Mercedes Case Study
II year Ms in Management students:
Valeryia Surman
Jeffrey Sweeney
Sophie Taillandier
Pierrick Tromeur
March 4 2015
MERCEDES BENZ
CASE STUDY
Supervisor:
Sonia Pennachiotti
MAREILLE, 2015
1. Aspects of Mercedes Strategy
1.1. Product
One of the main strategic aspects of any manufacturing organization is to analyze the demand and offer the right product to the right group of consumers. Mercedes M class is a mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV) that was designed for North American market and became extremely popular among Americans for its size and comfort. The main advantages of the SUV over other models: higher vantage point for drivers, better capacity for towing and more room which makes it a much more attractive option (Geier). Moreover SUVs are considered to offer higher safety level, which is important aspect for the consumer group that includes families with children.
Compared to the rest of the world, Americans drive much larger cars and pay much less for gas. Opportunity to pay less for gasoline makes SUVs more affordable to American consumers rather than its European counterpart. Mercedes M class was introduced in 1997. In just 1998 it was awarded as Truck of the Year by Motor Trend Magazine and was voted the 1998 North American Truck of the Year at the North American International Auto Show January 2008 in Detroit. The enthusiasm for the new car was so great that Mercedes-Benz initially had difficulties in satisfying the demand, which indicates the success of the model (Daimler).
1.2. Place The plant is located on 1,000 acres of land donated by the state of Alabama. The land was donated as part of the bid, by Alabama, to win the contract with Mercedes (Horowitz). Moreover, as it was mentioned in the case, the state of Alabama offered significant help to Mercedes valued at $250 million, which included $90 million in training assistance.
The US is the largest market for sport utility vehicles and it already was in 1993 when
Valeryia Surman
Jeffrey Sweeney
Sophie Taillandier
Pierrick Tromeur
March 4 2015
MERCEDES BENZ
CASE STUDY
Supervisor:
Sonia Pennachiotti
MAREILLE, 2015
1. Aspects of Mercedes Strategy
1.1. Product
One of the main strategic aspects of any manufacturing organization is to analyze the demand and offer the right product to the right group of consumers. Mercedes M class is a mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV) that was designed for North American market and became extremely popular among Americans for its size and comfort. The main advantages of the SUV over other models: higher vantage point for drivers, better capacity for towing and more room which makes it a much more attractive option (Geier). Moreover SUVs are considered to offer higher safety level, which is important aspect for the consumer group that includes families with children.
Compared to the rest of the world, Americans drive much larger cars and pay much less for gas. Opportunity to pay less for gasoline makes SUVs more affordable to American consumers rather than its European counterpart. Mercedes M class was introduced in 1997. In just 1998 it was awarded as Truck of the Year by Motor Trend Magazine and was voted the 1998 North American Truck of the Year at the North American International Auto Show January 2008 in Detroit. The enthusiasm for the new car was so great that Mercedes-Benz initially had difficulties in satisfying the demand, which indicates the success of the model (Daimler).
1.2. Place The plant is located on 1,000 acres of land donated by the state of Alabama. The land was donated as part of the bid, by Alabama, to win the contract with Mercedes (Horowitz). Moreover, as it was mentioned in the case, the state of Alabama offered significant help to Mercedes valued at $250 million, which included $90 million in training assistance.
The US is the largest market for sport utility vehicles and it already was in 1993 when
Bibliography: Ben Geier.2014. Fortune: Why are SUVs so popular? It has nothing to do with gas prices (http://fortune.com/2014/12/10/why-are-suvs-so-popular-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-gas-prices/ Daimler. "Overview | Daimler Investor Relations Reports & Key Figures Reports." Overview | Daimler Investor Relations Reports & Key Figures Reports. Daimler, 2015. Web. 09 Mar. 2015. Daimler Media. 2007. Tenth anniversary of the M-Class: Premiere at the Tuscaloosa plant in 1997 http://media.daimler.com/dcmedia/0-921-1090888-1-869048-1-0-0-0-0-1-12759-614216-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html?TS=1374733107680 Jerry W. Gilley, Ann Maycunich Gilley. Major Issues in Human Resource Development http://www.eolss.net/sample-chapters/c11/e1-10-01-00.pdf Horowitz, Carl. 2014. UAW Wears Out Welcome at Alabama Mercedes Plant http://nlpc.org/stories/2014/11/24/uaw-organizers-wear-out-welcome-alabama-mercedes-plant International Labour Office. "ILO." International Labour Organization. United Nations, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2015.