Global Sourcing of Electronic Components

The automotive industry, and its suppliers, face major challenges such as 8 million units of excess worldwide capacity, attendant concerns over environmental issues, increased customer expectations, a proliferation of model offerings, and the globalization of the industry. These challenges continue reinforce Ford Motor Company's vision to be a low cost producer of the highest quality products that provides the best customer value. Ford's Electronics Division shares the Company's basic Strategies address the industry's challenges - - continuous improvement in quality, cost containment, time management, and a customer-driven philosophy. These strategies involve major process improvements within Ford and, in turn, the challenge for similar change within Ford's worldwide supply base. I am very pleased have this opportunity share with you Ford's strategies meet the global challenges that face the automotive and the associated electronics industries in the decade of the 90's. These challenges include: . Excess worldwide capacity . Heightened concern over environmental issues . Increased model offerings coupled with increased customer expectations, and . Global competition. Our strategies meet these challenges include: . Continuing quality improvement, . Cost competitiveness, and . Customer-driven philosophy Further, Time is likely be the competitive advantage that separates the best companies in the next five - ten years -- meaning faster, smarter, better! Think about it -- time is the only resource of which every company has an equal amount. The challenge is be the best at using time in product development, manufacturing through-put, and administrative processes.