Ford Motor Company?
Apply: Operations Plan
Assignment Content
1.
This assignment is intended to help you learn how to apply forecasting and demand models as part of a business operations plan.
Choose 3 quantitative elements that you would like to research in relation to the organization that you selected for your business plan. These elements may be related to products, services, target market, consumer preferences, competition, personnel, resources, supply chain, financing, advertising, or other areas of interest. However, at least one of these elements should be related to a product or service that your organization is planning to offer.
Develop forecasts by implementing the following approach:
1. Collect data, including old demand forecast (subjective data) and the actual demand outcomes.
2. Establish the forecasting method (from readings). Decide on the balance between subjective and objective data and look for trends and seasonality.
3. Forecast future demand using a forecasting method.
4. Make decisions based on step 3.
5. Measure the forecast error where applicable. Look for biases and improve the process.
Write a 525- to 700-word paper evaluating the findings from the supported data points above and explain the impact of these findings on operational decision making. Insert charts and supporting data from Excel and other tools in your paper.
Cite references to support your assignment.
Format your citations according to APA guidelines.
Submit your assignment.
ANSWER
Ford Motor Company is an American company started in 1903 and deals in the manufacture of passenger automobiles, trucks and tractors as well as vehicle accessories and parts. Throughout time, Ford has been on the frontline of the manufacture of cars and has marked significant moments like in 1913 when the company introduced the world to the first-ever moving assembly line for cars (Banham 2002). Another example is in 1914 when the company introduced a wage-labour system where employees worked for eight hours instead of nine hours a day for $5 instead of $2.34 (Banham 2002). As is clear, the company has been on the frontline of human civilisation and technology and has actively shaped markets as they are now. It is for this reason that Ford intends to be among the first companies globally to introduced electric large automobiles like trucks and tractors that could be autonomous meaning self-driven while still maintaining high levels of safety for passengers and cargo and accurate and efficient functions better than human beings. This paper examines an operation plan to introduce the electric truck and tractor using three quality elements that include the automobile product its self, the target market and the competition.
The product comprises a car that has zero emissions while at the same time offer the same efficient and exhilarating Ford experience and acceleration that is up to the current market standard where the car is able to reach full acceleration in half a second (Barlatt 2012). Maintenance cost must be very minimal. Additionally, the car must also come with a network of charging venues that are easy to install, free to charge and available conveniently even in the most rural regions. A report by the Grand View Research Institute indicates that in the United States, demand for electric trucks and tractors is expected to expand by 59.5% between 2020 and 2027 (Grand View Research).
Figure 1: US Electric Trucks Market Size, 2016 – 2027
Source: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/static/img/research/us-electric-trucks-market-size.png
Despite the hindrances of business by COVID-19, the target market is the target market for trucks and tractors using electric energy is expected to rise exponentially. Environmental reports and findings by organisations like the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) report that at the current state of the environment, mitigation on climate change is mandatory. These global organisations have prompted cities like London and Paris and governments like the United States government to set up ambitious plans to conserve the environment by reducing carbon emissions to almost zero. The biggest way to make this impact is to face off all fossil fuel engines and replace them with the electric engines. This factor alone makes the conclusion that the target market for these vehicles within a period of six years to increase incredibly.
Figure 1: Global Electric Trucks Market Share by Type
Source: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/static/img/research/us-electric-trucks-market-size.png
The last element is a competition where the electric car is fairly a new market, especially for large-sized cars. The market comprises both large and small players. In the year 2019, the large global players in the market were Scania, Dongfeng Motor Corporation, Daimler AG and BYD Auto Co. Ltd. A majority of these players are Asian based. However, Ford is a renowned brand and is expected to penetrate the market fairly easily. Additionally, the trucks and tractors produced from Ford are to have an energy storage cell from Tesla Inc. made of lithium-ion that has longevity in terms of mile coverage.
With this data, Ford anticipates supplying to a future rise in demand for electric trucks and tractors beginning with the United States market before going global. With markets and assembly points all over the world including the untapped markets in cities in Africa like Nairobi, Addis Ababa and Lagos, Ford anticipates having a successful launch of the products.
References
Banham, R. (2002). The Ford Century: Ford Motor Company and the innovations that shaped the world. Artisan Books.
Barlatt, A. Y., Cohn, A., Gusikhin, O., Fradkin, Y., Davidson, R., & Batey, J. (2012). Ford motor company implements integrated planning and scheduling in a complex automotive manufacturing environment. Interfaces, 42(5), 478-491.
Grand View Research Institute. Electric Truck Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Vehicle Type (Battery Electric Trucks, Hybrid Trucks), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2020 – 2027. Retrieved on 23rd January 2021 from https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/electric-trucks-market#:~:text=The%20market%20in%20the%20U.S.,for%20manufacturers%20beginning%20in%202024.
