Supply Chain Management in Ford Automobile Research Paper

Supply Chain Management in Ford Automobile - Research Paper Example The concept of supply chain optimization assists the automobile industry to identify various difficulties that would arise while delivering products to customers at various market conditions. Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is one of the members of the group â€Å"Big Three† including Chrysler and General Motors as the other members (Levine, 2009). The Ford Motor Company is a well established car manufacturer in the automobile industry and the company started its manufacturing operations in 1903. The Ford Company introduced the first â€Å"dominant design† in automobiles which became the fundamental framework for other manufacturers to design their models. It is observed that the most powerful feature of the Ford is its flexibility to integrate with various market situations. This extreme feature has assisted the company to vie with many severe competitive markets. Ford possesses an efficient management team which effectively forecasts the market and changing cons umer tastes and thereby designs innovative car models (Salton, 2010). Supply Chain Management in Ford Automobile Industry The most fascinating feature of Ford’s supply chain management is that it possesses large number of suppliers. The company is characterized with three tiers of suppliers which add value to the company’s supply chain operations. Since the Ford is a $150 billion company, it practices significant leverage over its suppliers. The Ford’s trend of the past 30 years shows that the firm moves toward increasing outsourcing of materials, components, and services with intent to achieve lower costs and increased flexibility. This practice would certainly contribute... The researcher of this paper analyzes various supply chain strategies, objectives and practices of Ford Motor Company. This research paper mostly focuses on describing supply chain optimization, that is the application of different strategies and processes which are aimed at the effective supply chain operations at manufacturing and distribution. In order to achieve supply chain optimization in automobile industry, that is discussed in the research paper it is necessary to ensure uninterrupted and optimal placement of inventory within the supply chain and minimize various operating costs including manufacturing costs, distribution costs, and transportation costs. In modern times, computer software plays a crucial role in developing mathematical modeling techniques which can well contribute to the supply chain optimization especially, in automobile industry. In the automobile supply chain system, such as the Ford Motor Company’s, supplying industries provide rubber, electronics , glass, steels, and other materials to the manufacturers. In conclusion, the researcher tries to sum up his exploration on the company's supply chain strategies. The researcher states that the Ford Motor Company is the best example for such exploration, not only for it efficiently practices but also for different optimization strategies in order to promote its successful business as well. The company’s environment-friendly product designs are highly notable for their increasing significance in the modern automobile market.