Ford and Flexible Manufacturing

The automotive industry is a highly competitive marketplace where brand loyalty is only as strong as the latest gizmo and horsepower upgrade. The automotive conference process, perfected by Henry crosswalk, was based on the simple commandment that guests faeces order a Model T in any color they wanted as long as it was black. After the 1920s the market witnessed new entrants with unheard of automobile features that stop Fords golden age. New auto benefitrs such as Buick, Chrysler, and Oldsmobile offered customers alter colors and styles that propelled sales. The automotive industry has grown in the unite States from 4192 automobiles on the road in 1900 to 204 one million million in 2003. In an effort to regain brand loyalty Ford has embarked on an ambitious automotive development process known as flexible manufacturing. In the post 9/11 delivery Ford has witnessed five billion dollars in losses per quarter. The connection is swimming in debt after their partnership with Mazda and Jaguar and can not afford to lose pace with their competitors. Many Ford plants in the United States witnessed production decreases of 30 percent with increases in overtime. This disparity resulted in payroll cuts and closed plants and finally losses of one billion dollars in 2002.

The damage to Ford was dim bearing witness to a 75-year market share small: 20.7%. Ford CEO Bill Ford was forced to make quick changes to appease the fickle consumer or face horrendous monetary consequences. The changes Bill Ford instituted were not a band-aid on the company hemorrhage but long-term solutions. In a two-year effort costing over 400 million dollars Ford completely gutted truck factories in Norfolk, VA and Kansas City, MO. The effort was aimed at redesigning around the concept of flexible manufacturing. This concept allows factories to respond to customer demand and switch manufacturing platforms in record time and to launch different platforms in several factories using the same assembly system. The... If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay

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