Ford - Flexible Manufacturing

I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Abid Ghuman in Pakistan at NUST (http://www.nust.edu.pk/) During our conversation, it became clear that he was the key mind behind Ford's "Simplified Flexible Manufacturing". Though not adopted in the USA till the pain of economic downturn, now it is becoming the reason for Ford's success.

This article highlights the complexities of large corporations here. The loser of course first is the consumer, then the customer and finally the company. USA Today treats the subject in more recent terms here.

See Dr. Ghuman's patents on manufacturing and tooling here.

Ford - An Analysis

A good friend of mine Mr. Rachit Shukla conducted an evaluation of Ford in Nov 2006 while at the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania. Rachit and his team provide great insights that are validating themselves within a matter of couple years. The report provides a good analysis of Ford's third restructuring effort (in five years) called the "Way Forward".

On Ford's recent history from the report:

(click for larger view)

The above can be stated of the US automotive industry in general. Being close to the performance automotive industry personally, I have been amazed at the most recent Detroit Automotive show... I was terribly curious as to who was planning to purchase most of the new cars and trucks being showcased by Ford and GM?

On the topic of consumer focus, the report states:

"Currently, Ford lacks product differentiation between the three brands sold by the North American division – Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury. As a result, the divisions are cannibalizing each other’s sales. As a Merrill Lynch analyst remarked: “[Mercury and Lincoln] are mostly dressed-up versions of mass-market Fords.” "

Please see the detailed report here.