The use of Mobile Phones in Marketing Coursework

The use of Mobile Phones in Marketing - Coursework Example A majority of these text messages are personal. However, businesses – particularly small businesses – can use SMS to their advantage. However, the mobile is increasingly more versatile and afros diverse ways in which it can be used by business enterprises 2. Using SMS to Advertise If you have a new product, service, offer, announcement, etc, you can effectively target your customers by sending them a SMS. Most of the latest mobile phones allow you to send a single text message to multiple recipients. The only disadvantage is that many of these phones have a maximum recipient number of around 10 (at the very most). However, in older mobile phones sets, the message has to be sent to multiple customers by choosing and sending them one by one, which takes much time. However, messages can also be sent using the personal computer just as it can be done using a handy mobile phone. The messages can be sent simultaneously to multiple recipients by using software that is availabl e freely n the internet. In this respect, this is similar to sending email messages by accounts like Yahoo or Google. This is particularly useful in case the mailing list is large. Essentially, the software acts similar to an email account allowing recipients to reply to you (this can even be delivered in the style of an email if required). 3. Mobile marketing Mobile marketing is a term used to refer to any one of two distinct categories of ways of adopting marketing suing mobile technology. Thus, one is the relatively new, yet common utility of mobile phones for marketing purposes. Here, there is a so called horizontal telecommunication convergence where the mobile phone plays a key role in garnering clientele or business for the enterprise. Another way that the term mobile marketing is used is actually as a more traditional utility and in this case, marketing is affected in a moving fashion; for example, technology road shows or moving billboards. However, although there are vario us definitions for mobile marketing, no commonly accepted definition exists. Mobile marketing is broadly defined as "the use of the mobile medium as a means of marketing communication" or "distribution of any kind of promotional or advertising messages to customers through wireless networks" (http://www.a1vm.com). A more specific definition would be the definition of mobile marketing as the use of interactive and wireless media so as to provide customers with time and location sensitive, as well as personalized information that can promotes goods and services or even ideas, for creating value for all stakeholders of the business (Blackett, 2011). As recently as in November 2009, the Mobile Marketing Association  updated its definition of Mobile Marketing as follows: Mobile Marketing is a set of practices that enables organizations to communicate and engage with their audience in an interactive and relevant manner through any mobile device or network (Mobile Marketing Association, 2009). Commonly, mobile marketing is also known as wireless marketing. However the term does not imply that it is necessarily mobile. For instance, a consumer’s communications with a website from a desktop computer at home, with signals carried over a wireless local area network (WLAN) or over a satellite network would qualify as wireless but would not be termed as mobile communications. Again, the increase in use of smart

Mergers and Acquisitions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mergers and Acquisitions - Essay Example The potential merger was based upon the assumption that this merger will actually result into an over $1 billion in terms of cost savings as well as revenue increase for the American Airways.1 The formal process of merger and acquisition started during the start of 2013 and it was believed that this merger actually resulted into the creation of the largest airline in the world. The overall deal was finalized in December 2013 and American Airways formally acquired the firm This paper will discuss and explore the reasons behind this merger, the circumstances which actually led to the merger, the positive as well as negative impacts of the merger besides discussing whether the HR practices of the firm were modified to ensure that the overall outcomes of the merger and acquisition were achieved. 9/11 was one of the key events in the history of American airline industry as for the first time, airplanes were used weapons. Strong security concerns resulted into sharp decline in the passenger traffic and loss of revenue. (Rhoades & Waguespack Jr, 2004). Apart from this, the economic events which occurred after 2007 also resulted into an strong decline the profitability as well as the revenue of the major airlines in the industry. Owing to these factors, American Airline filed chapter 11 bankruptcy ad sought protection against the same. As a result of the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection, it was considered that the American Airlines may suitably merge with other airline in order to come out of the bankruptcy and pay back to its creditors. As such one of the reasons for entering into this merger and acquisition was to avoid the complete bankruptcy and find suitable buyer who can ensure that the creditors are paid back. As per the agreement, 72% of the shares of the American airli ne were acquired by US Airways and the remaining 28% were held by the existing shareholders of the firm. Another important reason for the merger was the cost

Systems for Occupational Health and Safety Management

Systems for Occupational Health and Safety Management Social occupational health and safety practice Develop systems for occupational health and safety management practice Unit standard 5615 Assessment task 1 Audit of health and safety system and records Your audit must include the following steps: determine any organizational requirements for the access to and documentation of workplace health and safety systems and records. You must follow the organizational requirements of your workplace or work placement. Document details of the records and information stored in these health and safety systems. At a minimum your audit of systems and records must include: Accident records, policies, standards, job description, procedures, training records, manuals, inventories, hazard registers, any other health and safety systems used in your workplace. Establish and document your organizations standards for records and information for each of the health and safety systems. These standards may relate to industry specific or internal standards, codes of practice, legislation or regulations, conventions, new Zealand and overseas standards for areas such as health and safety at work, accident compensation, management of resources, and conservation of the environment. Establish and document the main legislative requirements for each of these systems. Compare the records and information you documented on each of the systems with the organizational and legislative requirements you identified. Document the gaps identified. Provide an explanation of the degree to which each system covered by the audit meets organizational standards and legislative requirements.(recording only whether or not requirements were met does not meet the requirements for the audit Document Audit Organizations standards Legislative requirements Comparison of organizational and legislative Requirements Accident records Accident and near misses are recorded in the accident or incident register. Accident form hold details such as: date, time, place that the accident or incident happen, who was involved, how the accident takes place, what injuries were sustained. Blank forms are available from the health and safety officer, organizational requirement is for forms to be completed and checked by the health and safety officer, All organization must keep a register of all accidents that occur in the workplace. There can be a variety of incidents that occur at Auckland city ministry that require we keep a record of what has occurred to ensure the safety of all people involved Mostly met organization require the accident and near misses will be recorded on an accident report form, but there is few thins missing in the form like details of the accident and the further actions for solution. Standards It is a file that written the requirements, specifications and guidelines for staff. A type of standards try to make sure the safety of products and services can help employees work safe. Might describe as what staff need to do in safe way. It provide a good work environment without risk of injury, illness or death for the employees: Safe place of work Safe system of work Safe plant and machinery Competent staff Regulations 1985 Fire safety evacuation of building regulations 2006-the health and disability services standards set requirement for employees have disabilities.-ACOP for the management of noise in the workplace Met Organization standards provide a good and safe work environment for staff. It including noise control, fire evacuation, smoke free and comfortable safe environment. Legislative requirement specific industry standards in the industry, for example: the health and disability services standards. Policy and procedures Policy: guidelines or rules that require certain behaviour or actions. Procedure: sequence of activities or steps to be followed. There are procedures to guide the staff how to perform services in the workplace and be safe to avoid injury or accident to staff or customers. -fire safety and evacuation of Buildings Regulations 2006. Health and safety in employment act 1992 Health and safety in employment regulations 1995. Human rights act 1993 Smoke-free environment act 1990 The employers must provide safety work place for employees the organizations must have procedures and policies to ensure the safety of employees. Mostly met The organization requirement is make sure there is correct policy and procedures to help staff perform in the work and provide the safe work place. But there are few things missing in the fire legislative requirement is to have procedures and policies in place to ensure the safety of employees. Manuals Manuals are written guides that usually cover the specific processes related to an aspect of health and safety , a folder that contains a number of different policies and procedures related to health and safety This have manual books to guide the staff how to use equipment and perform correct in the work. Health and safety act 1992 Safe, health and welfare at work regulations 2007, identification of hazards. Employer required to investigate and determine significant hazard, -hazardous substances and new organisms act 1992 Met Manuals are available for staff to check and it have different policies and procedures related to health and safety guides that cover the specific processes related to an aspect of health and safety. Hazard registers Hazard register is a tool to record all hazard/potential hazards identified in workplace. It is normal to record whether the hazard has been eliminated, isolated, or minimized. All homes be risk assessed to identify the hazards and risks to the staff, clients and visitors. The organization will identify, assess, and manages the actual and potential hazards particularly to our workplace and over which it has authority or influence. Hazardous substance regulation 2001 Injury prevention rehabilitation and compensation act 2001. Not met. Organizational standards is that the hazard register should be up to date and reviewed by the health and safety officer, but founded that the register was outdated and no details or further action for hazards. Legislative workplaces should make sure that there are effective methods in place for identifying hazards that may affect employees at work . They must also identify ways to assess these hazards. Job descriptions It includes job title and the responsibilities for health and safety, the specific health and safety responsibilities. All employee job description are clearly outlined and had a section on health and safety. The reequipments is for health and safety responsibilities to be included in all employee job description Health and safety act 1992 Job description that contain health and safety responsibilities and expectations that are clearly described in their contract. Met The organization job description include the employees responsibilities in health and safety system and heath and safety expectations of the employee. Legislative require job descriptions must contain health and safety responsibilities and expectations in the contract. Training records There is legal requirements to keep records of traning. All employees should be adequately trained to complete their work safety according to the health and safety in employment act. The Occupational health and safety awareness training provides a basic understanding of theOccupational Health and Safety Act(OHSA), and does not replace any sector specific, hazard specific, or competency specific training. The Occupational Health and Safety Awareness and Training regulation requires health and safety awareness training for every worker and supervisor underOntario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act(OHSA). The regulation came into force July 1, 2014. Met All the staff are well trained here. Inventories The Type of health and safety items kept as inventory will vary by type of business. There are many inventories here, they are first aid kits, and fire extinguisher, emergency damn, fall risk, cell phone tracle safety. Work involving hazardous substances(example: requiring an inventory of all hazardous substances used, handled, or stored in the workplace be prepared and maintained/introducing requirements for establishing health monitoring (to be paid for by the business) and storage of monitoring results); Met The inventories here are all met the requirement of the legislation. Assessment task 2 Develop a plan for improvements to occupational health and safety systems In this task you are required to use the results of your workplace health and safety audit to determine an order of priority for the improvement of systems. Once you have established the order of priority, you are to develop and document a plan covering all systems that have not met requirements. Your plan must include: Identification and prioritisation of systems not meeting organizational standards. Prioritisation must be completed based on: The degree of compliance with relevant legislation and standards Assessment of the significance of hazards Cost-benefit analysis Proposed strategies and corrective actions for each of the non-complaint systems in line with the organizational culture of your workplace. When considering the type of corrective action needed you must take into account. Size and location of the workplace Financial viability of the organization Existing management systems Commitment to ISO or other quality management Your plan, including your proposed strategies and corrective actions, must be approved by your workplace supervisor or manager. Health and safety system Degree of compliance/conformity Assessment of hazard/risk Cost-benefit analyze Accident records Mostly compliance with health and safety legislation. But no further actions for the hazard management to solve the problem. High risk as the further actions have not been done, so the accident might happen again. The cost of training and re-design the form is low. The benefit for safety and met legislation is high. standards The document for safeproper storagedisposal of work must be followed Risk of harm for staff and residents, no evidence to cover yourself. The cost of making standard is low, but the benefit is high. Policy and procedures No procedure to infection control High risk Many clients suffer from diarrhea so if there is no infection control procedures for the staff member to follow, it will be cause cross infection and potential hazards in the workplace. The cost of developing policy and procedure is low. The benefits for met legislative requirements are high. The benefits to minimi sing the risk is high. manuals There are some pages missing for how to follow the infection control steps. Medium risk The cost of developing a policy and procedures is low. But it have large benefit for the residents and staff members to protect theirselves. Training records The work place require training records, havent completed training records in last six month. Compliant in organizational requirements, employees have had the appropriate training for their roles in the organization. The cost of training staff is low, but the benefit for the whole organization is high. Hazard register A hazard register was in place, but there were no records to show what had been done to eliminate, isolate, or minimi se each identified hazards. The risk of injury is high if hazards are not being eliminated, isolated and minimi sed. The cost of compliance will vary according to hazards. There is a significant potential cost through in potential injury, there is a legal obligation to do everything practicable to provide a safe work place for employee-so hazard must be managed. Job description Health and safety were included in standard employee contracts. However, organizational requirements for health and safety responsibilities to be included in all employee job description contracts. Not compliance. High fix to employer to employee contract. Not base on the health and safety, just focus on the job. The cost of fix the job description is low but the benefit is high. Strategy: to develop health and safety responsibility section in staffs job description and contract. Correct actions: review staffs job description and contract, -.find template in accordance with legislative requirements, Confirm with legal ad visor -Complete health and safety responsibilities section into staffs job description contract. develop a plan to address staffing numbers -ensure all staff can manage stress well -health and safety records on organization might be need to keep. Health and safety act 1992 Duties relating to health and safety in employment, duties of employers in relation to hazards management. How to identify the hazard: a, every employer should ensure that there are in place effective methods for manage the hazard. b, systematically identifying ex sting hazards to employees at work. c, systematically identifying if possible before, and otherwise us, they arise new hazards to employees at work. d, regularly assessing each hazards identified, and determine whether or not it is a significant hazards. Strategies for the problem: develop policies and procedures, health and safety responsibilities in the job description, how we develop things to do infection control, health and safety section in the fixed contract. Promote health wellbeing in workplace, how we do that Educate staff how to handle challenge behaviour Ensure all identified hazard in organization avoided. Evacuation: natural disaster, training records, document, fires, educate staff fire procedures, ensure staff all trained in fire day. The company is small size that consists full time staffs and around 20 contracts. Due to the company is facing tough financial time and the feature of their service delivery, the strategy and corrective actions are considered as necessary and economic. Cultural difference is taken inti account, because of most of staff are from overseas and have english as a second language. A introduction training may be hold if needed. It aims to ensure all staffs receive correct and adequate information about health and safety responsibility. In addition, if the english is difficult for some overseas staff understand, a translation copy could be given, furthermore, a training record is highly recommended as an evidence should the organization s actions which follow the legislative requirements. Reference list: Health and safety in employment act 1992, retrieved from www. http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1992/0096/latest/whole.html Health and safety awareness training for workers, retrieved from http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/training/

Evolution of Heroism: Comparing Qualities of Ancient Heroes Versus Mod

Heroes are prevalent in everyone’s life. Whether someone’s hero is a living person or a fabled character from a movie, everybody has come into contact with some sort of hero. In fact, the concept of heroes has existed for hundreds of years, dating all the way back to Ancient Greece. However, heroes have not always been people who dress up in costumes and fight crime, as our current society would lead us to believe. No, heroes started out differently and have evolved throughout the centuries. Heroes generally reflect the ideals of their society, and while they are not perfect, they demonstrate the qualities and traits valued by their society. Heroes have always possessed distinguishing qualities, but these traits and qualities have changed drastically over time. The Greek definition of a hero is far removed from the Romantic and modern definitions of heroes. Early heroes were characterized by extraordinary physical ability and incredible battle skills, whereas contempora ry heroes rely on intellectual ability and their rebellious nature. Specifically, the original Greek heroes had god-like physiques and were deadly and unstoppable warriors. One of the most prominent Greek heroes, Odysseus, demonstrates these qualities in Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. Odysseus first displays his inhuman strength in the cave of Polyphemus, the Cyclops. His men prepare a large olive stake to thrust it into Polyphemus’ eye and Odysseus â€Å"drives his weight on [the olive stake] from above and bores it† (Homer, 223) in, an astounding feat of which only Odysseus is capable. Odysseus demonstrates his physical dominance again when he escapes the whirlpool Charybdis by â€Å"springing for the great fig tree† above and then escapes from Charybdis need I say/high... ...he example of each (smart for equality, fighting social boundaries for jane) but now that you say both do that (which is true for the most part) after â€Å"mentally brilliant† such as Equality and Jane, and fight their social boundaries as opposed to physical armies and foes. In Greek society, those who were fearless and muscular fighters were the ones that were honored and praised, comma needed but in modern society, people who are exceptionally bright and courageous can become honorable heroes. A perfect example of a modern hero is Barack Obama. Barack is extremely intelligent, as this is required of any president to run a country. He is the first African-American president, an act rebellious against the normal customs of American presidents. He cannot defeat an entire army of suitors by himself, but he has used his courage and intelligence to become a hero for many.

Connection Between Human and Animals Essay

â€Å"The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different.† This was quoted by Hippocrates, a Greek philosopher. The numerous animal imageries in Timothy Findley’s book The Wars are used to show the similarities and differences of the way how human treat animals and their life. The characters Captain Leather, Rodwell and Robert Ross reveal their own connections to the animals respectively, and the connections fully prove the good side and the bad side of human nature. Captain Leather is a commanding officer, he is one of the negative characters and he treats animals without humanity in the novel. When the barn yard is on fire, Robert’s first thought is the animals, and he wants to set the horses and mules free. However, Captain Leather tries to prevent Robert from freeing them, a hundred horses and thirty-five mules, and he does not even care about those real lives. He screams at Delvin, â€Å"‘Shut those God damn gates! Sh ut them! Shut them! You traitor’† (183). He is a selfish officer, and he is very cruel and merciless to animals. A life means nothing to Captain Leather, and he has no feeling towards the death of the soldiers. When Robert tells Captain Leather that perhaps there are a lot of soldiers died in the trench, Captain Leather does not even worry about it, he seems to think that those men were born for fighting and sacrificing for the wars: â€Å"Leather even said ‘Just so’ when Robert explained that he hadn’t been able to locate his men and that he feared they had all been killed† (116). Captain Leather orders Robert and his men to go to the forward position to set up the guns, and Robert knows that they will be dead for certain because the position is very closed to the German lines. Captain Leather does not understand how dangerous the war is, and he just gives orders: â€Å"Laid down the purpose of the new guns. Gun beds would have to be put in ‘here and here’ and ‘there and there.’ Here and there was all right–but there and there was a death trap† (116). Captain Leather never cares about the soldier’s lives, and fighting a war is just like playing a game for him. He totally loses his humanity in the brutal war. In the novel, Rodwell always shows compassion and mercy to injured animals and wants to protect them. He is an optimistic person, and he knows how to enjoy his life during the war. Toad is one of the animals that Robert has saved. Even though nobody likes toad because of their ugly appearance, Rodwell still wants to cure the injured toad, he cherishes every creature’s life. The toad also has strong vitality, just like every soldier that wants to survive during the war: â€Å"Rodwell had saved the toad by putting it into the drinking water pail and placing sheets of Devlin’s glass on top† (133). Rodwell saved a rabbit during the war. The rabbit is a symbol of innocent and purity, just like Rowena and himself, and the rabbit reminds Robert of Rowena. The rabbit has survived when they got attacked: â€Å"The rabbit turned with its eyes shut tight and huddled in the corner of its cage facing Robert† (110). Rodwell tries to defend the animals with his life, although he knows that he can possibly lose his life. He respects animals and he tries to prevent the German from killing a cat, but he fails. He sees the cat’s life as his own life and he cannot accept the abuse of cats, so that finally he chooses to commit suicide: â€Å"They would not be stopped-and, seeing that he took an interest, they’d forced him to watch the killing of a cat. Half an hour later, Rodwell wandered into No Man’s Land and put a bullet through his ears† (135). Rodwell is like the animals, having purity and virtuous, he is not like the soldiers, violent, and killing, he appreciates and respects every living creature in his life. Although the war is cruel, it does not destroy Rodwell’s conscience. He is still very kind t o his friends and family. When Bonnycastle, Devlin and Levitt introduce Rodwell to Robert, they give their high assessment of Rodwell, Bonnycastle says, â€Å"‘[He thinks Robert will like Rodwell]’ ‘[The animals] have all been injured. That’s [Rodwell’s] sort of hospital’† (85). Rodwell predicts that he will die in the war, so he writes a letter to his daughter. The letter indicates Rodwell’s faith and the value of life. In the letter, Rodwell writes, â€Å"I am alive in everything I touch. Touch these pages and you have me in your fingertips. We survive in one another. Everything lives forever. Believe it. Nothing dies† (135). Rodwell only draws animals in his sketchbook just like communicating with animals, but Robert is the only human being in the book. Rodwell draws Robert because he sees Robert as one of the animals which are pure and innocent; unfortunately, Robert is trapped by the war, â€Å"In all of them—on every page, the drawings were of animals. Of maybe a hundred sketches, Robert’s was the only human form. Modified and mutated—he was one with the others† (138). Rodwell sacrifices his life for the wars, but his soul will be alive forever. His faith and mercy will stay in their memories as long as their live. The protagonist Robert Ross has connection with the animal’s portraits in the story reflects his personalities and the circumstances that he encounters. Once Robert ran with a coyote, he wondered why the coyote did not even kill any animals as a food source. Although the coyote is a predator, it only kills the ones who threaten its life: â€Å"And when it came to the place where the gophers had been sitting, neither did it pause to scuffle the burrows or even to sniff at them. It just went right on trotting-forward towards its goal† (25). The friendship between Robert and coyote is also peaceful, the coyote notices that Robert is behind and it allows Robert to follow. The coyote trusts Robert, it knows that Robert will not hurt it and it tries to communicate with Robert. This can be shown in the novel: â€Å"the valley was vacant: safe–and that Robert could proceed to the water’s edge to drink. It barked three times–a precise announcement it was leaving† (27). This strongly proves that human and animals can be friends, and the coyote is one of his friends in his life. In the novel, the rat symbolizes the hope and life. Robert saw a rat was trapped in the waterlogged trenches; he sets that rat free, because that was the only alive animal that is in the trenches. Later, â€Å"Robert wondered †¦ if setting the rat free had been a favor–but in the moment that he did it he was thinking: here is someone still alive† (114). The rat’s life is just like human’s life, both of them are precious. Throughout the whole novel, every time when the bird appears, it symbolizes freedom, life and warning. When Robert is in trouble, the bird will appear and give him a signal. Robert hears the bird is singing when he rolls over and sees the German, and then he realizes the sound of bird means that the German relents and shows mercy. He just let Robert and his men go: â€Å"A bird sang, something like a white-throated sparrow: one long note descending; three that wavered. This was the bird that had sung before† (127). After the German gets killed, the bird sings again, this time, the sound of bird is sorrowful. The bird is sad for the death of the German, also the bird is like the soldiers, it does not like the war, and it aspires for peace: â€Å"The bird sang†¦The sound of it would haunt him to the day he died† (131). Robert Ross sees his shadow from these animals, they have same characteristic and they are all very kind. As a soldier, Robert knows that the value of human life is treasurable so that he does not want to kill the innocents. The death of Rowena has a big impact on Robert’s life, and this incident changes his whole life. Even though Robert does not kill Rowena, he thinks that Rowena’s death is related to him. Robert feels guilty about Rowena’s death, so that he wants to join the war and escape from pain, â€Å"All he knew was that his hands felt empty. In this mind, they kept reaching out for the back of Rowena’s chair† (19). When Robert and his soldiers get gas attacked, Robert acts calm, and he reacts very fast. Robert is the only one who has the gas mask, and the rest of the soldiers do not have masks. Robert gives his mask to a wounded soldier, he does not even consider himself, and he just wants to save all the lives. He orders the rest of soldiers to urinate on their shirts and put it over their faces. They lie down for a moment, lastly, they get saved but unluckily, the injured soldier died, â€Å"Robert threw the gas mask at Bates. ‘Put that over [the injured soldier’s] face. And remember this gun is pointed right at your back’† (124). When Robert and his soldiers try to climb out from the trenches, he sees a German soldier and he is lenient so that he decides to ignore the German soldier: â€Å"He didn’t want to point it at him yet. He waited to see what reaction the gun itself would get† (129). As a soldier, Robert is not cruel, he appreciates every life, and he tries his best to protect his friends and family. By comparison, Captain Leather, Rodwell and Robert Ross, they treat animals and humans differently, Rodwell and Robert Ross are kind, but Captain Leather is cruel. Findley uses the relationships between humans and animals to reveal that in most cases, the nature of human is pure and innocent but sometimes merciless. Throughout the whole novel, human who respect animal’s life also show the most respect for life in general. As a reader, I realize that all the living creatures in the world are the same, they should respect each other. Works Cited Hippocrates. Notable Quotes about Animals & Humanity. Findley, Timothy. The Wars. Canada: Penguin Group, 2005.

Ford Motor Company: Supply Chain Management and Strategic Fit

This report covers the performance of Ford Motor Company over the past 10 years and analyzes the results of its â€Å"One Ford† business plan. The main question this report answers is whether Ford’s resent actions match the supply chain strategy of the new plan. There is also a short comparison between Ford and it closest competitor in the United States, General Motors. Data was collected from different sources such as, annual and quarterly reports, company websites, organizations such as the United Nations, along with independent sources.This data was review and non-financial and financial computations were performed to see it if Ford’s overall performance had improve since the implementation of â€Å"One Ford† and the assignment of new management. The results show that the company has made improvements to it performance both financial and quality based off forecasting, employee efficiency, contribution and cost margins, net income, and higher prices dema nded for their products. Table of Contents Industry Overview In their industry report, First Research (2011) describes both the United States and global automobile manufacturing industries.The industry in the United States is comprised of about 200 companies . In 2010, two of the larger manufactures, Ford and General Motors, had combined annual revenues of approximately $235 billion & . The automobile manufacturing industry is a global industry with players from several major countries. Some of the larger global companies based outside the United States include Toyota (Japan), Volkswagen (Germany), Hyndai (South Korea), Peugeot (France), Fiat (Italy), and SAIC (China) .Although these manufacturing companies are  foreign based a few have manufacturing facilities inside the United States. Some of these include Honda, Nissan and Toyota . While other manufactures have facilities here in the United States, Ford and General Motors have located facilities in other countries. Companies th at locate facilities in foreign countries are attempting to maximize profits by taking advantage of lower labor costs, locate near suppliers and customers, and lower tariffs and other taxes. There are other challenges that are faced by the automobile manufactures besides the distance between their facilities and customers.These challenges include world economic conditions, fuel prices, regulatory standards, and the amount of loanable funds available to consumers . To combat macroeconomic issues such as these, firms must find other ways to increase profitability. Ford Motor Company is one of the automobile companies that has been able to do just that. Ford Motor Company Brief Overview, Products and Services The following information was compiled from Ford Motor Company’s 2010 Annual Report (2011) and www. Ford. com. Ford Motor Company manufactures and distributes automobiles across six continents, employs about 164,000 people at approximately 70 plants.The major bands manufact ured by Ford Motor Company are Ford and Lincoln. Ford Motor Company also owns approximately 30% of Mazda that is located in Japan. Besides automobiles, the company also sells parts and offers financial and repair services for their products to the consumer. In its car segment the Ford brand offers economical and sports cars, and a sedan. The economical cars include the Focus, Figo, Fiesta, and Fusion. The sports car and sedan are the Mustang and Taurus, respectively. MSRP of these cars rang from just over $13,000 to almost $26,000.The SUV and crossover segment includes the Escape, Flex, Explore, Edge, Kuga, Expedition, and the EcoSport. MSRP for these two types of automobiles from Ford ranges from $21,000 to $38,000. Ford brand also has a truck line that includes the F-Series, Ranger, Transit Connect, Super Duty, and E-Series Wagon. MSRP for the truck line ranges from $18,000 to $29,000. Ford Motor Company also has a domestic luxury car segment. The Lincoln brand of automobiles incl udes sedans, crossovers and an SUV. The sedans include the Town Car, MKZ, and MKS. These cars range from $35,000 to $47,000, MSRP.The crossovers include the MKX and MKT and range in MSRP from $40,000 to $45,000. Lincoln’s SUV is the Navigator and starts at an MSRP of almost $58,000. Ford Motor Company’s Changes in Their Supply Chain Strategy Over the past decade Ford Motor Company has had its financial ups and downs and had not been able to maintain a stable net income (See graph below). To combat this problem in the middle of the last decade Ford made some management changes to try and improve their industry position. They addressed supply chain efficiency problems that the company was facing.Some of the needed changes included closing plants, retooling, building flexible manufacturing facilities, and contracting with new logistics firms. The plan to make the transformation was coined â€Å"One Ford† . â€Å"In September of 2006 William Clay Ford, Jr. was name d CEO of the Ford Motor Company. . In Liker and James’ journal article (2011) they noted that Ford brought in Allan Mulally whose job it was to use borrowed monies to bring Ford Motor Company back to a more stable and profitable state. Mulally had to decide where to use the borrowed $23 billion and where to cut cost.To help with this he appointed Derrick Kuzak, former vice-president of Europe’s product development. Kuzack was appointed as the vice-president of global product development . To combat cost Ford has closed approximately ten of its facilities since 2006 . In addition to closing facilities, Ford had to pare down supplier to bring all of its production facilities and products across the globe into alignment. In 2010 James Tetreault, vice-president of North American manufacturing stated, â€Å"[it was] expensive to maintain separate product and supply chains† .The company in 2006 started working on standardizing the architecture of the all it body panel s, vehicle plat forms, die designs and processes . In addition to making manufacturing changes Ford addressed it logistics problems in the United States. From 2000 and into 2009 Ford had used United Parcel Services (UPS) as its logistics partner for transporting both inbound and outbound inventory . Since then, Ford contracted with Penske to be its logistic partner. Penske works with Ford not only in the United States but also in Europe, South America, and United Kingdom .In addition to internal process challenges, there are other internal and external challenges that the automotive industry faces. External Challenges to Ford’s Changes In the middle of all of its changes Ford Motor Company had many different challenges besides its, financial and process changes to make the â€Å"One Ford† concept work. First, it had communication issues from upper levels to lower levels, and they could not get past â€Å"improvements† fully implemented. Second, relationships wit h vendors needed improvement. Third, the world was about to enter into a recession starting in 2008.Even though the world’s GDP was falling, there was continuous inflation all over the world. Finally, iron ore price continue to rise even during the recession. In their case study, Liker and Morgan (2011) said information dissemination was described as â€Å"hand grenades† and â€Å"scud missiles. † To improve this, two types of meetings were started inside the company. First, were the â€Å"Skip-level† meetings that allowed engineers and upper level management to communicate. Second, they had â€Å"All-Hands† meetings twice a year where the entire organization gathered to discuss the status of the improvements.Liker and Morgan (2011) also quoted Mulally as saying â€Å"supplier were treated like enemies† and not partners of Ford. To fix the battles between Ford and its suppliers â€Å"a process of dialogues between matched pairs of Ford engi neers and buyers in purchasing who were responsible for the commercial side of working with suppliers† was put into place . This can help the buyers know what, how much, and when supplies are needed, and hopefully this will increase the supplier confidence in the processes at Ford.Shortly after Allan Mulally came on in 2006 the world was about to enter into a recession that some news reports were saying could be the next Great Depression. According to a United Nations, World Economic Situation and Prospects 2010 report, the rate of growth for GDP in most, if not all, countries began to decline in 2007 and actually entered into declines sometime in 2008. Although GDP was falling, inflation continued without any period of dis-inflation, meaning that prices were still on the rise but just at a slower rate .See the two graphs below for a graphical view of the United Nations data. These results show that the cost of living (prices) were still on the rise, but the amount of producti on (income) is in decline between 2007 and 2009. This makes it harder for consumers to purchase products like automobiles. Even with the upturn in the economies between 2009 and 2010, there is still a likelihood that people are going to be reluctant to purchase expensive durable goods. Unfortunately for the automobile industry its greatest commodity is steel.Over the past ten years world iron ore prices have been on the rise, except for a dip in prices between mid-2008 and the first quarter in 2010 . â€Å"About 98% of iron ore is used to make steel† . These price increases will drive the price of inputs for the car industry up because everything from the nuts and bolts, engine, frame and body panel, on most cars, are made from steel. Higher input prices means either lower gross profits and/or higher prices to the final consumer. The graph below shows the price changes of iron ore from 2001 until the end of 2010.Ford’s Forecasting, Inventory, Transportation, and Revenu e Management To compete, keep cost down, be profitable, and stay in business Ford has had to address the fore mentioned internal and external issues even after getting its â€Å"Ford One† plan in place. To do so it appears that management has addressed the forecasting, inventory, transportation, and revenue management functions of their operations. First, Ford had to address its forecasting so that it would not over or under produce its product to a level that would be detrimental to profitability.Second, inventory and transportation was outsourced to capitalize on the knowledge inside a firm that specialized in logistics and also had the physical resources. With an improvement of the first and second topics in this section the third topic’s, revenue management, tasks are made much easier. After a review of the company’s quarterly reports from 4Q 2007 to 3Q 2011 and the 2001 to 2010 annual reports, it can be determined that Ford uses historical quantitative info rmation in its aggregate forecasting. Some of this information is not automobile industry specific but macroeconomic information that affects sales inside the industry.It appears that Ford’s aggregate demand forecast uses historical data and the macroeconomic information for world production forecasting and then they base their production off of recent market share percentages they control. Ford also recognizes that there is seasonality to its customers purchasing patterns and adjust projection levels. In the notes of the â€Å"Outlook† section of the 1Q 2008 report (2008) Ford commented that â€Å"results generally have been stronger in the first half of the year, with the first quarter being the strongest† .After having forecast errors in 2008 and 2009 that totaled 1.9 million units, Ford’s forecast for 2010 was only off 149,000 units worldwide. As addressed earlier, Ford had shifted its logistics in 2010 from UPS to Penske Logistics. Penske claims that they have lowered Ford’s domestic plant inventory by 15% with the use of Order Dispatch Centers (ODC) and training suppliers on a uniform set of carrier procedures . With the ODCs Ford’s suppliers were no longer delivering to the plant facilities but to the ODC where supplies were cross-docked. This was done because Penske found that delivery trucks were traveling at 50% capacity and crossing routes.Penske now reports that â€Å"most trucks are at 95% capacity when they depart for a plant . On their website, Penske states that they have setup other logistical functions to streamline Ford’s transportation portion in its supply chain activities which include information technology and finance management systems. Their information technology system communicates schedules and shipment information up and down the supply chain and the finance management handles all of the freight bill payments, claim processing and resolutions throughout the supply chain .We have al l seen the ads on television and in newspapers that start around October and run through the end of the year. The manufacturers and dealers give them titles like â€Å"Year End Blowout† and â€Å"Year End Clearance. † The specials they are running are to clear out the previous year models. These sales are a form of revenue management used to increase sales during the upcoming holiday months when consumers are more focused on Christmas and vacations. Specifically, it is a form of dynamic pricing. Dynamic pricing is used to sale inventory that is becoming less valuable as time persists .Ford is one of those automobile companies that partake in such pricing practices. They also offer discounts to consumers that finance through their Ford Motor Credit Company. Visit Ford’s website www. fordspecialevent. com and you will see the special interest rates, some even at 0%, and rebates that are offered on select units from the previous year models to help move them off of the dealer lots. This type of sales practice is an example what happens with an inventory push system. The Performance and Financial Results of â€Å"One Ford†After just over three years from when Alan Mulally took the helm as CEO for Ford Motor Company, how have they performed? To determine if Ford’s changes have actually worked we can look at several metrics. First, we will look at the aggregate forecasting numbers from 2008 to 2010. Next, the utilization of employees that are working in the automobile sector of Ford will be analyzed. Finally, we will look at some financial performance numbers to see if the plan has had an effect on Ford’s bottom line. Ford’s forecasting has greatly improved over the past several years.When forecasting, an organization, such as Ford, must take into account its existing inventory and base its production forecast on expected demand that exceeds inventory. In 2008 Ford had forecasted that it would produce just over 4. 5 m illion units, but actually produced only 3. 8 million. Sales that year totaled 5. 5 million units. This means that the annual forecast had an error of 1. 7 million units. In 2009 the total production forecast was 3. 7 million units, but the actual production was 4. 6 million. Sales in 2009 were almost 4. 9 million units. That’s a forecast error of -247 thousand units.In 2010 Ford’s forecasting improved even more. Production was forecasted at 5. 4 million units, but actual was 5. 6 million units, and sales were 5. 5 million units. This results in a forecasting error of 149 thousand units. Ford has lowered its forecasting error by more than 10 times from 2008 to 2010 (See chart below). It has also lowered its mean average deviation between quarters from 1Q 2008 to 4Q 2010 a total of 367 units (See chart below). These kinds of results could show that Ford is moving from a push to a pull type of inventory control system.Since 2003 Ford has reduced the number of employees t hat are in their automobile sector. Along with a reduction of employees, the implementation of the above discussed â€Å"One Ford† plan to improve and standardize production processes has had a positive effect on the company’s financial performance. Between 2003 and 2010 employment went from approximately 279,000 down to 157,000, a reduction of 44%. But with this reduction in employment, production per employee rose from 24. 1 to 35. 2 or 46%. The increased number of units per employee has had a positive effect on the company’s revenues from auto sales and gross profit margin.Revenue from the sale of automobiles per employee has risen 53%, $495. 56 million to $759. 75 million. The total employment at Ford has dropped from 328,000 down to 164,000. This includes both the manufacturing and service sectors of the company. The effect on total net revenue per employee has increased from $501. 75 million to $786. 3 million or 57% from 2003 to 2010. See the graph below for a depiction of the above employee utilization and contribution results. Now we will look at how Ford’s change in their business model has affected the unit contribution and cost, and gross profit margin of the company.The average contribution per unit between 2001 and 2010 was $18,668 and $21,593, respectively. That is an increased contribution of 16% per unit. In 2001 the average cost to produce one unit for Ford was $18,324. This rose to a high of $23,558 in 2007, but the company was able to reduce this cost back down to $18,908 in 2010. The percentage reduction in cost per unit from 2007 to 2010 is 16%. The negative correlation between contribution and cost per unit has a positive effect on the gross profit margin for the company. Ford’s gross profit margin from 2003 to 2010 increased 100% from 6% to 12%.That is after dipping to lows of -4% and 1% in 2006 and 2008, respectively. See the below graph to see how the changes in Ford’s operations has affected the above mentioned financials. To analyze the total effect the â€Å"One Ford† plan has had on the company’s bottom line let us look at the revenue and income side of the financials. First, we need to take into account that the world has been in a recession since about 2008. This has had an effect on the total sales and revenues that Ford has experienced over the last several years, and the difference between 2001 and 2010 results are $160 billion and $129 billion, respectively.To understand how the changes (One Ford) have affected the net income for the company we must look at the trend between sales and cost of goods sold. Starting in 2006 the cost of goods sold for Ford trended downward, as did total sales and revenue starting in 2007, but in 2009 there started to be a change between the rate of growth between sale and cost of goods sold. The rate of growth from sales increased at a faster pace than cost of goods sold. From 2008 to 2009 the change in sales was a re duction of 19%, and the cost of goods sold fell by 22%. Between 2009 and 2010 sales rose 15% while cost of goods only increased by 6%.These differences are a result of the above mention average contribution and cost per unit. Other changes that could be making this difference are the outsourcing of its logistics and relations with suppliers. These increases in gross profits from operations have been enough to offset the reduced revenues (22%) from the financial sector and have resulted in a 141% increase in net income between 2009 and 2010. (All of the above employment, production and financial data was collected from annual and quarterly reports published by Ford Motor Company and can be found on their website, www.Ford. com, and the Securities and Exchange’s website, www. sec. gov. ) Comparison of Ford and General Motors Performance To compare General Motors to Ford Motor Company we will look at worldwide sales revenues, cost of goods sold, and net income. In its 2010 Annua l Report (2011), General Motors claims to lead Ford in worldwide sales . This is true, in the number of units sold. In 2010 General Motors did out sales Ford by almost 2. 8 million units.This has been the trend even back to 2004 where the difference was in General Motors favor at 2.2 million units. Even when it comes to some financial performances General Motors has the advantage. In 2010 average unit cost for a General Motors unit was $14,200 dollars and Ford’s average unit cost was $18,900. That is a difference of $4,700. Between 2006 and 2010 General Motors was able to reduce their average unit cost by 28%. Ford only reduced its average unit cost by 19% in the same period. The big differences that gives Ford the advantage between the two companies are the average gross profit per unit and the net income.Ford is able to demand a higher average price, $21,600 versus $16,100, than General Motors. This has given Ford the advantage in net income with a difference of almost $1. 9 billion in 2010 alone. Plus, Ford has done this all without a bailout from the United States government like General Motors. Conclusion Over the ten years this report covers, Ford has been able to make major improvements in its operations. It has been able to make architectural changes to the body assembly and tooling that makes their production facilities more flexible.Penske was able to come in and reduce waste in the inventory and logistics that was not found by their previous logistics company. The big hurdle that Ford overcame was the implementation and communication issues they had in-house and with suppliers. With all of these changes Ford has been able to alleviate some of the financial woes it was experiencing several years back. Finally, the result of the automobile sector and the total company shows that Ford Motor Company as a whole is moving in the right direction with its â€Å"One Ford† plan. Ford Motor Company: Supply Chain Management and Strategic Fit AbstractThis report covers the performance of Ford Motor Company over the past 10 years and analyzes the results of its â€Å"One Ford† business plan. The main question this report answers is whether Ford’s resent actions match the supply chain strategy of the new plan. There is also a short comparison between Ford and it closest competitor in the United States, General Motors. Data was collected from different sources such as, annual and quarterly reports, company websites, organizations such as the United Nations, along with independent sources. This data was review and non-financial and financial computations were performed to see it if Ford’s overall performance had improve since the implementation of â€Å"One Ford† and the assignment of new management. The results show that the company has made improvements to it performance both financial and quality based off forecasting, employee efficiency, contribution and cost margins, net income, and higher pr ices demanded for their products.Industry OverviewIn their industry report, First Research (2011) describes both the United States and global automobile manufacturing industries. The industry in the United States is comprised of about 200 companies. In 2010, two of the larger manufactures, Ford and General Motors, had combined annual revenues of approximately $235 billion & . The automobile manufacturing industry is a global industry with players from several major countries. Some of the larger global companies based outside the United States include Toyota (Japan), Volkswagen (Germany), Hyndai (South Korea), Peugeot (France), Fiat (Italy), and SAIC (China) .Although these manufacturing companies are foreign based a few have manufacturing facilities inside the United States. Some of these include Honda, Nissan and Toyota . While other manufactures have facilities here in the United States, Ford and General Motors have located facilities in other countries. Companies that locate faci lities in foreign countries are attempting to maximize profits by taking advantage of lower labor costs, locate near suppliers and customers, and lower tariffs and other taxes. There are other challenges that are faced by the automobile manufactures besides the distance between their facilities and customers.These challenges include world economic conditions, fuel prices, regulatory standards, and the amount of loanable funds available to consumers . To combat macroeconomic issues such as these, firms must find other ways to increase profitability. Ford Motor Company is one of the automobile companies that has been able to do just that. Ford Motor Company Brief Overview, Products and Services The following information was compiled from Ford Motor Company’s 2010 Annual Report (2011) and www. Ford. com. Ford Motor Company manufactures and distributes automobiles across six continents, employs about 164,000 people at approximately 70 plants.The major bands manufactured by Ford M otor Company are Ford and Lincoln. Ford Motor Company also owns approximately 30% of Mazda that is located in Japan. Besides automobiles, the company also sells parts and offers financial and repair services for their products to the consumer. In its car segment the Ford brand offers economical and sports cars, and a sedan. The economical cars include the Focus, Figo, Fiesta, and Fusion. The sports car and sedan are the Mustang and Taurus, respectively. MSRP of these cars rang from just over $13,000 to almost $26,000.The SUV and crossover segment includes the Escape, Flex, Explore, Edge, Kuga, Expedition, and the EcoSport. MSRP for these two types of automobiles from Ford ranges from $21,000 to $38,000. Ford brand also has a truck line that includes the F-Series, Ranger, Transit Connect, Super Duty, and E-Series Wagon. MSRP for the truck line ranges from $18,000 to $29,000. Ford Motor Company also has a domestic luxury car segment. The Lincoln brand of automobiles includes sedans, c rossovers and an SUV. The sedans include the Town Car, MKZ, and MKS. These cars range from $35,000 to $47,000, MSRP.The crossovers include the MKX and MKT and range in MSRP from $40,000 to $45,000. Lincoln’s SUV is the Navigator and starts at an MSRP of almost $58,000. Ford Motor Company’s Changes in Their Supply Chain Strategy Over the past decade Ford Motor Company has had its financial ups and downs and had not been able to maintain a stable net income (See graph below). To combat this problem in the middle of the last decade Ford made some management changes to try and improve their industry position. They addressed supply chain efficiency problems that the company was facing.Some of the needed changes included closing plants, retooling, building flexible manufacturing facilities, and contracting with new logistics firms. The plan to make the transformation was coined â€Å"One Ford† . â€Å"In September of 2006 William Clay Ford, Jr. was named CEO of the F ord Motor Company. . In Liker and James’ journal article (2011) they noted that Ford brought in Allan Mulally whose job it was to use borrowed monies to bring Ford Motor Company back to a more stable and profitable state. Mulally had to decide where to use the borrowed $23 billion and where to cut cost.To help with this he appointed Derrick Kuzak, former vice-president of Europe’s product development. Kuzack was appointed as the vice-president of global product development . To combat cost Ford has closed approximately ten of its facilities since 2006 . In addition to closing facilities, Ford had to pare down supplier to bring all of its production facilities and products across the globe into alignment. In 2010 James Tetreault, vice-president of North American manufacturing stated, â€Å"[it was] expensive to maintain separate product and supply chains† .The company in 2006 started working on standardizing the architecture of the all it body panels, vehicle pla t forms, die designs and processes . In addition to making manufacturing changes Ford addressed it logistics problems in the United States. From 2000 and into 2009 Ford had used United Parcel Services (UPS) as its logistics partner for transporting both inbound and outbound inventory . Since then, Ford contracted with Penske to be its logistic partner. Penske works with Ford not only in the United States but also in Europe, South America, and United Kingdom .In addition to internal process challenges, there are other internal and external challenges that the automotive industry faces. External Challenges to Ford’s Changes In the middle of all of its changes Ford Motor Company had many different challenges besides its, financial and process changes to make the â€Å"One Ford† concept work. First, it had communication issues from upper levels to lower levels, and they could not get past â€Å"improvements† fully implemented. Second, relationships with vendors need ed improvement. Third, the world was about to enter into a recession starting in 2008.Even though the world’s GDP was falling, there was continuous inflation all over the world. Finally, iron ore price continue to rise even during the recession. In their case study, Liker and Morgan (2011) said information dissemination was described as â€Å"hand grenades† and â€Å"scud missiles. † To improve this, two types of meetings were started inside the company. First, were the â€Å"Skip-level† meetings that allowed engineers and upper level management to communicate. Second, they had â€Å"All-Hands† meetings twice a year where the entire organization gathered to discuss the status of the improvements.Liker and Morgan (2011) also quoted Mulally as saying â€Å"supplier were treated like enemies† and not partners of Ford. To fix the battles between Ford and its suppliers â€Å"a process of dialogues between matched pairs of Ford engineers and buye rs in purchasing who were responsible for the commercial side of working with suppliers† was put into place . This can help the buyers know what, how much, and when supplies are needed, and hopefully this will increase the supplier confidence in the processes at Ford.Shortly after Allan Mulally came on in 2006 the world was about to enter into a recession that some news reports were saying could be the next Great Depression. According to a United Nations, World Economic Situation and Prospects 2010 report, the rate of growth for GDP in most, if not all, countries began to decline in 2007 and actually entered into declines sometime in 2008. Although GDP was falling, inflation continued without any period of dis-inflation, meaning that prices were still on the rise but just at a slower rate .See the two graphs below for a graphical view of the United Nations data. These results show that the cost of living (prices) were still on the rise, but the amount of production (income) is in decline between 2007 and 2009. This makes it harder for consumers to purchase products like automobiles. Even with the upturn in the economies between 2009 and 2010, there is still a likelihood that people are going to be reluctant to purchase expensive durable goods. Unfortunately for the automobile industry its greatest commodity is steel.Over the past ten years world iron ore prices have been on the rise, except for a dip in prices between mid-2008 and the first quarter in 2010 . â€Å"About 98% of iron ore is used to make steel† . These price increases will drive the price of inputs for the car industry up because everything from the nuts and bolts, engine, frame and body panel, on most cars, are made from steel. Higher input prices means either lower gross profits and/or higher prices to the final consumer. The graph below shows the price changes of iron ore from 2001 until the end of 2010.Ford’s Forecasting, Inventory, Transportation, and Revenue Management T o compete, keep cost down, be profitable, and stay in business Ford has had to address the fore mentioned internal and external issues even after getting its â€Å"Ford One† plan in place. To do so it appears that management has addressed the forecasting, inventory, transportation, and revenue management functions of their operations. First, Ford had to address its forecasting so that it would not over or under produce its product to a level that would be detrimental to profitability.Second, inventory and transportation was outsourced to capitalize on the knowledge inside a firm that specialized in logistics and also had the physical resources. With an improvement of the first and second topics in this section the third topic’s, revenue management, tasks are made much easier. After a review of the company’s quarterly reports from 4Q 2007 to 3Q 2011 and the 2001 to 2010 annual reports, it can be determined that Ford uses historical quantitative information in its aggregate forecasting. Some of this information is not automobile industry specific but macroeconomic information that affects sales inside the industry.It appears that Ford’s aggregate demand forecast uses historical data and the macroeconomic information for world production forecasting and then they base their production off of recent market share percentages they control. Ford also recognizes that there is seasonality to its customers purchasing patterns and adjust projection levels. In the notes of the â€Å"Outlook† section of the 1Q 2008 report (2008) Ford commented that â€Å"results generally have been stronger in the first half of the year, with the first quarter being the strongest†.After having forecast errors in 2008 and 2009 that totaled 1.9 million units, Ford’s forecast for 2010 was only off 149,000 units worldwide. As addressed earlier, Ford had shifted its logistics in 2010 from UPS to Penske Logistics. Penske claims that they have lowe red Ford’s domestic plant inventory by 15% with the use of Order Dispatch Centers (ODC) and training suppliers on a uniform set of carrier procedures . With the ODCs Ford’s suppliers were no longer delivering to the plant facilities but to the ODC where supplies were cross-docked. This was done because Penske found that delivery trucks were traveling at 50% capacity and crossing routes.Penske now reports that â€Å"most trucks are at 95% capacity when they depart for a plant . On their website, Penske states that they have setup other logistical functions to streamline Ford’s transportation portion in its supply chain activities which include information technology and finance management systems. Their information technology system communicates schedules and shipment information up and down the supply chain and the finance management handles all of the freight bill payments, claim processing and resolutions throughout the supply chain .We have all seen the ads on television and in newspapers that start around October and run through the end of the year. The manufacturers and dealers give them titles like â€Å"Year End Blowout† and â€Å"Year End Clearance. † The specials they are running are to clear out the previous year models. These sales are a form of revenue management used to increase sales during the upcoming holiday months when consumers are more focused on Christmas and vacations. Specifically, it is a form of dynamic pricing. Dynamic pricing is used to sale inventory that is becoming less valuable as time persists .Ford is one of those automobile companies that partake in such pricing practices. They also offer discounts to consumers that finance through their Ford Motor Credit Company. Visit Ford’s website www. fordspecialevent. com and you will see the special interest rates, some even at 0%, and rebates that are offered on select units from the previous year models to help move them off of the dealer lot s. This type of sales practice is an example what happens with an inventory push system. The Performance and Financial Results of â€Å"One Ford†After just over three years from when Alan Mulally took the helm as CEO for Ford Motor Company, how have they performed? To determine if Ford’s changes have actually worked we can look at several metrics. First, we will look at the aggregate forecasting numbers from 2008 to 2010. Next, the utilization of employees that are working in the automobile sector of Ford will be analyzed. Finally, we will look at some financial performance numbers to see if the plan has had an effect on Ford’s bottom line. Ford’s forecasting has greatly improved over the past several years.When forecasting, an organization, such as Ford, must take into account its existing inventory and base its production forecast on expected demand that exceeds inventory. In 2008 Ford had forecasted that it would produce just over 4. 5 million units, b ut actually produced only 3. 8 million. Sales that year totaled 5. 5 million units. This means that the annual forecast had an error of 1. 7 million units. In 2009 the total production forecast was 3. 7 million units, but the actual production was 4. 6 million. Sales in 2009 were almost 4. 9 million units. That’s a forecast error of -247 thousand units.In 2010 Ford’s forecasting improved even more. Production was forecasted at 5. 4 million units, but actual was 5. 6 million units, and sales were 5. 5 million units. This results in a forecasting error of 149 thousand units. Ford has lowered its forecasting error by more than 10 times from 2008 to 2010 (See chart below). It has also lowered its mean average deviation between quarters from 1Q 2008 to 4Q 2010 a total of 367 units (See chart below). These kinds of results could show that Ford is moving from a push to a pull type of inventory control system.Since 2003 Ford has reduced the number of employees that are in thei r automobile sector. Along with a reduction of employees, the implementation of the above discussed â€Å"One Ford† plan to improve and standardize production processes has had a positive effect on the company’s financial performance. Between 2003 and 2010 employment went from approximately 279,000 down to 157,000, a reduction of 44%. But with this reduction in employment, production per employee rose from 24. 1 to 35. 2 or 46%. The increased number of units per employee has had a positive effect on the company’s revenues from auto sales and gross profit margin.Revenue from the sale of automobiles per employee has risen 53%, $495. 56 million to $759. 75 million. The total employment at Ford has dropped from 328,000 down to 164,000. This includes both the manufacturing and service sectors of the company. The effect on total net revenue per employee has increased from $501. 75 million to $786. 3 million or 57% from 2003 to 2010. See the graph below for a depiction of the above employee utilization and contribution results. Now we will look at how Ford’s change in their business model has affected the unit contribution and cost, and gross profit margin of the company.The average contribution per unit between 2001 and 2010 was $18,668 and $21,593, respectively. That is an increased contribution of 16% per unit. In 2001 the average cost to produce one unit for Ford was $18,324. This rose to a high of $23,558 in 2007, but the company was able to reduce this cost back down to $18,908 in 2010. The percentage reduction in cost per unit from 2007 to 2010 is 16%. The negative correlation between contribution and cost per unit has a positive effect on the gross profit margin for the company. Ford’s gross profit margin from 2003 to 2010 increased 100% from 6% to 12%.That is after dipping to lows of -4% and 1% in 2006 and 2008, respectively. See the below graph to see how the changes in Ford’s operations has affected the above menti oned financials. To analyze the total effect the â€Å"One Ford† plan has had on the company’s bottom line let us look at the revenue and income side of the financials. First, we need to take into account that the world has been in a recession since about 2008. This has had an effect on the total sales and revenues that Ford has experienced over the last several years, and the difference between 2001 and 2010 results are $160 billion and $129 billion, respectively.To understand how the changes (One Ford) have affected the net income for the company we must look at the trend between sales and cost of goods sold. Starting in 2006 the cost of goods sold for Ford trended downward, as did total sales and revenue starting in 2007, but in 2009 there started to be a change between the rate of growth between sale and cost of goods sold. The rate of growth from sales increased at a faster pace than cost of goods sold. From 2008 to 2009 the change in sales was a reduction of 19%, and the cost of goods sold fell by 22%. Between 2009 and 2010 sales rose 15% while cost of goods only increased by 6%.These differences are a result of the above mention average contribution and cost per unit. Other changes that could be making this difference are the outsourcing of its logistics and relations with suppliers. These increases in gross profits from operations have been enough to offset the reduced revenues (22%) from the financial sector and have resulted in a 141% increase in net income between 2009 and 2010. (All of the above employment, production and financial data was collected from annual and quarterly reports published by Ford Motor Company and can be found on their website, www.Ford. com, and the Securities and Exchange’s website, www. sec. gov. ) Comparison of Ford and General Motors Performance To compare General Motors to Ford Motor Company we will look at worldwide sales revenues, cost of goods sold, and net income. In its 2010 Annual Report (2011) , General Motors claims to lead Ford in worldwide sales . This is true, in the number of units sold. In 2010 General Motors did out sales Ford by almost 2. 8 million units.This has been the trend even back to 2004 where the difference was in General Motors favor at 2.2 million units. Even when it comes to some financial performances General Motors has the advantage. In 2010 average unit cost for a General Motors unit was $14,200 dollars and Ford’s average unit cost was $18,900. That is a difference of $4,700. Between 2006 and 2010 General Motors was able to reduce their average unit cost by 28%. Ford only reduced its average unit cost by 19% in the same period. The big differences that gives Ford the advantage between the two companies are the average gross profit per unit and the net income.Ford is able to demand a higher average price, $21,600 versus $16,100, than General Motors. This has given Ford the advantage in net income with a difference of almost $1. 9 billion in 20 10 alone. Plus, Ford has done this all without a bailout from the United States government like General Motors. Conclusion Over the ten years this report covers, Ford has been able to make major improvements in its operations. It has been able to make architectural changes to the body assembly and tooling that makes their production facilities more flexible.Penske was able to come in and reduce waste in the inventory and logistics that was not found by their previous logistics company. The big hurdle that Ford overcame was the implementation and communication issues they had in-house and with suppliers. With all of these changes Ford has been able to alleviate some of the financial woes it was experiencing several years back. Finally, the result of the automobile sector and the total company shows that Ford Motor Company as a whole is moving in the right direction with its â€Å"One Ford† plan.