Case study: Ford Motor Company : Supply Chain Strategy
            
             1. Consider the experiences that you had in buying a car, compare these to the experience of buying a computer online. What do you think explains the differences?
             It is striking how dell makes a computer customisable to the buyers' taste. Cars also are customisable; just think of all the possible options you can buy with a car. But at Dell you can buy your customised computer online, something I haven't seen for car manufacturers. People normally buy their new car via the dealer channel. Dell bypasses totally the dealer channel. Computers and cars are consumer items. Cars however, for many families, aren't "just another commodity". For many people it's quite a big investment that needs serious thinking. People like to test the car first, see it in reality and talk from person to person with the dealer. Safety is a major item for cars and not for computers, who are expected to fail now and then. A car also needs regular maintenance, something a computer needs less or not. And here the trust relationship between dealer and customer can be important. Also shipping and delivery aren't as easy and low cost for a computer. Also the customising of a car won't be as easy and fast as a computer. A car is built from generic and custom parts while a computer is entirely made from generic parts.
             Also the suppliers are completely dependent on Ford while Dell is inconsequential to suppliers. Moreover Ford is one of the oldest and biggest companies in the world which make it more difficult to realise turnaround in its business processes and information systems. This is why I think Ford doesn't have an online buying system.
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