The release of the Ford Fusion was the culmination of six years of planning, imp
ID: 428338 • Letter: T
Question
The release of the Ford Fusion was the culmination of six years of planning, implementation, and monitoring. Top managers established the mission for the new vehicle as “the most talked about car of 2012.” The three goals for driving this strategy were to (1) become the company’s highest volume car in order to gain market share, (2) offer customers unparalleled levels of choice, and (3) have green offerings. When Alan Mulally became CEO, he instituted the One Ford Strategy. The One Ford Strategy unites the operations of the company through four clear objectives. The One Ford Plan facilitated the collaboration between marketing and product development for the Ford Fusion project. This ensured the final product was cohesive both in design and market positioning. This collaboration was especially important to the execution of tactical plans for this project. It is not enough to simply create plans—measuring the effects of a plan is imperative to successful execution. Ford uses a system called Launch Readiness, which began about two years before the launch with phase 1 or LR1. The operational part of planning is encompassed by LR2, the next phase in Launch Readiness. This phase precedes the Final Status Review. Each of these phases serves as an overall control process for the entire project, and all phases are considered to be milestones that determine the project’s progress. The results of the Ford Fusion launch exceeded the company’s aggressive expectations, and these significant results can be attributed the level of planning the company engaged in.
Based on this information above, how did Ford use strategic and tactical planning in its launch of the Ford Fusion and how did the companywide One Ford Plan contribute to the project-specific Launch Readiness plan? Explain in detail.
Explanation / Answer
Ford used three goals to strategically plan during various levels of the project. These three goals were (1) become the company’s highest volume car in order to gain market share, (2) offer customers unparalleled levels of choice, and (3) have green offerings.
The companywide One Ford Plan ensured the final project was cohesive both in design and marketing positioning. The Launch readiness plan then would measure the effects of a plan that would be imperative to a successful execution.