People, information, and information technology on Fords’ competitive advantage

Ford Motor Company is a top performer in the automotive business. This did not happen by sheer happenstance. They are among the best-performing vehicle firms, with a firm grip on their market. They have been seen to have focused on long-term advancement and development in order to remain relevant and sustain a competitive advantage. The entity has been able to maintain a competitive edge in the industry as a result of this. The organization has steadily maintained at the top of the industry while keeping their pricing relatively affordable and giving the greatest customer service to their consumers (Alliance, 2012). It is worth to note that customers are attended to from the purchase of the motors all the way to the utilization of the products. In addition, the company has been recorded to having maintained the safety of both its employees and consumers at the highest standard. In reference to accident history, clients and the general public can rest easy since the corporation has recorded the lowest accident levels among all its rivals in the industry. In rare situations where there is an accident, Ford has in the past been praised for their partnership with state agencies as well as local authorities for their efforts to put in remedy action (Alliance, 2012). Safety and performance are among the key factors that have enabled Ford to remain the top in the industry.

Porter’s Five Forces

Rivalry Competitiveness

Rivalry is one of the greatest aspects in which companies salvage automobile industry. Ford Motors encounters unfavorable attention from the competitors, such as Tesla Motor, Toyota and General Motor (Alliance, 2012). At the same time, each of these corporations is battling to meet the current demand. To some extent, Ford Motors has lost part of its competitiveness to Honda and Toyota.

The Threat of New Entrants

There exist specific restrictions to enter into the automobile industry. The key main companies operating in the motor industry have splendid force as far as expertise, notoriety, capital, advancement and a wide product diversification. In the past, Ford and BMW acquired a significant portion of Rover leaving it producing relatively lower quality and old motors which eventually led to its insolvency (Alliance, 2012). In addition, autos from China are penetrating the business. It is believed that their vehicles’ cost has greatly aided them to overcome the hindrances to the entrance.It has also been observed that through their modest working, the Chinese have been able to deliver motors at a lower cost.

Threats of Substitutes

Although most people are mindful of the unnatural changes of weather which translated to using difference means of transport, for instance, buses, train, and bicycles, care is needed for people do not live in cities (Schilling, 2013). As such, it is trusted that there is not genuine presence of threat of substitutes for Ford Motor.

Buyers Power

It is imperative to note that recently there has been swelling of interest rates as well prices for fuel. With factors taken into consideration, consumers are keen to purchase vehicles that are less expensive. Most motor companies are responding to this by showcasing systems coupled with value motivation. In this regard, it evident that buyers have more buying power.

Power of Suppliers

The automobile industry is characterized by moderately low supplier power because they take a few new orders. At the same time, most organizations in the industry are reducing their quantity of their suppliers. As a result, those that have already got companies to supply cannot afford to lose them which reduce their ability to bargain.

Application of supply chain management systems, enterprise resource planning systems, and customer relationship management systems

Management of an entity as sophisticated and unique as Ford Corporation calls for several technical systems. The firm’s commercial model is so unique that not all off-the-shelf outputs best fit their needs. They required a detailed structure to monitor their operations. In return, the business used Six Sigma model by partnering with Penske Logistics to improve supply chain activities (Schilling, 2013). The principle goals included Centralization of Fords logistical units, Improvement of Supplier implementation and provision of ongoing obligations for logistics and finances.

An essential aspect of proper supply chain accomplishment is accountability at each level

Ford has protracted its application of Aptean’s Activplant model to aid drive progressive transformation in specific assembling units all over the world. Consequently, Ford Motors Company has been attributed as one of the well-established organization in the history of America (Schilling, 2013). Additionally, Aptean’s ERP, CRM and Supply Chain software bids enables over four thousand clients to deliver to their customers’ expectations and thus remain ahead of the rest.

Data and Warehouse Management

There is a need for data management in a company facing high completion as Ford Motor. There is a great amount of data that is generated from the organization’s sale and consumer behaviors. This is used to pull information need to support the business at any given time. Ford Company utilizes data management systems that interact to capture as well as analyze information (Mangan, Lalwani & Lalwani, 2016). The firm uses Oracles and SQL financials to manage the data needs. SQL is used to achieve integration of accounting and financial shareholder information. Ford Motor’s database management is critical for its business operation as well as maintenance of records.

At the same time, the organization has been expanding rapidly in new market segments. The company has been facing considerable challenges in dealership rates and administration. In this regard, there has been a need for data warehousing aimed at giving the customer more adaptable access to information (Schilling, 2013). In the long-run, this has helped in dealing with the issue of high administration in data mining. By using such systems, Ford Motor is able to identify demographics about its customers which could have been overlooked. It also allows them to know new arrival of car models. As such, this enables the corporation to tailor its business strategies based on specificity of topographical area. Similarly, it is imperative to note that the organization has a huge data on customers and sales something that gives Ford Motors several benefits, for example, gaining insights into their daily functions and view long-term opportunities as well as threats (Schilling, 2013). Also, this adds the corporation’s competitive edge. They can further use this data to create trend projection in the market for future organization’s business strategies.

Application of five agent‐based technologies

In Ford Motors Company, the five agents based technology which consists of an intelligent agent, mobile agent, multi-agents, distributed and autonomous agent can be applied with a particular end objective which can aid in actualizing web-administration orientated system. As a consequence of the application of this model throughout the entire period, the upcoming age of virtual prototyping has drawn widely on the agent-based and emerging technology (ComputerWorld, 2003). The developing conduct of the general framework within the model is as a result of interaction between various the agents. Generally, the agent-based approach provides a resemblance and framework to leading critical thinking methodologies from divergent systems of controls into the outline of programming structures which are suitable for taking care of obscurity (ComputerWorld, 2003).

Nine Major E-commerce Business Models

There exist nine types of e-commerce models which include advertising, merchant, utility, brokerage, infomediary, direct, subscription, affiliate and community. Ford Company uses utility e-commerce model with an aspect of merchants. As a model, the company charges as clients orders for their services within their web portal (ComputerWorld, 2003). Ford offers services and clients are charged in reference to the services provided. Ford has maximized on the application of this model by setting prices based on the market condition for particular services.

System development Lifecycle (SDLC)

This is a system of planning, generating, testing and positioning software applications. The model is a structure for creating and improving information technology systems. As a result of a strong desire to establish robust software, Ford Motors adopted this process which significantly aided in many other projects which include the ERP which was custom made to be able to fit the company’s complex requirements (ComputerWorld, 2003). The entity can adopt this system to establish existing processes and roll out these processes into a software application that will assist in restructuring the various companies’ requirements.

Business Continuity Planning

Business Continuity Planning is the process of developing structures of prevention and reclamation in reference to any potential threat that might affect the business. The plan incorporates any adverse effects that might significantly impact the entity. The main aim is to have the capacity to resume operations as soon as possible in case of occurrence of any adversity (Rothaermel, 2015). The plan takes into consideration an emergency course of action that may entail relocating the enterprise to a more secure place. It also takes into consideration employees’ ability to carrying on their normal routine in crisis circumstances. Ford Motor Company has put in place measures to curb physical dangers in reference to adverse environmental conditions.

Adoption of Emerging Trends as a way to remain competitive

In the current era of advanced technology, the adoption of various software and equipment such as Bluetooth, Wi-fi phones, and FFDI have come handy to most organizations like Ford. Employees have been reported to be working from remote locations far away from their workstations (Rothaermel, 2015). An example is where remote web access and mobile phones have enabled access to Internet which has greatly allowed access to more opportunities.

Though not explored to the maximum, Ford Company can use satellite infrastructures to maintain connectivity to all their units at all times. Adoption of this will allow the entity to operate in a more efficient and effective manner hence able to maximize their returns

Security of Information

Development of technology has led to emergence of hackers and crackers who pose a threat to security of information in most organizations. As a consequence, a growing need for data security has emerged and Ford motors Company has taken relevant measures to limit occurrence of data breaches (Mangan, Lalwani & Lalwani, 2016). Among the measures taken includes limiting internet accessibility to critical commercial divisions only. This has been achieved through by barring their internal systems to allow only specific IP addresses. However, there still exist other controls that Ford Motors can adopt to enhance security of information. Some of these include storing their main systems in demilitarized zones as well as encrypting data communications (Mangan, Lalwani & Lalwani, 2016).

Conclusion

The world is constantly evolving and new technologies are emerging at an exponential rate. This has in return called for companies such as Ford to keep and uphold their systems and supporting models at par in order to effectively manage the operations of its ever growing complex structure. Indeed, the success of any company is significantly determined by how an entity serves its clients, its ability to predict upcoming trends, effective management of its data security and preparedness to handle misadventure. As such, it has been imperative to focus on how people, information and IT make a company stay competitive, enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, and customer relationship are currently used in Ford Motor and evaluated the management of database and warehouse. At the same time, the discussion centered on analyzing five agent-based technologies currently being used in this company, and nine major e-commerce business models that could be adopted by the organization and benefits of development life cycle for the corporation. Similarly, it has been critical to detail information about phases of business continuity and examination of how Ford Motor could use Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, RFID and cell phones to garner competitive edge. The last task focused on evaluating the measures the company takes to oversee protection of information.

References

Alliance, U. (2012). Six Sigma Helps Drive Ford Motor Companys Supply Chain Management. Retrieved from http://www.usanfranonline.com/resources/supply-chain-management/six-sigma-helps-drive-ford-motor-companys-supply-chain-management/#.VfPSzdKqqko

ComputerWorld. (2003). 100 Best Places to Work in IT. Retrieved from ComputerWorld: http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=15714

Mangan, J., Lalwani, C., & Lalwani, C. L. (2016). Global logistics and supply chain management. John Wiley & Sons.

Rothaermel, F. T. (2015). Strategic management. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Schilling, M. (2013). Strategic Management of Technological Innovation, 4th Edition. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill.