Ford Company (Essay Sample)

FORD COMPANY
Surname/Name
Name of institution
Introduction
Ford motor company is a multinational company that has many branches across the world which deals with motor vehicle production. It has the second largest company known as the Ford motor Britain Company of British which has the same features as the parent company with 66% British ownership. It started its operations in the year 1909 and it was registered under Brentwood Essex company and finally changed its name to Ford of British or (Britain) in at the end of 1960. This company mainly has four working manufacturing branches in UK such as Southampton which manufactures commercial Lorries, Dagenham that deals with production of diesel engine, Bridgend and Hale wood. Ford Company is known as the United Kingdom biggest car manufacture plus other commercial vehicles and in return its revenue expands every year. Ford Company has been performing well especially in exchange market with an NYSE ratio of 9.36 and it has always indicated a 0.03% increase every half of the year. This paper bravely provides detailed information about its performance, management and its challenges. Towards the end, it gives recommendations on how to improve the company’s performance.
Operation Performance
Ford is one of the biggest auto makers in the United States of America and all over the world. Its vehicle service department is fundamental in ensuring that their products are serviced and re-serviced properly upon their breakage or any other disorder and defectiveness. In general it is a department that was set up to ensure and promote Ford auto service services. The department has the duty to service products brought by customers. It’s a department which is very essential in ensuring the products of Ford are maintained and in good state for its performance.
The reputation of auto companies is based and built in service management and part management services. As the founder of the Ford Company always retorted, “A business built in service has only one worry, an embarrassing high profit” indeed service delivery and effectiveness have been essential in the success of the Ford company. Ford Company has built its reputation and market with an effective and creative service and parts management department. Its service package is based on the possibility of reaching up for the expectations of the customer. The department realizes its objectives in aftermarket services and parts management which have very integral services for major companies (Richard, 2003).
An improved service delivery can be very influential in increasing the revenue of a company. Ford has ensured that its service delivery processes are improved and boosted now and again. With the conjunction with Sales and marketing department, the service and parts management department has embarked in a number of platforms to ensure a successful service and parts service delivery process and activity.
Service Parts management
The service parts management is very essential in ensuring that customer base through offering parts servicing to customers. It involves initially service parts planning and executing. This is a function which entails the sourcing up of spare parts then distributing them to an integrated customer market. The planning function is usually longer as it is based in reaching for the customer expectations. It majorly involves the execution of services and distribution of spares. A Deloitte study indicates that service effectiveness in automobile industry has for so many years relied on the available service levels and the service delivery reliability to achieve the objective of the service delivery, (Chanaron, 1982).
Hence Ford’s service and parts department relies on the policy within the functions of planning and execution, collaboration and fulfillment and lastly analytics. In theory, service parts management is the process of identifying the right parts at the recommended customer price at the right customer location. The main traditional approach of service parts distributions is definitions of the right stock levels of each transactions and supplying the right stock to the customer. But upon these wonderful activities of the service part sections a number of limitations arise which cumber the simple and rather effective service parts services. Among the major challenges that the section faces are the high number of parts that are involved with a variety of brands manufactured by the Ford Company (Richard, 2003). This challenge has led to prolonged parts order entries and delays in distributing them. Also the department faces the challenge of fast movers and parts which are of an irregular demand. The irregular demand always brings losses in terms of undefined production and distribution entries.
Service Management
A recent study by the Deloitte Consulting Company revealed that service performance if utilized very well contributes up to 35% of the total revenue of a company. In the automobile industry servicing takes a significant percentage of the after sale services. The Ford Company service and parts department have ensured that the 35% of revenue is inclusive with implementation of service management ideals which have ensured that the company becomes much effective in handling after sale services. The department has relied on two policies to ensure such tremendous result. The first input is put in service business. Service business involves field service that is undertaken to Ford vehicles presented by customers for servicing and re-servicing. This is also used as customer relationship service strategy which is aimed at boosting customer ratings on Ford products. The department ensures that the service technicians spend enough time to tackle fully the servicing problems of the customer. The experience that the customer will get will be much different from that of a sales representative hence the customer will be able to approve the services of the company, (Richard, 1993).
The second input is based on customer loyalties where a customer is given an opportunity to order service parts from the company and then get free services upon delivery of the service part. This input is represented by getting the right part to the customer at the right time and place. All in all, the department could reach for the expectation of the customer hence boosting the rating of the customer on the company products. Upon these function there are a number of issues which are affecting the smooth flow of service delivery. There is always a slow service delivery transformation and in the process the company losses millions of dollars. Also the company is not keen in adopting a technology based service delivery system which ensures a quality and fast service delivery (Richard, 2003).
Recommendations
The current uncertain financial periods has shifted the attention of major companies from their main products to service delivery. Recently Dell announced its transformation from a personal computer company to a computer technology consulting Services Company. Hence companies are shifting to after sales services to increase their revenue. Ford Company and the department of service and parts should be able to shift their focus on service and service parts delivery effectiveness. This will be done by moving from a “product oriented company to a service oriented company. Eventual the company will be able to not only raise additional revenue, also build a strong reputation for the company products. An advanced service parts planning system could also work out. A software system which ensures the optimization of parts will ensure a quality and fast flow of service parts. A service methodology whereby the service department will have a clear and effective service delivery process will also ensure a better reputation for the company.
Ford Operation strategy
The following are the operation strategy of the Ford motor company which provides a clear picture on how the company focuses head in terms of providing quality services within its parental location and across the globe. Operation strategy is the way in which the company will provide its unique services in terms of ensuring that it remains competitive internationally. Ford motor company came up with the following operational strategy making it the first motor vehicle industry to provide long term operational strategy to its clients across the world. The following listed below is its main and centralized operational strategy, (Bonin, 2003).
1. Provision of unique friendly offerings
The first operational strategy for Ford motor vehicle was to provide rapid achievable offerings in terms of cheap prices to its customers to that each client has an opportunity to choice the best company offer which he/she is able to afford at the moment. This kind of offers has been evaluated as one of the best operational strategy that the company has ever developed since many buyers rush to buy machines from this companies during offers and on the other hand the company uses this opportunity to make many sales so that to increase its profits.
2. Performance Appraisal
The Ford Company has identified that the regular performance appraisal has contributed to better performance of the company in terms of creating good understanding among workers and clients of the company. Performance appraisal is the act of evaluating work done by each and every worker in the organizational and helps the operational managers to come up with clear promotional or rewarding guideline. The Ford motor company has established and independent working department that its main role is to provide workers performance check every three months and come up with recommendation on who to be promoted or what to be done in the company (Brinkley, 2003). After this kind of performance appraisal reports is provided to the executi...