Case Study of Ford
Ford's Product Information System has reduced the wear and tear on design team members, eliminating much travel that would otherwise be required to coordinate design efforts. More significantly, it has allowed Ford to capitalize on the expertise that in the past were concentrated on specific development centers and in different corners of the world.
I. INTRODUCTION
Ford Motor Company launched its globalization program in January 1994, called Ford 2000, to centralize the development of global product categories, which would then be customized to meet the demands of local markets. This is in essence the creation of intra-organizational electronic commerce, using CSGW as a base. Central to this globalization is the need to coordinate disparate product development activities. This called for flexible information systems and an application for managing and transmitting design documents across various Ford Centers around the world. Installing such systems quickly meant a move to more agile packaged client-server software and platforms. This move was met with strong resistance from the company's IS department and led to the reassignment of CIO responsibilities to the company's chief of reengineering in early 1996.
To support the coordination of design activities worldwide, Ford installed Metaphase, a product document management system (PDM) from Structural Dynamics Resource Corporation. The PDM organizes the storage and access of design documents generated by the company's existing Computer Assisted Design (CAD) applications, as well as information on specifications and availability of various components of those designs. The documents are viewed and marked-up using Netscape browser software running on networked personal computers and workstations worldwide.
Expert Systems provide design guidelines and advisories that help designers stay within the limits of Ford's manufacturing infrastructure and parts inventory. The PDM/browser system essentially forms
I. INTRODUCTION
Ford Motor Company launched its globalization program in January 1994, called Ford 2000, to centralize the development of global product categories, which would then be customized to meet the demands of local markets. This is in essence the creation of intra-organizational electronic commerce, using CSGW as a base. Central to this globalization is the need to coordinate disparate product development activities. This called for flexible information systems and an application for managing and transmitting design documents across various Ford Centers around the world. Installing such systems quickly meant a move to more agile packaged client-server software and platforms. This move was met with strong resistance from the company's IS department and led to the reassignment of CIO responsibilities to the company's chief of reengineering in early 1996.
To support the coordination of design activities worldwide, Ford installed Metaphase, a product document management system (PDM) from Structural Dynamics Resource Corporation. The PDM organizes the storage and access of design documents generated by the company's existing Computer Assisted Design (CAD) applications, as well as information on specifications and availability of various components of those designs. The documents are viewed and marked-up using Netscape browser software running on networked personal computers and workstations worldwide.
Expert Systems provide design guidelines and advisories that help designers stay within the limits of Ford's manufacturing infrastructure and parts inventory. The PDM/browser system essentially forms