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U.S. Auto Benchmarking Research US Term Paper

This is an innovative system developed by Ford, and with this system, the vehicle operates either on the electric, on the gasoline, or on both engines together. The outcomes of this technology is that it helps emit 81% less smog forming emissions and that it delivers between 400 and 500 miles of travel on a tank of gas. The company has also invested $2 billion in cutting-edge manufacturing and environmental features for its Michigan manufacturing complex. Another company that U.S. Auto has a lot to learn from is Toyota. Toyota is very much different from Ford and from any other car manufacturer in the world. The company stands out due to certain practices that the company has successfully implemented over the past years. These practices include: kaizen, just in time method, and Toyota Production System. These methods were required for counteracting any aspects that might have negatively affected the company, given the important changes that were taking place on the global car market. These changes were forcing Toyota to find innovative methods that would help the company be more competitive, implement new technologies, and diminish costs at the same time. Technology and low costs do not go very well together, but Toyota has found certain methods to help the company deal successfully with both aspects. And Toyota succeeded at this, given the fact that its practices are benchmarked all over the world, by companies in any field of activity.

The Japanese practice kaizen refers...

Kaizen's main purpose is waste elimination. The Toyota Production System deals with organizing manufacturing and logistics, including interaction with suppliers and customers (Wikipedia, 2007). The outcomes of using the Toyota Production Systems were the significant reduction of lead time and cost, and quality improvement. As a consequence, Toyota becomes the largest car manufacturer in 2007 and one of the ten largest companies in the world. Toyota currently operates 13 vehicle, engine, and parts plants in North America. In 2006, the company produced over 1,55 million vehicles and 1,4 million engines at its North American manufacturing plants (Toyota, 2007).
Therefore, U.S. Auto should apply competitive benchmarking. This action will increase the company's profit up to 20%. The methodological scenario should include the following steps: planning, analyzing, integrating, acting, and maturity.

Reference List

Putting Hybrids on the Road (2007). Ford Motor Company. Retrieved July 3, 2007 at http://www.ford.com/en/innovation/technology/puttingHybridsOnTheRoad.htm.

Toyota Production System (2007). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved July 3, 2007 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Production_System.

Overview of Toyota's North American Engineering and Manufacturing (2007). Toyota Motor Sales. Retrieved July 3, 2007 at http://www.toyota.com/about/operations/manufacturing/index.html.

Sources used in this document:
Reference List

Putting Hybrids on the Road (2007). Ford Motor Company. Retrieved July 3, 2007 at http://www.ford.com/en/innovation/technology/puttingHybridsOnTheRoad.htm.

Toyota Production System (2007). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved July 3, 2007 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Production_System.

Overview of Toyota's North American Engineering and Manufacturing (2007). Toyota Motor Sales. Retrieved July 3, 2007 at http://www.toyota.com/about/operations/manufacturing/index.html.
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