see the attached question file

see the attached question file
Page 4 of 4 Blueprint for Ford’s Future: From Personal Automobiles to Mobility This group discussion is based on a case study from Harvard Business Publishing. The title of this case is “Blueprint for Ford’s Future: From Personal Automobiles to Mobility.” Here are the four questions for this case. You need to post your responses to at least three questions by Sunday (11 am). Is Ford headed in the right direction? Can Ford make the transition from being a car manufacturer to a provider of mobility services? If so, should the company make this transition? What are the key drivers behind this shift? How should the company be positioned for long-term growth? What is Ford’s value proposition within the context of the new mobility market? What are the toughest challenges and greatest uncertainties/risks Ford is facing? How well has Ford protected itself from these risks? What are the critical challenges in the Ford business model as outlined in the “Blueprint for Mobility”? What are the immediate threats and opportunities to this business model? Looking to the future, if you were David Berdish, what would you do? If you were Bill Ford Jr.? Important Rules to Remember: The discussion board is open for seven days. Your discussion grade will be evaluated not only on the basis of frequency or extent of participation but also on the basis of quality participation. Quality is defined on three dimensions: 1) do your peers pay attention to your comments (i.e. do your comments generate further discussion)? 2) Are you paying attention to the discussion (i.e. do your comments maintain continuity of discussion)? 3) are you able to address the issues raised by your peers, as well as myself, regarding your comments (i.e., can you address follow-up questions)? It is expected that each and every student makes a significant contribution. Rubrics for the group discussion is provided on page 3 of this document. Please check the rubric thoroughly. These criteria are critical to encourage on-going discussion in an online format. Please understand that I set specific rules on posting to encourage on-going discussion in an online-setting. Initial Posting: first, you need to post your answers to all the questions by Sunday (11 am EST) Response Posting: reply to other group members’ postings (minimum 2 posts). Your response postings should be made at a minimum-two out of seven days. Here is how the group discussion will work. Step 1. Assess the case study assigned for each week. Make sure to review “HBR Case Analysis Coach” first. This will provide you with some guidance on how to analyze case studies. You can assess the case analysis coach from the course-pack as well. Thoroughly read a case assigned for each week. Make your own personal notes if needed. Please check the syllabus to get the link to access to the cases. Step 2. I will post some questions at the beginning of a Discussion Board that each of you can respond to and conversations relating to the topic or stemming from other comments will make up the discussion. MKT515 (Marketing Management) Grading Rubrics for Online Case Discussion Criteria Excellent Good Average Poor Not Acceptable Quality of Initial Post and Response Postings 10 Points Initial Posting: Initial post fully addresses all aspects of the discussion. It is an excellent discussion of course readings or other resources, if appropriate. The posting demonstrates excellent critical thinking skills through multiple examples and ideas. It includes many personal or professional experiences. Participant provides all the questions. Response Postings: Responses are highly reflective, insightful and participate in the discussion in a meaningful way. 8 Points Initial Posting: Initial post addresses most aspects of the discussion. It is a good discussion of course readings or other resources, if appropriate. The posting demonstrates adequate critical thinking through some examples and ideas. It includes some personal or professional experience. Participant misses providing initial posting to one question. Participant provides all the questions. Response Postings: Responses are reflective, insightful and participate in the discussion. 5 Points Initial Posting: Initial post addresses part of the discussion or assigned readings. It is a minimal discussion of course readings or other resources, if appropriate. The posting demonstrates minimal critical thinking with minimal examples and ideas. It includes minimal personal or professional experience. Participant misses providing initial postings to two question. Participant provides all the questions. Response Postings: Responses are minimally reflective or insightful and do not significantly participate in the discussion in a meaningful way. 3 Points Initial Posting: Initial post minimally addresses discussion. There is no discussion of course readings or other resources, if appropriate. The posting does not demonstrate critical thinking. It does not include personal or professional experience. Participant misses providing initial postings to three question. Response Postings: Responses consist of little meaningful text that does not participate in the discussion. 0 Points Initial Posting: No initial posting submitted. Response Postings: No response postings submitted. Posting Participation 10 Points Initial posting and all responses are quality responses which are made prior to the due date listed in the Calendar of Activities. Initial posting is made before 11:59 PM on MM/DD/YY and responses are evenly distributed throughout the duration of the discussion. Minimum two response postings are made. 8 Points Initial posting and at some responses are quality responses which are made prior to the due date listed in the Calendar of Activities. Initial posting is made before 11:59 PM on MM/DD/YY and responses are evenly distributed throughout the duration of the discussion (a minimum two our out of seven days). Only one response posting is made. Or Initial postings were not made by the listed deadline. 5 Points Initial posting and few responses are quality responses which are made prior to the due date listed in the Calendar of Activities. Initial posting is made before 11:59 PM on MM/DD/YY and responses may not be not evenly distributed throughout the duration of the discussion (a minimum two our out of seven days) or only one response posting is made & Initial postings were not made by the listed deadline. 3 Points Initial posting and one or no quality responses are responses which are made on or before the date listed in the Calendar of Activities. Initial posting is not made before 11:59 PM on MM/DD/YY and responses may not be evenly distributed throughout the duration of the discussion (a minimum two our out of seven days) & only one response posting is made & Initial postings were not made by the listed deadline. 0 Points No postings submitted. Good Luck! This content is protected and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed.
see the attached question file
Blueprint for Ford’s Future: From Personal Automobiles to Mobility case W93C03 February 14, 2013 Published by WDI Publishing, a division of the William Davidson Institute (WDI) at the University of Michigan. ©2013 Andrew Hoffman. This case was developed under the supervision of Andrew Hoffman (Holcim Professor of Sustainable Enterprise) at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business by graduate students Rhiannon Haller, Brandon Tirrell, Courtney Yan, and Connie Yu as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either the effective or ineffective handling of a situation. The authors give a special thanks to David Berdish and Kristin Schondorf for their support in the creation of this case.   The crowd was growing restless. They sat and watched the dimly lit stage with great anticipation as technicians made nal tweaks to the electronics and adjusted the microphones. Unable to contain themselves, they began the chant—softly at rst, bubbling up through the expansive sea of people. It was a chant that David Berdish had heard many times before. To an outsider, in a stadium so large, the word wasn’t even recognizable yet. Oooooose! Oooooose! But to Berdish, it was the unmistakable sound of a crowd hungry for the main event. The legend. The Boss. Bruuuuuce! Bruuuuuce! Here, in the few seconds before his 60th time seeing Bruce Springsteen on stage, Berdish reected on many of the themes in Springsteen’s music. Cars were of course a big component, and this naturally resonated with Berdish as a longtime employee of the Ford Motor Company. Equally appealing, though, were the stories of struggle to achieve the American Dream and messages of the nobility of the working class lifestyle. Berdish loved these aspects too, as he was the Social Sustainability Manager at Ford, a company recognized for making the American Dream a reality for so many of its employees and customers over its long history. His thoughts were interrupted by the unmistakable sound of a ’52 Telecaster booming through a wall of amps. The stage lit up, and Berdish settled in for the show. A few hours later, with the nal guitar strum still hanging in the air, the crowd pulsed toward the exits. Caught in the ow, Berdish’s mind wandered back to his work. The mass of people slowly owing toward a packed parking lot reminded him of the world’s growing megacities and the mobility challenges they posed. Due in part to the credibility and reputation he had gained through his work on social sustainability, Berdish had successfully pushed Ford to begin expanding beyond simply manufacturing and selling personal automobiles, though this was as much a decision based on social responsibility and environmental sustainability as it was on the long-term relevance of the company. Rapidly growing and urbanizing populations in the developing world needed to move from place to place, but trafc congestion made traditional transportation options less viable. With Berdish’s help, Ford had begun to identify as a mobility company, not just an auto company. But the transition was far from complete, and Berdish had more work to do to ensure that Ford would be able to successfully handle the mobility challenges presented by rapidly expanding megacities. For the exclusive use of K. Saxena, 2023. This document is authorized for use only by Kunika Saxena in W23 MKT515-003: Marketing Management (online) taught by Kyungwon Lee, University of Michigan – Dearborn from Jan 2023 to Apr 2023. 2 Blueprint for Ford’s Future: From Personal Automobiles to MobilityFrom Personal Automobiles to W93C03 As he nally reached his car, Berdish paused, momentarily entranced by the glint of parking lot lights off the blue oval badge on the grille. He thought about Ford’s rich history, so closely intertwined with the America that Bruce Springsteen captured in his songs. “Where do we go from here?” he wondered aloud. Ford Motor Company: A History of Innovation In 1903, Henry Ford incorporated the Ford Motor Company in Michigan. A few years later, Ford introduced its Model T, starting a brand that would become known worldwide for its innovation. Then, in 1913, the company started the world’s rst moving assembly line in its Highland Park, Michigan, plant, revolutionizing the automotive world and industry in general. 1 Ford continued to build its brand, entering into the luxury vehicle market in 1922 with the purchase of Lincoln. The Ford Motor Company did not limit its innovative practices to the automotive industry. During the Space Race, Ford saw potential in aerospace research and started a subsidiary dedicated to that effort, Philco. Philco eventually became the Ford Aerospace and Communication Company and won a contract from NASA to work on implementation of the now-famous Mission Control center in Houston in 1963. As Space Race fever died down, Ford decided to pull out of aerospace and sold the division to the Loral Corporation in 1990. 2 Ford had immense success in the 1990s and early 2000s, with its best-selling Explorer SUV and expansion into China taking much of the credit. Like the rest of the automotive industry, Ford suffered in the mid-2000s but did not have to take part in the auto bailout with its competitors General Motors and Chrysler Group LLC. After suffering losses during the years that followed, Ford returned to protability in 2009. See Figure 1 for recent Ford historical nancial details. Democratizing Technology Ford became a household name in part because the company’s early innovations in mass production made automobiles affordable for the middle class. When Alan Mulally joined the company as CEO in 2006, he commented that Henry Ford “wanted to make great vehicles but have them available to everybody and democratize the technology.” 3 In Mulally’s time the company continued this trend by putting its integrated communication and entertainment system, SYNC, into its least expensive cars rst as opposed to its more upscale models. In a similar vein, the 2013 Ford Fusion was the rst in its class to incorporate advanced vehicle technologies such as adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping, active parking assistance, blind spot information, and a rear view camera. 4 Meeting the Triple Bottom Line In addition to bringing technology to the masses, Ford had a longstanding tradition of corporate social responsibility. In 1914, it doubled wages to $5 a day, and it developed alternative fuels early in its history. The world’s rst hybrid vehicle was Ford’s Econoline Van, created in 1981. Ford took advantage of growth in ethanol fuel production in Brazil with the nation’s rst mass-produced exible fuel vehicle in 2002. 5 More recently, the SUMURR project (Sustainable Urban Mobility with Uncompromised Rural Reach) aimed to produce a vehicle capable of bringing healthcare to pregnant women in developing countries who lived far from medical facilities. A team of students from the University of Michigan worked with Ford to help the company pilot this initiative in Chennai, India, and nd opportunities to use the SYNC system to help nurses better serve patients by tracking, diagnosing, and recommending treatments. 6 For the exclusive use of K. Saxena, 2023. This document is authorized for use only by Kunika Saxena in W23 MKT515-003: Marketing Management (online) taught by Kyungwon Lee, University of Michigan – Dearborn from Jan 2023 to Apr 2023. 3 Blueprint for Ford’s Future: From Personal Automobiles to MobilityW93C03 Figure 1 Ford Motor Company Performance (2006–2011) Source: Ford Motor Company corporate Web site. http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2011-12/nancial-data-nancial#b. Ford was also the rst automotive company to develop and uphold a Code of Basic Working Conditions. To supplement this code, Ford conducted regular evaluations of its own plants and some of its top suppliers’ plants to assess working conditions and identify and implement improvements. In 2008, Berdish explained this strategy: “We’re the only company in our industry that has a code where we assess, evaluate, and remediate our supply base, partners, etc. based on human rights issues. We won’t source to [suppliers] if they’re not up to code. There is a trustworthiness we have developed in emerging markets because of this.” 7 In 2010, although the global recession reduced its plan to play a major role in transportation for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the company provided rst-mile and last-mile vans to shuttle people between light rail stations and stops closer to their homes. This not only increased utilization of the system but had positive safety implications, as riders did not have to walk long distances through dangerous areas of the city. In acknowledgement of its efforts, Ford was featured in several Dow Jones Sustainability Index “Best In Class” lists. Much of Berdish’s responsibility concerned helping Ford meet the triple bottom line—maximizing the social, environmental, and economic benets of business. After gaining traction within the company and For the exclusive use of K. Saxena, 2023. This document is authorized for use only by Kunika Saxena in W23 MKT515-003: Marketing Management (online) taught by Kyungwon Lee, University of Michigan – Dearborn from Jan 2023 to Apr 2023. 4 Blueprint for Ford’s Future: From Personal Automobiles to MobilityFrom Personal Automobiles to W93C03 building positive government relations on critical human rights issues and seeing the natural extension to serving the populations where Ford had data centers or manufacturing facilities, Berdish turned his attention to global mobility. New Mobility A report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on global car usage indicated the key factor in car ownership was the size of the middle class. 8 While motor vehicle ownership had nearly reached saturation levels in most developed countries, car sales were expected to boom over the early 21st Century in rapidly developing countries such as China and India (see Figure 2 and Figure 3 ). Accordingly, Ford viewed the Asia Pacic region as a tremendous opportunity. Ford projected that “China will remain the largest car market in the world for the foreseeable future” and “by 2020, annual vehicle sales in the Asia Pacic region will likely top 52 million vehicles.” 9 See Figure 4 . Figure 2 Motor Vehicle Ownership in Countries within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Figure 3 Motor Vehicle Ownership in Non-OECD Countries Source: Derived from United States Energy Information Administration projections. International Energy Annual 2005 (June-October 2007) and World Energy Projections Plus (2008). Source: Derived from US Energy Information Administration projections. However, US patterns of car ownership could have disastrous consequences in megacities with exponentially larger population densities where the middle class was growing rapidly and where the majority of people did not enjoy the American luxury of large expanses of land and space within which to move. See Figure 5 to see a comparison of cities, ranked by densities and transportation energy usage. i See Figure 6 to compare car ownership among select countries. As the population of cities around the world increased rapidly, infrastructure and conventional methods of transportation would struggle to support the new growth. In thinking about the future of the transportation industry and what role the Ford Motor Company would play, researchers at SMART at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute said, “We are on the verge of a transformation in urban transportation called ‘New Mobility’.” 11 Envisioned in the transformation were inter-modal transportation networks supported by technology that would allow users to get from point A to point B without relying on the personal automobile, though automobiles could still play a role shuttling people to and from public transit stations in what is known as “rst mile, last mile” service. The idea of New Mobility hinged on projections about population growth over the 21st Century, but without a doubt the global market demand for viable mobility solutions would be huge. 12 i See http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/07/fordurban-20120715.html for urban density maps of cities around the world. For the exclusive use of K. Saxena, 2023. This document is authorized for use only by Kunika Saxena in W23 MKT515-003: Marketing Management (online) taught by Kyungwon Lee, University of Michigan – Dearborn from Jan 2023 to Apr 2023. 5 Blueprint for Ford’s Future: From Personal Automobiles to MobilityW93C03 Figure 4 Ford Projections of Sales Mix by Region Source: Ford Motor Company corporate Web site. http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2011-12/blueprint-strategy In comparison to the global perspective and awareness, the US did not yet have a megacity to drive domestic awareness of the global urgency and importance of New Mobility. For the less-traveled US consumer, car dependence and ownership was still an ingrained living standard. This inherent difference shaped the American outlook on transportation innovation and the future of travel. As Ford looked to remain a leader at home and abroad, how would it reconcile the overarching strategies serving its different customer segments? Blueprint for Mobility Proposal In February 2012, Executive Chairman Bill Ford announced the company’s “Blueprint for Mobility” at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. During the conference, the company laid out its expectations for the transportation industry and described a vision for a new mobility future. Berdish reected upon how far Ford’s mobility initiatives had come in the last four years despite the 2008 global recession that resulted in a pause of pilot projects and a jolt to the momentum toward increasing mobility. It seemed that the long-term vision for new mobility nally was permanent as a strategic initiative at Ford. This provided the groundwork for innovation to ourish and validated Berdish’s sustained vision to bridge the gap in cities where increased accessibility did not necessarily equate to more cars. The “Blueprint” encompassed the near-term (2012–2017), the mid-term (2017–2025), and the long- term (beyond 2025). See Figure 7. For the exclusive use of K. Saxena, 2023. This document is authorized for use only by Kunika Saxena in W23 MKT515-003: Marketing Management (online) taught by Kyungwon Lee, University of Michigan – Dearborn from Jan 2023 to Apr 2023. 6 Blueprint for Ford’s Future: From Personal Automobiles to MobilityFrom Personal Automobiles to W93C03 Figure 5 Global Urban Density vs. Transportation Energy Consumption Sources: Newman, Peter and Jeffrey Kenworthy. Cities and Automobile Dependence. Gower Technical. 1989; Atlas Environment du Monde Diplomatique. 2007. For the exclusive use of K. Saxena, 2023. This document is authorized for use only by Kunika Saxena in W23 MKT515-003: Marketing Management (online) taught by Kyungwon Lee, University of Michigan – Dearborn from Jan 2023 to Apr 2023. 7 Blueprint for Ford’s Future: From Personal Automobiles to MobilityW93C03 Figure 6 Passenger Car Density in Certain Countries (2009) Source: Dadush, Uri, and Shimelse Ali. Carnegie Endowment paper. “In Search of the Global Middle Class: A New Index.” 10 Ford’s near-term expectations for the industry focused on the expansion of existing new mobility initiatives, such as car-sharing and “semi-autonomous features for parking and driving in slow-moving trafc.” These features would include technologies like adaptive cruise control, blind spot assistance, trafc sign recognition, and lane-keeping assistance. Additionally, in-car mobile communications would be able to “proactively alert drivers to trafc jams and accidents.” 13 For the mid-term, Ford outlined expectations that more advanced autonomous car technologies would give drivers the ability to let the car take control in certain situations such as changing lanes, driving on the freeway, and dealing with trafc jams. Like existing technologies, these features would allow the driver to reclaim control at any time. Ford envisioned a proliferation of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to- infrastructure (V2I) technologies that would allow more vehicles to safely and efciently share the road. Long-term, Ford envisioned a “true network of mobility solutions,” “a radically different transportation system, mainly in the urban centers. Cars will be connected to each other, as well as the infrastructure around them, having a signicant amount of information allowing them to have autonomous capability, such as parking themselves or driving in groups on the freeway. There will also be seamless connections between different modes of transportation, from your personal car to public transit systems to the parking facilities at businesses.” 14 For the exclusive use of K. Saxena, 2023. This document is authorized for use only by Kunika Saxena in W23 MKT515-003: Marketing Management (online) taught by Kyungwon Lee, University of Michigan – Dearborn from Jan 2023 to Apr 2023. 8 Blueprint for Ford’s Future: From Personal Automobiles to MobilityFrom Personal Automobiles to W93C03 Figure 7 “Blueprint for Mobility” Timeline Source: Ford Motor Company corporate Web site: http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2011-12/nancial-mobility-blueprint. “Rather than being a provider of cars and trucks, we’ll be a provider of cars, trucks, and integrated urban mobility services,” said Berdish. 15 Ford wanted to have a signicant global market presence in providing mobility solutions.  The largest obstacle in accomplishing this vision for increased mobility was not necessarily the technological feasibility but rather the challenge of making mobility widespread and affordable for all customers as well as aligning the necessary transportation infrastructure to make this a reality. For the exclusive use of K. Saxena, 2023. This document is authorized for use only by Kunika Saxena in W23 MKT515-003: Marketing Management (online) taught by Kyungwon Lee, University of Michigan – Dearborn from Jan 2023 to Apr 2023. 9 Blueprint for Ford’s Future: From Personal Automobiles to MobilityW93C03 New Mobility Solutions: Markets and Competition Several major automotive companies had incorporated new mobility concepts into their business strategies and plans for the future. These initiatives ranged from car-sharing programs to “smart grids” to connect transportation modes city-wide. Car-Sharing The car-sharing industry consisted of rms providing a vehicle transportation service where the cars were owned by the car-sharing rm versus individual car owners. The shared cars were available among the pool of paid subscribers throughout the day.  Car-sharing started in urban areas to provide the convenience of short-term car use without the costs and responsibilities of car ownership.  Primary benets of car-sharing included fewer cars on the road, which alleviated trafc congestion and parking demands in large cities, as well as reduced emissions. In August 2011, Ford entered the car-sharing market through a partnership with Zipcar, in which Ford became the largest source of vehicles for the company, including Focuses and Escapes on 250 university campuses in the US.  The two-year contract between Ford and Zipcar represented a brand marketing effort to reach younger consumers that were relatively less informed about Ford’s new car lines and innovative features such as SYNC. This marked the rst substantial effort to supplement Zipcar’s eets with American cars. Previously, Zipcar primarily used foreign cars such as the Honda Civic, MINI Cooper, and Toyota Prius. 16 Car rental companies such as Hertz Global Holdings and Enterprise Holdings also entered the short- term car-sharing market. Both Hertz and Enterprise capitalized on their large eet size and overall scale to advance their market presence. While Hertz developed its car-sharing program in-house, Enterprise entered the market and grew its presence with several targeted acquisitions of companies with established customer bases in desirable geographic regions. 17 In 2013, Avis announced it was entering the car-sharing business by acquiring Zipcar for $491.2 million. 18 Traditional automakers in addition to Ford entered the car-sharing industry either directly as service providers and network developers, such as Daimler AG’s Car2go and Volkswagen AG’s QuiCar, or indirectly, such as BMW’s joint venture with Sixt AG called DriveNow. The entrance of car rental companies and traditional automakers into the car-sharing market signaled that large, established rms saw value in the growing car-sharing segment and were intent on competing. While the car-sharing industry had huge potential for growth, it was becoming increasingly fragmented with social enterprise entrants such as SideCar and Lyft. See Figure 8 for a list of global car-sharing providers. Autonomous Vehicles Some of the biggest innovations in the urban mobility space began coming not from automobile or transportation companies but information technology rms. Google Inc., for example, gained media attention and the public’s imagination in 2010 when it announced a self-driving car project in 2010. 19 Since then, driverless cars were legalized on state roads in Nevada, 20 and California passed legislation to allow automated cars (with a driver in the vehicle) on state roads beginning in 2015. 21 Ford and other carmakers such as Audi, BMW, and Volvo had been working on semi- and fully-autonomous cars for years, but Google took a lead with a eet of fully autonomous Toyota Prius hybrids that logged over 300,000 miles. 22 For the exclusive use of K. Saxena, 2023. This document is authorized for use only by Kunika Saxena in W23 MKT515-003: Marketing Management (online) taught by Kyungwon Lee, University of Michigan – Dearborn from Jan 2023 to Apr 2023. 10 Blueprint for Ford’s Future: From Personal Automobiles to MobilityFrom Personal Automobiles to W93C03 Figure 8 Global Car-Sharing Providers Source: Seeking Alpha. “Zipcar Versus The Competition.” 18 Sep. 2012. http://seekingalpha.com/article/874221-zipcar-versus-the-competition-a-comprehensive-perspective-on- global-car-sharing-part-i. New Infrastructure Development and Technology Ford’s vision and efforts in mobility echoed its fellow automakers (e.g. Audi, BMW, and General Motors) in expanding beyond their roles as traditional automakers in addressing the world’s larger transportation issues. Toyota focused new mobility initiatives on developing smart grids to link vehicles with houses and infrastructure. The company researched ways to effectively maintain a stable electricity supply across a region in part by managing PHV and EV battery charging and household electricity. Toyota held successful demonstration tests for these ideas in several Japanese cities as well as in France and in Boulder, Colorado. In addition to its smart grid developments, Toyota developed safe driving systems that relied on communication between sensors in infrastructure and vehicles to prevent trafc accidents. The company implemented these systems in numerous locations in Japan. 23 Like Toyota, BMW partnered with cities to implement its new mobility initiatives. BMW partnered with Munich in 2008 to develop trafc management solutions as population growth and resulting congestion strained the city’s infrastructure. 24 BMW also invested in smartphone technologies to enable people to navigate their cities in unorthodox ways. For example, MyCityWay provided personalized live trafc information and directions to goods and services based on user inputs. 25 Global information technology rms such as IBM looked beyond on-board systems, focusing instead on intelligent transportation systems that coordinated all modes of transportation and the supporting infrastructure in cities around the world. In 2007, IBM rolled out the Stockholm Congestion Charging System For the exclusive use of K. Saxena, 2023. This document is authorized for use only by Kunika Saxena in W23 MKT515-003: Marketing Management (online) taught by Kyungwon Lee, University of Michigan – Dearborn from Jan 2023 to Apr 2023. 11 Blueprint for Ford’s Future: From Personal Automobiles to MobilityW93C03 in Sweden. IBM, working in conjunction with the Swedish Road Administration and the City of Stockholm, was responsible for the design, development, and initial operation of the system. After a year, the Swedish capital saw an 18% reduction in city trafc and a 14% to 18% reduction in CO2 emissions.26 In 2009, IBM announced that the Netherlands Railway, which managed more than 4,800 trains a day in the busiest national railway network in Europe, was using IBM’s optimization technology to forecast passenger demand and automate the movement of equipment and facilities in order to improve on-time performance and achieve operational cost savings. 27 IBM estimated that spending on transportation infrastructure would approach $30 trillion globally in the coming 20 years. In 2010, IBM’s “Smarter Cities” unit launched a citywide system in Rio de Janeiro to manage data from 30 agencies. The $14-million operations center was built in response to a realization that there was a growing need for a coordinated emergency response system. However, it would also be used to manage congestion and coordinate trafc. Other cities soon expressed interest. In February 2012, Zhenjiang, China, bought IBM’s Intelligent Operations Center, which bundled a number of services designed for Rio de Janeiro into a single product, to manage public transportation and predict and alleviate trafc jams along bus routes. 28 IBM expected its Smarter Planet unit, which included the Smarter Cities business, to bring in $10 billion in revenue by 2015. 29 Ford Looking to the Future Ford was rebounding nancially. In 2008, Ford shares saw a 16% drop after Standard & Poor’s downgraded its ratings. 30 Recovery and healthy growth followed, with 2012 showing the best car sales since 2008. 31 Ford’s core competencies had always been in making affordable personal vehicles. What adaptations would be needed to shift its capabilities to serve the transportation demands of cities without the personal car value proposition?   Beyond the personal car value proposition, where could Ford plug its developed technology as a platform to serve these overcrowded cities of high demand potential and a need for accessibility among the complex city constructs? The transportation markets abroad were vastly different in size, population density, road and public transit infrastructure, and, above all, consumer mentality. Additionally, Ford could face signicant risks and uncertainty in transitioning from an automobile manufacturer to a mobility company. While costs such as the capital expenditures and research and development required to develop new technologies, partnerships, and strategies were somewhat routine for Ford, the opportunity costs of entering an unproven market or investing in a technology that did not generate clear and direct value for shareholders were less obvious and introduced more risk. Additionally, shareholders might not be receptive to signicant investments with payback periods measured in decades, not quarters. On a broader scale, in considering the global market for urban mobility solutions, where exactly did Ford t in? Which markets would Ford expand to next or launch pilot projects? How could Ford build out a service component by repurposing its existing innovative technology such as SYNC to benet new growing markets abroad and domestically? How could Ford facilitate and capitalize on innovations by other companies such as Google, IBM, and Enterprise? What would partnerships with these companies look like? Population growth in the developing world, urbanization, and the environmental impact of megacities presented enormous challenges as well as opportunities for the Ford Motor Company. 32 However, such a signicant shift in strategy presented a variety of challenges and risks. Could Ford remain a major player in traditional automobile manufacturing while simultaneously developing alternative technologies for For the exclusive use of K. Saxena, 2023. This document is authorized for use only by Kunika Saxena in W23 MKT515-003: Marketing Management (online) taught by Kyungwon Lee, University of Michigan – Dearborn from Jan 2023 to Apr 2023. 12 Blueprint for Ford’s Future: From Personal Automobiles to MobilityFrom Personal Automobiles to W93C03 transportation? Could Ford continue innovating, sustain its global leadership, and dene new mobility for a changing world? David Berdish pondered these questions as he queued up behind a mile-long stretch of cars on the highway onramp after the concert. Could Ford challenge the traditional automotive industry to become a leader as the Ford Mobility Company or dene a new sector entirely as the Ford Accessibility Company? Whatever the choices he made, Berdish would have to move quickly to stay ahead of competitors as the landscape of global mobility evolved. For the exclusive use of K. Saxena, 2023. This document is authorized for use only by Kunika Saxena in W23 MKT515-003: Marketing Management (online) taught by Kyungwon Lee, University of Michigan – Dearborn from Jan 2023 to Apr 2023. 13 Blueprint for Ford’s Future: From Personal Automobiles to MobilityW93C03 Endnotes 1 National Public Radio. “A Timeline of Ford Motor Company.” 23 Jan. 2006. Accessed 14 Oct. 2012. http://www.npr.org/ templates/story/story.php?storyId=5168769. 2 Ford Motor Company. “An Early Focus on Connectivity and Electronics.” Ford corporate Web site. Accessed 14 Oct. 2012. http:// corporate.ford.com/our-company/heritage/company-milestones-news-detail/82-electronics. 3 Hiner, Jason. “Ford Is Now a ‘Personal Mobility’ Company: How the Comeback Kids Are Riding Tech to a New Destiny.” CNET News.14 July 2012. Accessed 14 Oct. 2012. http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57472376-76/ford-is-now-a-personal-mobility- company-how-the-comeback-kids-are-riding-tech-to-a-new-destiny. 4 “2013 Ford Fusion Story.” Accessed 14 Oct. 2012. http://fordfusionstory.com/latest/index.php/page/3. 5 “Brazil’s Flex Power.” Ethanol Producer Magazine. Accessed14 Oct. 2012. http://www.ethanolproducer.com/articles/2736/brazils- ex-power. 6 Bossi, Maureen, Becky Martin, Eshanthi Ranasinghe, and Ira Shaughnessy. “Ford SUMURR.” Project paper. University of Michigan. April 2012. Accessed 8 Feb. 2013. http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/90878/Masters%20Project%20 Paper_Final.pdf?sequence=1. 7 Berliant, Leslie. “Interview with David Berdish of Ford Motor Company.” www.celsias.com. Accessed 14 Oct. 2012. http://www. celsias.com/article/interview-david-berdish-ford-motor-company. 8 Fisher, Max. “It’s Ofcial: Western Europeans Have More Cars Per Person Than Americans.” The Atlantic. 14 Aug. 2012. Accessed 15 Oct. 2012. http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/08/its-ofcial-western-europeans-have-more-cars-per- person-than-americans/261108. 9 Ford Motor Company. “Focus on Asia.” Accessed 15 Oct. 2012. http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability- report-2011-12/nancial-competitiveness-asia. 10 Dadush, Uri, and Shimelse Ali. “In Search of the Global Middle Class: A New Index.” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. July 2012. 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Accessed 15 Oct. 2012. http://articles.marketwatch.com/2008-12-23/news/30886478_1_downgrades-shares-drop-ford-shares. 31 Isidore, Chris. “Best Car Sales Since Early ‘08.” CNN. 2 Oct. 2012. Accessed 15 Oct. 2012. http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/02/ news/companies/car-sales/index.html. 32 Lavrinc, Damon. “Bill Ford Jr. Outlines Future of Mobility at MWC.” Autoblog.com. 28 Feb. 2012. Accessed 15 Oct. 2012. http:// www.autoblog.com/2012/02/28/bill-ford-jr-outlines-future-of-mobility-at-mwc. For the exclusive use of K. Saxena, 2023. This document is authorized for use only by Kunika Saxena in W23 MKT515-003: Marketing Management (online) taught by Kyungwon Lee, University of Michigan – Dearborn from Jan 2023 to Apr 2023. 15 Blueprint for Ford’s Future: From Personal Automobiles to MobilityFrom Personal Automobiles to W93C03 Notes For the exclusive use of K. Saxena, 2023. This document is authorized for use only by Kunika Saxena in W23 MKT515-003: Marketing Management (online) taught by Kyungwon Lee, University of Michigan – Dearborn from Jan 2023 to Apr 2023. The Erb Institute is committed to creating a socially and environmentally sustainable society through the power of business. Building on nearly two decades of research, teaching, and direct engagement, the Institute has become one of the world’s leading sources of innovative knowledge on the culture, technologies, operations and governance of business in a changing world. http://erb.umich.edu Established at the University of Michigan in 1992, the William Davidson Institute (WDI) is an independent, non-pro t research and educational organization focused on providing private-sector solutions in emerging markets. Through a unique structure that integrates research, eld-based collaborations, education/training, publishing, and University of Michigan student opportunities, WDI creates long-term value for academic institutions, partner organizations, and donor agencies active in emerging markets. WDI also provides a forum for academics, policy makers, business leaders, and development experts to enhance their understanding of these economies. WDI is one of the few institutions of higher learning in the United States that is fully dedicated to understanding, testing, and implementing actionable, private-sector business models addressing the challenges and opportunities in emerging markets. For the exclusive use of K. Saxena, 2023. This document is authorized for use only by Kunika Saxena in W23 MKT515-003: Marketing Management (online) taught by Kyungwon Lee, University of Michigan – Dearborn from Jan 2023 to Apr 2023.