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Background (General Facts)

Ford Motors is one of three leading automotive manufacturing companies in the United States. Based in Michigan in 1903 by Henry ford and grew to reach revenue of $150 billion and more than 370,000 employees by 1996 [1]. In the 1970’s, the automobile market for the major auto makers – General Motors (GM), Ford, and Chrysler- was crunched by competition from foreign manufactures such as Toyota and Honda. In 1999, Ford acquired the Swedish Volvo model in an attempt to compete in the foreign market and expand to other regions. Furthermore, Ford launched a full organization re-engineering business process plan called “Ford 2000” aiming at reestablishing the company’s infrastructure. The process meant reduction in their Vehicle Centers (VCs) to only five covering the operations that spanned 200 countries. It also meant cutting redundancies and requiring Information Technology (IT) to be the driving force and the link between Ford centers worldwide.

In building Ford’s IT infrastructure, the company focused on implementing a setup that supported the TCP/IP communication protocol based on the U.S. department of Defense requirements. At those days, Ford internal network was meant to serve files transfer unlike most companies that used the network mainly for email communications. Throughout the 1990’s, Ford developed a cost effective Global Enterprise Network Integration (GENI) process to link all its locations compromising on the type of the connection and the cabling in favor of full coverage. During the same time, Ford started building its Web Farm, which was basically a set of hardware and software managed by a team for building Ford’s public website. The work started by publishing documents for technical references and moved to more advanced images from a live auto show. As a result, the website received 1 million visits a day in less than 2 years after its official launch. Throughout the end of the 90’s, Ford established its web services by increasing the amount of information published, building more intelligent and standard 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 access to Ford’s Intranet.

In the path towards service cost reduction and bringing more business through the web, Ford worked closely with its competitors in the U.S. market GM and Chrysler to establish what came to be known as “Automotive Network Exchange” (ANX) certificate. The protocols aimed at providing a unified communications standard through the Internet to enable suppliers to provide common technology for all manufacturers. Moreover, Ford focused on making information on its web site more accessible and useful by deploying a team to manage the process of adding and updating information based on an analysis 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 improve their supply chain and delivery process. The direct model would not work well for automotives as it would with computers, as a result 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 development based on the platforms
• Easy access to information and prompt delivery of vital data to key individuals requires proper knowledge managementOrganizations reengineering and process remodeling is necessary when adapting new technologies to maintain the cost and increase efficiency
• Supply chain errors and delays can severely affect the progress of the business and the market value of the corporation

Analysis

Infrastructure Upgrade

Since the inception of the Internet in the 1960’s, much effort has been made in standardizing how computers connect to it. In 1982, the International Organization for Standards (ISO) realized that during that period many ad hoc networking systems were already using the TCP/IP protocol for communications and thus adapted it as a standard in its model for the Internet network [2]. The main driver for IP convergence, at that period, was the growth in data traffic through wide area networks (WANs) established by local companies. Furthermore, in 1991, the Internet was open for commercial use, and that demanded a reduction 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 potential and worked on standardizing the network offering voice services over IP networks that managed the separation between voice and data transmission [3].

At the same time, Ford had launched its plan to update its infrastructure, and seized the opportunity 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 adhere to the standards. This made the transition of its system 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 standard development languages such as C and C++ to create desktop applications that were proprietary and dependent on the platform. For example, applications running on a command-based operating system 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 single program, the “Web Browser”. Unlike standard applications, the browser brought a unified interface that had a very fast learning curve. Users seem to require no additional training to work with web browsers. Furthermore, system administrators did not have to spend time installing upgrades on users’ machines, since the Intranet client/server architecture facilitated all the updates through the connection with the web server [6].

Since Ford established its Intranet, it was aiming at building web applications through the initial analysis of “Mosaic”, the early form of web browsers. The technical department at Ford used web languages to create the first web site in 1995. In 1996, the team started building applications making use of the unified “Netscape” browser that was deployed on all machines at the company, and working on a standard template to cut on the development life cycle. There was a substantial cut in training cost due to the user-friendly interface of web applications. Furthermore, the speed of development made vital applications available to different individuals across the company. For example, the B2B site allowed suppliers remote and secured access to various sections of Ford’s Intranet. In addition, the development team created an application as a virtual teardown on Ford’s website where Ford’s engineers could examine parts of competitors’ cars and evaluate any new technologies. The alternative would have been an actual trip to a physical location where Ford tears down cars to examine the parts.

Knowledge Management

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

Organizations go through different activities to manage the amount of information they collect to form the knowledge base of the company. Activities include creating databases of best practices and market intelligence analysis, gathering filtering and classifying data, incorporating knowledge into business applications used by employees, and developing focal points for facilitating knowledge flow and building skills [8].

Ford was excited about the traffic it was receiving on the Web site and everyone 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 people were adding. As a result, Ford created a “Knowledge Domain Team” to build complete information in nine areas that were identified as vital to the business. The process Ford took was based on surveys and specialists input in how people perceive information, and what is considered vital and what is distracting in the structure of Ford’s website. The aim behind the initiative was to reduce the time individuals spent in searching for information through proper indexing of the website content, and making sure that what was important 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 achieve substantial business 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 building 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 change factors [9]. When introducing technology, business redesign is necessary. The industrial fields have been using Information 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 business would go beyond automation to fundamentally reshaping how business processes are undertaken [10].

When foreign companies were allowed to compete in the U.S. market, Ford understood that to succeed in business in a competitive 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 competitive edge with Japanese cars1 [12]. To achieve that it re-engineered its production development activities and global corporate organization and processes for dramatic cost reduction. Furthermore, it understood that expansion requires collaboration and alignment, and thus planned to establish the IT infrastructure through a WAN that connected 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 research and adapting information technology as a way to maximize its business value. The goal for Ford was to maintain its leadership in the market and to do that in the most efficient and cost effective method that is there.

Supply chain management

Supply chain management (SCM) is about coordinating between suppliers, manufactures, distributors, retailers, and customers [13]. The basic idea that SCM applications revolve around is providing information to all those who are involved in making decisions about the product or goods to manage delivery from the supplier to the consumer [14]. Studies show that reducing errors in supply chain distribution, increases revenue, enhances productivity, and reduces the order-to-fulfillment period [15].

Ford often compared its supply chain process to that of Dell’s, in an attempt to close the gaps in its own process and reach the level of success Dell has reached. The difference in the distribution model between Dell and Ford lies in the middle link of using retail shops. Since Ford cannot skip retail as a focal distribution point, it worked on establishing a network of retail shops that it owned. Ford made sure shops are not affecting each other in terms of sales, and gave them all a standard look and feel to establish itself in the consumer’s market as a prestigious cars sales retail company. Furthermore, extensive 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 access to forecasting data from customers’ purchasing trends and production information to enable a faster order-to-delivery cycle. Ford vision was to create 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 traditional organizations can mature to adapt what is current and maximizes the business value. The process that Ford went through necessitated the continuous support from management. In addition, it depended on alignment between those involved 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 maintain similar grounds and adequate infrastructure, and to create training programs to educate all on the vision 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 substantial 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 limited to only few players, which explained why Ford preferred to manage its own web server and maintain 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 business 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 thinking 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 different technologies, but it also saved it the additional 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 business means restructuring and remodeling to understand the role IT would play to meet the business 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 develop as part of their initial business process modeling
• It is not wrong for large firms to try to adapt to successful processes implemented by other firms.

References

1. Robert D. Austin and Mark Cotteleer,”Ford Motor Co.: Maximizing the Business Value of Web Technologies.” Harvard Business 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.” Information 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, Enterprise Information 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 Information Technology (Watertown,MA: Harvard Business Press, 1993), 28.
10. Thomas H. Davenport “The New Industrial Engineering: Information Technology and Business Process Redesign.” Sloan Management Review 31, no. 4 (Summer 1990): 11-28, 12
11. Gary M. Erickson, Robert Jacobson, and Johny K. Johansson, “Competition for market share in the presence of strategic invisible assets: The US automobile market, 1971-1981.” International Journal of Research 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 supply chain management: Exploratory findings from a European Delphi study.” European Journal of Operational Research 146 (2003): 284-301, 286
14. Thomas H. Davenport and Jeffrey D. Brooks, “Enterprise systems and the supply chain.” Journal of Enterprise Information Management 17, no. 1 (2004): 8-19, 9.
15. Kevin B. Hendricks, Vinod R. Singhal, and Jeff K. Stratman. “The impact of enterprise systems on corporate performance:A study of ERP, SCM, and CRM system implementations.” Journal of Operations Management 25, no. 1 (January 2007): 65-82.

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Source by Sally Ahmed

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There have been many people who have come and gone in the mobile oil change business. It always looks easy from the surface and is relatively inexpensive to start with minimum investment compared to most other businesses. But most mobile oil change operators rarely make it past the first year. In fact most do not make it past the first several months. One has to wonder why such a good idea ultimately ends in failure. Lets take a closer look.

First the profit generated from oil changes is not enough to sustain a healthy business. After you calculate the cost of goods from the total bill there is rarely is more than twenty five dollars net profit made from your typical oil change. And that figure does not include the gas used driving to the actual location. You have to be doing a lot of oil changes per day for you to make a decent profit to support your business and your personal expenses. Most quick lubes make even less due to their substantially higher overhead yet make up for it in large volume. Most successful fixed locations are doing 60 oil changes on a bad day. A mobile oil change company, with most of the time one or perhaps two people working it, does not have that luxury. The most your typical mobile oil change van can do is ten oil changes per day and after that the operator is exhausted. And even if a person could consistently do ten oil changes per day he still has to generate those oil changes from somewhere. They do not magically appear. Do you have a plan how to do that? Most start out thinking corporate campuses will provide tons of business especially if its marketed by the companies there. In reality that rarely works as advertised and you will be lucky if you get 10 customers in one year from a huge corporate campus. The end conclusion is that the net per oil change is just too low to make a viable business from it without a massive amount of volume.

Second, many mobile oil change operators are not very good salesmen. They are usually very honest people and ones who are very passionate about what they do and you gotta love that but I have found that most owners of mobile oil changes are terrible at the sales end. They are usually the type who try to charge way less than the going market rate and think they can tell a few people about their “awesome service” and wait by the phone. That never works. You have to go out and get them. You have to do a copious amount of cold calling. You have to talk to a lot of fleet managers and sale yourself first and then your service. Most in the mobile oil change business do not fully understand this or never really apply themselves to this side of business. Its probably the most important part not just in the mobile oil change business but any business for that matter. I will go out on a limb and say that if you are a great salesmen you will do well running a mobile oil change business or franchise. If you know about cars but not sales then I recommend working for a new or used car dealer for 2-3 months and get the experience. It will be tough and gruesome but that is the quickest way to get good a pure hard core sales without a lot of the “fluff.” Then open your mobile oil change company.

Third, the weather cannot be understated in limiting what mobile oil change operators can do. There are few states that have decent weather throughout the year. Half the states get really cold several months out of the years and the other half get really hot throughout 3/4 of the year. Both are equally discouraging. A fixed location can turn on the air or turn on the heat. Their operators work in a controlled environment. You do not have that luxury. You may have several fleets planned for one day and it can be pouring down rain that day. Have you thought about changing oil in 0 degrees. Your hands will not be able to grip that oil filter or wretch its as hard as a rock or you cannot feel them. Or changing hot 150 degree motor oil in 100 degree humid weather on a vehicle where it’s oil filter is in the middle of a hot engine manifold and you have to burn yourself to get to it? Do you clean it off and skip it or burn yourself to get to it? That will happen.

Having mentioned these three major hurdles, and there are more, I will say that it is not impossible. I have made a success of it. But I wish that someone would have been straightforward with me before me and my partner spent over $80,000 getting into the mobile oil change business. We were sold on a lot of unreal hopes and dreams from Jet Set Life Technologies about great wealth using a flawed model involving oil extreme. They set us up with a nice van and their product is good but their whole system is flawed from the bottom to the top. We found a way to make it work but sadly 90% of the mobile oil change business operators do not. The success rate is very small. Understand whats really involved and if you think you can grind it out and not make any money for 2-3 years, go for it.

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Source by W Barras

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A car donation is a courteous and easy way to contribute to a noble cause. People can sponsor a school bus or donate a used school bus to an organization or any charitable group that works for social services. Organizations either use the car for the society’s needs or may even sell it to raise funds for their activities.

Many non-profit organizations are now willing to donate buses to schools. It is true that a small group of thoughtful, dedicated individuals can change the world. This is possible only because of donors who go out of their way to provide help to the needy.

Some non-profit day care centers use donated school buses to get children back and forth. They must be sure that the buses are in total repair and have no problems. They do not accept old school buses, and they have to be equipped with seat safety belts for each occupant.

Online sites are available that provide details of various school bus non-profit charities. People can either purchase them at a low cost or can even hire them. The website will tell you how to go about donating school buses and also provide information on how to receive a school bus from a charitable organization. Individuals can also register for these buses online.

The organization that people donate their school bus to usually takes care of everything from transfer of ownership to towing the car. All donors need to do is call the organization. If people wish to donate a school bus, online forms are available through many auto donation sources. Donors may submit the form and receive an early reply, with most vehicles gladly excepted. It is advisable to have the bus title ready and other relevant paper work required.

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Source by Thomas Morva

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My brother and I had attended Kishore M’s CFD course 3 years back and within 9 months, we made $80,000 and bought a Toyota Vios for my mom.

Just last year, we had attended his forex course and today, we are making money from almost most of our trades on a daily basis.

Then this is just from my own experience. Do not believe a word I say until you have read my review.

We paid Kishore M over 3000 Sing Dollars for the CFD and forex course and made over 10 times that investment.

More than 20 students had volunteered to support Kishore’s initiative in making a difference in a developing country like Malaysia and Singapore.

I’m glad that he had taught me how to trade because in this recession with the education system that we are all in, we would be just holding a piece of paper(degree) but not have any jobs because universities don’t guarantee a job but charge us huge fees.

I have recovered all my course fees which I had paid Powerup Capital but if I am jobless, I don’t think I would be recovering my university fees.

As far as the support from powerup Capital is concerned, Kishore M offers the best support,

1) we get daily alerts,

2) weekly live trading tutorial face to face with Kishore,

3) online forum where seniors help the juniors,

4) coaches are assigned to us,

5) We can log into powerup live trading room every week

6) Online chat support up to 11pm in the night

From my knowledge and experience, no one would offer such thorough support.

As far as Kishore M’s credentials are concerned, he is a certified hedge fund manager. A hedge fund manager knows how to trade every thing from forex, futures, options, cfd, commodity etc.

Kishore just happened to teach options first rather than forex since Asia is an equity driven market and people are more familiar with stocks and were looking for ways to hedge their portfolio hence options make a perfect fit not forex.

Now with the recession people are looking for ways to diversify their portfolio and are open to learning new trading instruments and forex being one of them.

In terms of reputation, my research tells me that Powerup Capital advertises the company using pictures and testimonials in Malaysia the same way he advertises in Singapore.

In Singapore, unless and until one can prove the testimonial are from real people making real profits one cannot publish the company in the newspapers.

Have you seen any Malaysian forex trainers advertising in Singapore? No this is because they cannot.

In Malaysia you can advertise and write whatever you want in an ad and no one would ask for proof.

Did you know majority of the forex trainers are Kishore’s ex-students who have either learned options or forex from Kishore?

To name a few, they are Terence T, Lily Thnieh, David G, and Koomar.

So this is just the background of Powerup Capital.

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Source by Jason Kevin Loh

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Since the very conception of the automobile, engineers and designers have been searching for was to make them more efficient and save on fuel consumption. Petrol fuels the majority of vehicles and diesel fuel is used in heavier automotive equipment. The internal combustion engine is considered to be a major if not the biggest source of environmental pollution and the cost of fuel is increasing every day.

With a constant rise in fuel costs and the environmental concerns regarding automobiles, vehicle engineers have had to develop more economical and environmentally safer alternatives to the internal combustion engine that powers most cars. This has led to the birth of the hybrid automobile. These hybrid automobiles offer a number of benefits. The hybrid automobile is a car that is powered by both an electric motor and a gasoline engine. Compared to non hybrid vehicles, the hybrid car saves on the cost of fuel by being more fuel efficient and has a lower rate of fuel consumption.

Hybrid cars operate on a dual mode where the electric motor, powered by batteries, takes over once the gasoline engine has gotten the vehicle up to speed. Braking and deceleration generates energy that is used to charge the electric motor’s batteries. This system allows the hybrid car to provide better fuel efficiency. This also means that the engine of a hybrid vehicle is shut the moment the car is stopped. Considered the biggest advantage to the hybrid car is the reduction of environmental pollution due to fewer emissions of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases in to our atmosphere. Automobile manufactures such as Honda, Toyota, and Ford have already introduced hybrid car models to the commercial market and several others are in development.

Currently there are two types of hybrid vehicles on the market. The first is the “Series” hybrid. A battery powered electric motor powers the Series hybrid car. It also has a gasoline powered engine but it does not singularly power the vehicle. The gasoline engine powers a generator which is used in turn to charge the batteries of the electric motor. The electric motor is left on during the vehicles entire operation however the gasoline engine can be switched on or off depending on the needs of the vehicle. This type of hybrid automobile provides better mileage in city traffic.

The second type of hybrid vehicle on the market is called the “Parallel” hybrid. The Parallel hybrid car, like the Series type, has a gasoline engine and an electric motor. The electric motor and the electric motor can both be used to turn the transmission and power the vehicle. The major difference between the two types of hybrid cars is that the Parallel hybrid uses its electric motor to boost the vehicles power when required to increase the car’s speed. The Parallel hybrid car is considered better suited for the open highway.

Hybrid automobiles provide several benefits due to some very unique features. The construction of the hybrid vehicle uses more lightweight materials than traditional automobile. This saves energy by using less to propel the hybrid car. Hybrid cars also increase energy efficiency because of their more aerodynamic shapes. Tires used by hybrid vehicles run on a higher pressure and are made of a more rigid material than general car tires. The higher pressure helps to increase the vehicles gas mileage per gallon of gasoline used. The overall efficiency of the vehicle is increased by these tires because they reduce friction on road surfaces and provided a grip. The braking system provided an energy transfer from the electric motor to the vehicles batteries when ever the brakes are applied. The overall gas mileage of a hybrid varies from model to model. The EPA test numbers report that the Lexus RX400h receives 31 MPG in the city and 27 MPG the highway while the Honda Insight receives 61 MPG in the city and 68 MPG on the highway.

In conclusion, the future of automobiles is currently the hybrid car and purchasing a hybrid vehicle will not only save you money but will also allow you to take responsibility and do you part in creating a safer, cleaner and greener environment.

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Source by Christine Bettridge

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Kotler and Armstrong define marketing as “the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customer in return.” This definition alone can explain why marketing is important, but let’s outline several reasons why marketing should be one of the small business owner’s main priorities.

1. Marketing builds value in your products and services for your customers.

Most salespeople want to know as little as possible to make the sale. Some sales staff needs technical specifications and things of that nature, but ultimately, the less they have to learn the better. This makes sense, because their goal is to make sales. Therefore, marketing has to step in and create value for your customer. If you can not create value for your customers, why will they buy from you? Sometimes they will buy from you once, but will they come back if there is no value?

Many times, business owners don’t capitalize on all the ways they can give value to their customers. They get lost in the production or product concept of marketing and end up with marketing myopia. Marketing myopia happens when a company pays more attention to the product/service than the value or benefits it offers to the customer. You can not let this happen to you. Pay attention to your customers and why they buy your products. People buy a Toyota Prius not only because it saves on gas, but because it makes them fell more eco-friendly.

2. Marketing helps build customer relationships.

Everyone put emphasis on the sales staff when it comes to sales. “If the sales team doesn’t work harder, we won’t increase sales,” but this is not necessarily true. It costs three times as much to obtain a new customer as it does to keep an existing one. This means you need to maintain the relationship with your current customers in order to lower marketing and sales costs and increase sales.

Properly planned and implemented marketing activities are the only real way to build customer relationships. These activities can include a lot of things: loyalty programs, thank-you cards, customer appreciation events, free gifts, and so on. Each company must find a unique way to set themselves apart from the competition while building a loyal and long-lasting relationship.

3. Marketing establishes a brand image.

When you use FedEx for shipping, you know what you are getting: fast delivery, flexible shipping options, and better service than other shippers. Are all of these things true? They may be, but their marketing activities established all of these. FedEx will have to live up to these expectations of their brand, but their marketing department set the customer up with this image.

You must use marketing to establish your brand. Customers need to know what to expect from your company based on your brand image. What kind of products and what types of service will you provide the customer? Let your marketing tell the story and establish your brand.

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Source by Nate Stockard

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In today’s competitive world shorter product life cycles, customers rapid demands and quickly changing business environment is putting lot of pressures on manufacturers for quicker response and shorter cycle times. Now the manufacturers put pressures on their suppliers. One way to ensure quick turnaround is by holding inventory, but inventory costs can easily become prohibitive. A wiser approach is to make your production agile, able to adapt to changing customer demands. This can only be done by JUST IN TIME (JIT) philosophy.

Taiichi Ohno, a former shop manager and eventually vice president of Toyota Motor Company, is the individual credited most for the with the development of just-in-time. It is a term used to describe the Toyota production system, is widely recognized today as the one of the most efficient manufacturing system in the world. In simple words we can explain JIT only required necessary units be provided in necessary quantities at necessary times. Producing one unit extra is as bad is being one unit short. Completing one day early is as bad as finishing one day late. Items are supplied “just-in-time”. Ohno describes the development of JIT as

*By actually trying, various problems become known. As much problems become gradually clear, they taught me the direction of the next move. I think that we can only understand how all of these pieces fit together in hindsight.

The concept is very simple, if you produce only what you need when you need it, then there is no room of error. JIT has truly changed the face of manufacturing and transformed the global economy. JIT is both a philosophy and collection of management methods and techniques used to eliminate waste (particularly inventory). In JIT workers are multifunctional and are required to perform different tasks. Machines are also multifunction and are arranged in small U-shaped work cells that enable parts to processed in a continuous flow through the cell. Workers produce pars one at a time within cells and transport those parts between cells in small lots. Environment is kept clean and free of waste so that any unusual occurrence are visible. Schedules are prepared only for the final assembly line, in which several different models are assembled at the same line. Requirements for the component parts and subassemblies are then pulled through the system. The “PULL” element of JIT will not work unless production is uniform and lot sizes are low. Pull system is also used to order material from suppliers (fewer in numbers usually). They make be requested to make multiple deliveries of the same item in the same day, so the manufacturing system must be flexible.

Just-in-time inventory is viewed as the waste of resources and considered as obstacle in improvement. As there is little buffer inventory between the workstations, so the quality must be high and efforts are made to prevent machine breakdowns. When all these things are taken into consideration, system produces high-quality goods, quickly and at low cost. This system is also being able to respond to changes in customer demands. These elements of JIT can also be applied to the almost any operation, including service operations.*K.Suzuki, The Manufacturing Challenge(New York: Free Press, 1985), p250

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Source by Ali Abbas

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2011 Toyota Sequoia

For one of the most reliable manufacturer names in the industry, style and class, and a great safety packed SUV, the 2011 Toyota Sequoia is a great choice for all consumers looking for a top of the line SUV today. Although it is a little on the pricier end, with the base model coming in at $ 40,030, it is well worth it if you want a quality and powerful SUV. It features a massive interior space with roomy seating, even in the third row seats, an extremely quiet and smooth ride on the highway, offers quick acceleration, and offers a high towing capacity.

The SR5 base model offers a powerful 4.6 liter, V8 engine, with an automatic transmission. Although not the best in gas mileage, getting 14 miles per gallon in the city and 20 miles per gallon on the highway, it is still comparable with other SUVs as far as gas mileage. It features Bluetooth wireless technologies, a 4 wheel drive, iPod input connections, satellite radio, side and curtain airbags, a navigation system, stability and Traction control, and fold-down third row seats. So, although it is at a high price range, the features on the inside are luxurious features, and the safety features are at the top of the industry standards.

There are several prices for the 2011 Toyota Sequoia starting with the base, and going all the way up to the Platinum FFV model, with a price tag of $ 60,405. This model offers a much more powerful engine at 5.7 liters, V8 flex-fuel engine, with an automatic transmission. It also adds in a DVD player, leather interior seats, additional cargo space, all-season tires, touch-screen navigation system, heated and adjustable front seats, automatic transmission, and all the interior class you can imagine. So if you want luxury, class, style, and most importantly optimal safety for you and your family, the Platinum FFV may come at a cost, but you will not be sorry about the purchase. Not only that, it offers a great re-sale value on the market as well.

With a more powerful 310 horsepower engine than its previous 2010 model, additional safety features added in, the ability to reach 60 miles per hour in 6.7 seconds, which is comparable to a sedan style car, the 2011 Toyota Sequoia will not disappoint consumers; either in style, interior luxury and the roomiest interior seating, style, the safest and smoothest ride available, and the ever trusted Toyota named backing up its performance features. So, when considering your next new SUV purchase, the 2011 Toyota Sequoia should be a great contender for any consumer searching for a new SUV, especially if you want luxury features, for much less than most luxury SUVs (Lexus, BMW, or Mercedes) today; and still, you get the luxury features those vehicles offer.

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Source by Todd Rip

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Supply Chain Management (SCM) as defined by Tom McGuffog is “Maximising added value and reducing total cost across the entire trading process through focusing on speed and certainty of response to the market.” Due to globalization and ICT, SCM has become a tool for companies to compete effectively either at a local level or at a global scale. SCM has become a necessity especially for manufacturing industry when it comes to deliver products at a competitive cost and at a higher quality than their competitors. Here are some of the reason SCM has become important to today’s manufacturing industry:-

Competitive Edge through Core Competencies

Today’s business climate has rapidly changed and has become more competitive as ever in nature. Businesses now not only need to operate at a lower cost to compete, it must also develop its own core competencies to distinguish itself from competitors and stand out in the market. In creating the competitive edge, companies need to divert its resources to focus on what they do best and outsource the process and task that is not important to the overall objective of the company. SCM has allowed company to rethink their entire operation and restructure it so that they can focus on its core competencies and outsource processes that are not within the core competencies of the company. Due to the current competitive market, it is the only way for a company to survive. The strategy on applying SCM will not only impact their market positioning but also strategic decision on choosing the right partners, resources and manpower. By focusing on core competencies also will allow the company to create niches and specialization of core areas. As stated in the Blue Ocean Strategy outlined by Chan Kim, in order to create a niche for competitive advantage, companies must look at the big picture of the whole process, and figuring out which process can be reduce, eliminate, raise and create.

As an example stated by Chan Kim, the Japanese automotive industries capitalise on its resources to build small and efficient cars. The Japanese automotive industries gain competitive edge by utilising their supply chain to maximise their core competencies and position itself in a niche market. The strategy works and now Toyota Motor Corporation, a Japanese company, is considered to be the number one auto car maker in the world beating Ford and General Motors of the United States.

Value Advantage

SCM has allowed business nowadays to not just have productivity advantage alone but also on value advantage. As Martin Christopher in his book, Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Strategies for Reducing Cost and Improving Service’ states, ‘Productivity advantage gives a lower cost profile and the value advantage gives the product or offering a differential ‘plus’ over competitive offerings.’ Through maximizing added value and also reduce the cost in the same time, more innovation can be added to the product and process. Mass manufacturing offers productivity advantage but through effective supply chain management, mass customization can be achieved. With mass customization, customers are given the value advantage through flexible manufacturing and customized adaptation. Product life cycles also can be improved through effective use of SCM. Value advantage also changes the norm of traditional offerings that is ‘one-size-fits-all.’ Through SCM, the more accepted offerings by the industry to the consumers would be a variety of products catered to different market segments and customers preferences.

As an example, the Toyota Production System practiced in Toyota, evaluates its supply chain and determines what is value added activities and what is not value added activities. Non added value activities are considered to be ‘Muda’ or waste and therefore must be eliminated. Such non added value activities are overproduction, waiting, unnecessary transport, over processing, excess inventory, unnecessary movement, defects and unused employee creativity. The steps taken to eliminate waste are through Kaizen, Kanban, Just-in-time and also push-pull production to meet actual customer’s demands. The Toyota Production System revolutionise the Supply Chain Management towards becoming a leaner supply chain system that is more agile and flexible towards meeting the end users demands.

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Source by Razamith Sovereign