Supply chain management at Harley-Davidson
Supply Chain Management at Harley-Davidson Motor CompanyWith the growing global economy, companies are looking for ways to improve their productivity. Many excellent firms have learned how to beat their competitors through the implementation of new management, marketing, and/or manufacturing techniques. Harley-Davidson is one of those excellent companies, which have challenged traditional ideas of supply and inventory management. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company is an American manufacturer of motorcycles. Founded in 1903, the Milwaukee based company endured two World Wars, and the Great Depression. By 1953, Harley-Davidson was the last remaining major motorcycle manufacturer in the United States. Harley-Davidson's nearly six-decade reign as a family owned enterprise ended in 1965 when it went public. By 1969, Harley-Davidson was purchased by the American Machine and Foundry (AMF) in a $21.6 million stock trade.At the time of the merger, Harley-Davidson was producing about 15,000 motorcycles a year. By 1980, that number jumped to more than 50,000. AMF also modernized the sorely outdated original Milwaukee plant. At the same time, however, rapid expansion under AMF created a lapse in quality control and blemishes on t
The late 1980s saw an amazing revival in the company's fortunes. It was a fair bet that their methods were worth considering. · Belief in quick fixes for problems, such as throwing in computers and state-of-the-art machinery to improve productivity, and poor quality control. · Scrap and rework reduced by 68 %. Persistent oil leaks, breakdowns and other mechanical problems impeded the company's ability to compete with Japan, which by then was flooding the U. Rather than push, Harley-Davidson pulls inventory into the plant, where items are actually re-ordered at the point of use on the plant floor based on a signal sent from a company computer to the supplier. Suppliers of Harley had to implement JIT into their production process in order to compliment Harley's system. The plant was exceptionally clean, with a very low parts inventory and smooth running assembly lines. By all indications 2005, will be another record breaker for the company. There was no straight flow process; therefore, setup times were very high and output rates were very low. Suppliers understand that their success is in turn directly linked to that of Harley-Davidson. With their industry and economy in shreds, Mr. The market for heavyweight bikes was down overall, and even more so for Harley-Davidson.
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