO Alan Mulally recently said that Ford expects to roughly achieve breakeven in 2009, excluding taxes and extraordinary items. It will take longer than expected for Ford's North American operations to become profitable unless U.S. market conditions improve quickly, which is expected to be unlikely. This is the second time in the past two years that Ford has pushed back its target for profitability. Ford had previously expected to become profitable starting in 2008, but has postponed this expectation due to further implementation of its restructuring plan.
Production will be reduced by 15% in the second quarter. In order to cope with the decline in demand, Ford plans to further reduce North American production in the rest of this year. It will reduce production in this quarter by 15% from last year's production. It is expected that vehicle production in this quarter will be 690,000 vehicles. The third quarter is expected to decrease by 15%-20% to 510,000 to 540,000 vehicles, while the fourth quarter is expected to decrease by 2%-8% to 590,000 to 630,000 vehicles. Reductions in production will bring about reductions in earnings. At the same time, reforming the product line and advancing into the small fuel-saving market has become an unavoidable choice for Ford. It is reported that Ford will speed up the production of best-selling models such as Focus sedan and Edge hybrid, and reduce the production of "gas tiger" trucks and SUVs to cope with falling sales, rising commodity prices and huge changes in consumer tastes. change. Ford expects market demand for cars and light trucks to be between 1.47 million and 1.51 million units this year, a ten-year low. Mulally said that consumers' shift from large cars to small cars is natural and not a short-term behavior, and Ford must make changes. Ford will shift small cars sold in the international market to the North American market, hoping to maintain a 14% market share in the North American market this year. In addition, Ford will also launch specific plans for further layoffs. Volvo cannot change its fate of being sold. In the past two years, Ford has suffered a total loss of US$15 billion. The collapse of profit expectations has undoubtedly once again cast a shadow on Ford, which has been facing internal and external difficulties. Ford unexpectedly turned a profit in the first quarter of this year, with a net profit of $100 million in the quarter. But less than a month later, Mulally had to abandon his promise. The main contents of Ford's ongoing revitalization plan include promoting active restructuring in order to turn losses into profits; accelerating the development of new products that consumers love and value recognition; raising funds for the advancement of the plan and improving financial conditions; and promoting collaboration among all employees to utilize Global Assets. Selling luxury car brands is one of the major steps Ford has taken. There is news that Ford is actively looking for a buyer for Volvo, another of its luxury car brands, and Mulally may spin off the Volvo brand within the next 18 months. Volvo Cars suffered a huge loss of US$151 million in the first quarter of this year. To cut costs, Ford cut annual output at a Volvo plant in western Sweden by one-third, from 60 vehicles per hour to 44 vehicles. Due to the production reduction, the factory will cut about 700 employees, and the specific implementation time may be in December this year or January next year. At the same time, Volvo plans to reduce the number of dealers in the United States from 350 to less than 300 by 2010. Some analysts believe that these measures will eventually be difficult to change Volvo's fate of being sold by Ford. The only good news for Ford at the moment is that American auto market investor and millionaire Kirk Ryan plans to increase his holdings of 20 million Ford shares. If the transaction is successful, Kirkrean's Ford shares will increase from 4.7% to 5.6%, which means that he will replace the Ford family and become the major owner of Ford Motors. Asking for an introduction to Ford Motor Company
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The official website of Changan Ford contains all the information about Ford Company, Changan Ford Company, Ford China, and Changan Ford Nanjing Branch.
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I want to finish the current situation It’s impossible~ Focus has been popular for several years~ The sales of several models in Europe are also good~ The pickup trucks in the United States are also selling quite well~ Anyway, it is a street brand that can be seen everywhere~
About the company ~You can search it on Baidu~~
But in China it is called Changan Ford Mazda XXX or something~The sales volume of Focus is one of the best among the same level of models~The others are tepid~Especially Zhengsheng, I really don’t understand why this configuration and this price can’t be sold~
Among the Ford brand cars that can be bought in China, there are Ford Focus, the new Fiesta, and a business car
Domestic There is also a company that produces a minivan style car. I forgot what it is called. I haven't paid attention to it anyway. You won't pay attention either. Generally speaking, it’s neither high nor low, just passable
The safety is pretty good for the same level, and the overall vehicle quality is just okay. There are minor problems, but major ones are not common. Only the workmanship is a bit rough. By the way, the new Carnival looks like it. The other two models, which are made in Nanjing and have decent workmanship, are both made in Chongqing.
Domestic Ford is quite satisfactory~ What is the key to the case analysis?
The key is to find the key points of the case and determine the legal relationship. What is the key to the success of UPS?
In UPS's view, the sharpest commercial weapon in the 21st century is not just the product itself, but also includes highly coordinated functions and processes, as well as the responsibility for design, production, circulation and distribution. The relevant personnel who deliver the product to the end user. This is the supply chain defined by UPS.
Powerful network support, advanced technical equipment, well-trained staff, clear and streamlined processes, a large transportation team and express sorting equipment, and constantly innovative customer solutions, etc.