Ford’s most progressive plant in the world may well be in northeast Brazil, where it uses lean manufacturing, sophisticated supply chains, and a vast array of robotics to produce the EcoSport SUV and Fiesta. A colleague in that country, who is using the Portuguese edition of our text, just emailed me the link to a video about which he is justifiably proud. This 3.5 minute video illustrates all 3 concepts: lean, SCM, and automation and makes a nice presentation in Ch11 or Ch.16. (I do need to warn you that the last few seconds are a bit anti-union).
In 2009, the Ford plant produced over 207,000 vehicles. This South American operation brings so much profit to the parent company in Dearborn,Michigan,that the firm was able to turn down federal loans in 2009 that both GM and Chrysler accepted.
Brazil is becoming a leader in lean auto making, with another plant churning out VWs with a similar layout in which suppliers produce, on-site, with their own employees, the parts that are installed in the final vehicle. If you look at the Global Company Profile that opens Ch.16 in our text, you will see a layout at the Toyota Tundra plant in San Antonio, Texas that also resembles what we see in the video.
Discussion Questions:
1. Why is it doubtful that this Ford plant will be replicated in the US?
2. How does the supply chain differ from most US plants?
3. Why is this an example of lean manufaturing?