BASIC MARKETING 18th Edition by Jerome McCarthy William Perreault, Joseph Cannon

تمرين 37

Worldwide ChemPlastics, Inc. (WCI)
Worldwide ChemPlastics, Inc., (WCI) is a multinational producer of various chemicals and plastics with plants in the United States, England, France, and Germany. It is run from its headquarters in New Jersey.
Paul Parrish is marketing manager of WCI's plastics business. Paul is reconsidering his promotion approach. He is evaluating what kind of promotion-and how much-should be directed to car producers and to other major plastics customers worldwide. Currently, Paul has one salesperson who devotes most of his time to the car industry. This man is based in the Detroit area and focuses on GM, Ford, and Chrysler-as well as the various firms that mold plastics to produce parts to supply the car industry. This approach worked well when relatively little plastic was used in each car and the auto producers did all of the designing themselves and then sent out specifications for very price-oriented competitive bidding. But now the whole product planning and buying system is changing-and of course foreign producers with facilities in the United States are much more important.
How the present system works can be illustrated in terms of the team approach Ford used on its project to design the Flex, the full-size crossover introduced as a 2009 model. For the Flex, representatives from all the various functions- planning, design, engineering, purchasing, marketing, and manufacturing-work together. In fact, representatives from key suppliers were involved from the outset. The whole team takes final responsibility for a car. Because all of the departments are involved from the start, problems are resolved as the project moves on-before they cause a crisis. Manufacturing, for example, can suggest changes in design that will result in higher productivity or better quality, which is especially important at a time with Ford's initial quality ratings are beating those of Honda and Toyota.
The old approach was different. It involved a five-year process of creating a new vehicle in sequential steps. Under the old system, product planners would come up with a general concept and then expect the design team to give it artistic form. Next, engineering would develop the specifications and pass them on to manufacturing and suppliers. There was little communication between the groups and no overall project responsibility.
In the Flex project, Ford engineers followed the Japanese lead and did some reverse engineering of their own. They dismantled several competitors' cars, piece by piece, looking for ideas they could copy or improve. This helped them learn how the parts were assembled and how they were designed. Eventually, Ford incorporated or modified some of the best features into its design of the Flex. For example, the Flex uses a new design to seal the doors and eliminate wind noise.
In addition to reverse engineering, Ford researchers conducted a series of market studies. This led to positioning the Flex as an "anti-minivan." That positioning resulted in a decision to eliminate the sliding side doors and instead to use traditional hinged doors. That cut costs, but the savings were used for dress-up features, like 19-inch aluminum wheels and a special new seat design that reduces movement in the seat and gives the car an even smoother drive. The Flex's optional refrigerator/freezer is another example of a feature that did well in concept tests.
Ford also asked assembly-line workers for suggestions before the car was redesigned and then incorporated their ideas into the new car. Most bolts have the same-size head, for example, so workers don't have to switch from one wrench to another. Finally, Ford included its best suppliers as part of the planning effort. Instead of turning to a supplier after the car's design was completed, Ford invited them to participate in product planning. For example, Microsoft's Sync system provides the Flex with voice control of the entertainment system.
Most other vehicles are now developed with an approach similar to this. GM, for example, used a very similar team approach to redesign its new Malibu. And major firms in many other industries are using similar approaches. A major outgrowth of this effort has been a trend by these producers to develop closer working relationships with a smaller number of suppliers. To some extent, this is a direct outgrowth of the decision to try to reduce unnecessary costs by using the same components for different vehicles. For example, the powertrain for the Flex is the same as is used in Ford's Edge.
Many of the suppliers selected for the Flex project had not only the facilities, but also the technical and professional managerial staff who could understand-and become part of-the program management approach. Ford expected these major suppliers to join in its total quality management push and to be able to provide just-in-time delivery systems. Ford dropped suppliers whose primary sales technique was to entertain buyers and then submit bids on standard specifications.
Because many firms have moved to these team-oriented approaches and developed closer working relationships with a subset of their previous suppliers, Paul is trying to determine if WCI's present effort is still appropriate. Paul's strategy has focused primarily on responding to inquiries and bringing in WCI's technical people as the situation seems to require. Potential customers with technical questions are sometimes referred to other noncompeting customers already using the materials or to a WCI plant-to be sure that all questions are answered. But basically, all producer-customers are treated more or less alike. The sales reps make calls and try to find good business wherever they can.
Each WCI sales rep usually has a geographic area. If an area like Detroit needs more than one rep, each may specialize in one or several similar industries. But WCI uses the same basic approach-call on present users of plastic products and try to find opportunities for getting a share (or bigger share) of existing purchases or new applications. The sales reps are supposed to be primarily order getters rather than technical specialists. Technical help can be brought in when the customer wants it, or sometimes the sales rep simply sets up a conference call between WCI's technical experts, the buyer, and the users at the buyer's facility.
Paul sees that some of his major competitors are becoming more aggressive. They are seeking to affect specifications and product design from the start rather than after a product design is completed. This takes a lot more effort and resources, but Paul thinks it may get better results. A major problem he sees, however, is that he may have to drastically change the nature of WCI's promotion. Instead of focusing primarily on buyers and responding to questions, it may be necessary to try to contact all the multiple buying influences and not only answer their questions but help them understand what questions to raise-to find solutions. Such a process may even require more technically trained sales reps. In fact, it may require that people from WCI's other departments-engineering, design, manufacturing, R D, and distribution-get actively involved in discussions with their counterparts in customer firms. Further, use of e-mail and a Web site might make ongoing contacts faster and easier.
While Paul doesn't want to miss the boat if changes are needed, he also doesn't want to go off the deep end. After all, many of the firm's customers don't seem to want WCI to do anything very different from what it's been doing. In fact, some say that they're very satisfied with their current supply arrangements and really have no interest in investing in a close relationship with a single supplier. Even with the Flex project, Ford wasn't 100 percent dedicated to the team approach. For example, when Ford's research showed that the target market viewed quiet and comfortable seats as an especially important factor in purchases, Ford didn't turn to a supplier for help but rather assigned a team of its own design engineers to develop and test them in-house. Now some of what was learned on the Flex project is going to be used in redesigning other models.
Contrast the previous approach to designing and producing cars to Flex's program management approach, especially as it might affect suppliers' promotion efforts. Given that many other major producers have moved in the program management direction, what promotion effort should Paul Parrish develop for Worldwide ChemPlastics? Should every producer in every geographic area be treated alike, regardless of size? Explain.