Overview of Caterpillar, Inc
Caterpillar, Inc. (Caterpillar) was founded on April 15, 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, IL. For about 90 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been helping companies better the World on all continents by developing different equipment across fields of work for different companies to use. Forbes’ overview of Caterpillar, Inc states, “Caterpillar Inc. is engaged in the manufacturing of construction & mining equipment, diesel & natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The company provides technology for construction, transportation, mining, forestry, energy, logistics, electronics, financing and electric power generation. Caterpillar operates in five segments: Construction Industries,
Some of Caterpillar’s competitors are Komatsu Ltd, that is based in Japan, Deere & Co, based in Illinois, Kubota Corp, based in Japan, and CNH Industrial NV, based in the United Kingdom. All of these companies are manufacturing companies, so they face similar problems or benefits depending on the current trend for their type of manufacturing. Vault’s overview of Manufacturing states, “The Manufacturing Industry consists of two categories: durable and nondurable goods. Durable goods, such as cars, airplanes, and large household appliances, may be used for a long time. Nondurable goods, such as food, cosmetics, and clothing, are consumed more rapidly.” That is only a rough summarization of some of the fields that go into durable or nondurable goods. The two categories are very different, so many different types of employees work in the manufacturing industry. Workers can range in skill, education, and interest since the industry is so vast. A factory worker is far different from an engineer, yet they still both work for the same
They are apart of , “Construction Machinery Manufacturing, Construction Mining and Handling Machinery, Construction Machinery and Equipment, and Manufacture of Machinery for Mining, Quarrying and Construction,” provided by Morningstar’s company overview of Caterpillar. Caterpillar is apart of the Manufacturing Industry; however, manufacturing is a broad term. Any process that turns a raw material into a finished product with the use of a machine could be considered manufacturing. To make things more comprehensible I will just refer to Caterpillar’s industry as the Manufacturing Industry throughout the rest of this paper. The Manufacturing Industry is having troubles right now. According to Joe Zale, principal, US Industrial Products, Deloitte Consulting LLP., the main problems are opportunities driven by product innovation, changes in talent requirements, and energy disruption. This is a problem for workers in the industry. This means that even though Caterpillar is successful right now, to increase their wealth and profit they will have to face the challenge of creating more efficient processes of creating their equipment. Hence, using automated machines to do a worker’s job is more efficient, because Caterpillar doesn’t have to pay salary to that particular machine. In addition, to new processes being created that aren’t automated you will need workers who understand how to use the machines and have
Until recently, the Ford Motor Company has been one of the most dynastic of American enterprises, a factor which has both benefited the company and has brought it to the brink of disaster. Today Ford is the second largest manufacturer of automobiles and trucks in the world, and it’s operations are well diversified, both operationally and geographically. The company operates the worlds second largest finance company in the world, and is a major producer of tractors, glass and steel. It is most prominent in the US, but also has plants in Canada, Britain and Germany, and facilities in over 100 countries.
In addition, the bargaining power of the sources of inputs is high. The switching costs from one supplier to another are high because there are not many substitutes for the particular input for metal products. Besides, the number of suppliers who produce raw metals is small. The threat of substitute is high. There are many different kinds of substitutes for metal product company. These companies may also produce a large variety of product like Slade Company. Therefore, the substitute is low for this market. Only companies that produce high quality are able to not be substituted by the others.
General Motors is a long established corporation, which has had a profound affect on the American people and the American economy. The corporation has prided themselves on producing automobiles at the lowest cost, while remaining a style leader of the industry. Bankruptcy with a government buy out in 2009 caused reorganization, a battle to transform, reinventing a new GM corporate culture. In 2014, Generals Motors topped the list as one of the nine most damaged brands. What caused General Motors to get such a tarnished reputation, was it a scandal-laden culture and mismanagement, putting profit over safety with massive cover-ups, or a combination of both?
In 1962, Wal-Mart opened their first store in Rogers, Arkansas. In 1970, Wal-Mart's first distribution center and home office in Bentonville, Ark. open and Wal-Mart went public on the New York Stock Exchange. Just nine years from that, Wal-Mart's annual sales exceeded one billion dollars. In 1988, Wal-Mart super centers opened across the country. In a merely three years from that, Wal-Mart opened their own store in Mexico City, Mexico; making Wal-Mart an international corporation. Not even sixty years has past, and yet, Wal-Mart is over-powering our country.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is in the discount, variety stores industry. It was founded in 1945, Bentonville in Arkansas which is also the headquarters of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart operates locally as well as worldwide. It operated 1209 discount stores, 1980 super centers, and 567 Sam’s Club by January 31, 2006. It has also extended its operations to many international countries. It runs its retail stores in two forms: Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart Stores. The Sam’s Club sells assorted product lines such as hardwares, electronics, jewelry, and to mention a few. The Wal-Mart stores also offer similar products in addition to the following: health and beauty products, apparel for women, men and children, household appliances etc (www.yahoo.finance.com). The Vision Statement, Mission Statement, Values and Code of Conduct, Corporate Governance: Directors, Executive Management, Committees and Stakeholder will be the key elements that will discussed in this report as it relates to Wal-Mart. In addition to that, the major trends in the general/macro environment and industry will be analyzed.
In general the customer bargaining power is low and therefore it raises the potential of market's profitability. Though, most of the companies provide "buy-backs" and price protection that lessens the chance to cash on moderately strong manufacturers position.
INNOVATION IN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION Topic Innovation in Industrial Production-Forbes News Main Theme Tesla’s Innovation are transforming the auto Industry Main World Region America Subthemes Desirable Electric Vehicles (EV) and Transforming Auto Industry from ICE vehicles to electric vehicles Introducing Main Theme The main theme in this article is how Tesla’s innovations are transforming the auto industry. The company has innovated and produced desirable electric cars like Model X doors. The proponent of this argument hold that the losses that Tesla has had are just short run and hold that Tesla is producing extremely needed electric automobiles. These vehicles have fast speed and go long distance over other rechargeable cars (Gregersen, 2016).
General Electric (GE) is a public company that provides services in the following segments: Energy, Technology, Infrastructure, Capital Finance, as well as Consumer and Industrial. GE, along with 3M and Siemens, all compete in the Diversified Machinery Industry whose products range from large turbines and medical equipment to laundry machines and coffee pots. This is a unique industry that has pure competition where companies have products that are mechanically the same, but is completely open for differentiation of those products. Products will lack value if they are not differentiated from their competitors’ products in the eyes of the consumer. Additionally, innovation is extremely important in this industry causing those who do not innovate to lose profitability quickly.
General Motors Company (GM) is one of the world largest manufacturers in the automotive industry today. GM value chain of activities include designing and engineering vehicles with state-of-the-art technology, research and develop new models and innovations, as well as creating effective marketing strategies to up sell and compete in its field of industry. With more than 212,000 valued employees working in 396 facilities, GM’s presence had spanned across six continents over the world. GM offers a comprehensive range of vehicle selections for its customers from electric and mini-cars to heavy-duty full sized truck as well as convertibles. Along with its strategic partners, GM produces cars and trucks selling and servicing its vehicle through many recognized brands such as Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac,
Ford’s production plants rely on very high-tech computers and automated assembly. It takes a significant financial investment and time to reconfigure a production plant after a vehicle model is setup for assembly. Ford has made this mistake in the past and surprisingly hasn’t learned the valuable lesson as evidence from the hybrid revolution their missing out on today. Between 1927 and 1928, Ford set in motion their “1928 Plan” of establishing worldwide operations. Unfortunately, the strategic plan didn’t account for economic factors in Europe driving the demand for smaller vehicles. Henry Ford established plants in Europe for the larger North American model A. Their market share in 1929 was 5.7% in England and 7.2% in France (Dassbach, 1988). Economic changes can wreak havoc on a corporation’s bottom line and profitability as well as their brand.
The industry acquired many manufacturers and boosts its global power over it Japanese and European counterpart. However, during the last decade, American automobile industry has found itself depreciating and losing global competitiveness over others. The argument seems to be that the present health system which mandated companies to guarantee the health care of retired worker, which amount to millions of dollar has sparked the down trend of the industry. Elizabeth Robson disagrees with this argument. She believes that the health care system has nothing to do with the depreciation of the American automobile industry, rather industries are more technologically inclined and reliance, production of low emissions cars, safety issues, and guarantee of after purchased services are driving or responsible for the decline of American auto industry, and driving up the Japanese automobile industry. She argued that Japanese cars are fuel efficient and are very durable. (Robson, 2013). The assumption that the Japanese have
The first Wal-Mart was opened in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962. By 1969 it was incorporated into Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and in 1972 went public on the New York Stock Exchange. The company grew steadily across the United States, and by 1990 was the nation's largest retailer. In 1991 and 1994, Wal-Mart moved into Mexico and Canada respectively. By 1997 it was incorporated into the Dow Jones Industrial Average. As of 2005, Wal-Mart has stores in the United Kingdom, and Puerto Rico, and brings in revenue of close to 300 billion dollars a year. In 2006, Wal-Mart invaded the China and India's markets. During the last two decades, Wal-Mart has been able to take advantage of the rise of information technology and the explosion of the global economy to change the balance of power in the business world (Wikipedia, 2006). Today Wal-Mart continues to grow and their success is not only from their sound strategic management planning but also from its implementation of those strategic plans. In other words operational planning has been an important key to their success.
Throughout the history of modern civilization, there have been a number of inventions, contraptions, and processes to have made profound impacts on everyday life, and redefine the world, as we know it. With effective quality management, measures American industrialist and innovator Henry Ford used the assembly line to streamline the automotive manufacturing process and transform the American Industry. With the implementation of the assembly line in his manufacturing process Ford was able to offer the American consumer an affordable automobile, while at the same time cutting costs to his company, therefore maximizing his overall productiveness and profit while ensuring his customers’ needs were met.
When you look at the history of General Motors, you will find a long, rich heritage. General Motors came into existence in 1908 when it was founded by William "Billy" Durant. At that time Buick Motor Company was a member of GM. over the years GM would acquire more than 20 companies, to include Opel, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile. By the 1960's through 1979 was known as a revolution period for General Motors. Everyone was focusing on environmental concerns, increased prices of gasoline lead to the unprecedented downsizing of vehicles. The smaller cars lead to one the largest re-engineering program ever taken in the industry. By 1973, General Motors was the first to offer an air bag in a production car.
The American Automotive Industry, popularly known as the U.S. Automotive Industry is one of the most rapidly evolving industries in North America. It is generally oligopolistic with a few players who in the past have been known to avoid price competition among themselves. The industry consists of industries manufacturing vehicles, car parts, replaceable parts and those engaged in assembling parts into complete models. However, the most dominant players in this industry are the vehicle manufacturers. The players design various models, produce the various parts that each model needs and assemble them into a finished product before availing them to the market. General Motors, Chlysler and Ford motors, dominate the U.S. Automotive mobile. They are popularly referred to as “The Big Three”.