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BMW-Dream Factory

We all know the drill, companies talk about how open they are to ideas, until of course you suggest one.  I know from your papers that most big box retailers and franchises are not interested in innovatinon. Apparently that is not the case with BMW, one of  the most profitable car companies around.  Deming talked and preached TQM and quality circles but far too few actually embrace the concept.  This link to the Business Week  article will be good for the next few days.  It details how BMW got their latest Z 4 to market in just 17 months, Ross Perot reported that GM required 5 years, longer Ross noted that it took us to win WWII!  And as Deming predicted, BMW gets results, owners hardly ever switch to another brand, what company wouldn’t jump for that kind of brand loyalty?

Bmw_z_4The article also mentions that BMW does the impossible of customizing most cars with specific accessories specified by the owner, something most manufacturers find near impossible to do.  This requires worker involvement, something  most companies have a hard time with. 

Another reason for the blog is to highlight companies that do it right.  The article mentions that Toyota sends execs to Germany to study how BMW does it, so why don’t they all do it this way?  That is the most important question in business I think.  Albertsons can walk into an HEB and see everything that goes on.  Why can’t they duplicate that at Albertsons, after all it is all out in the open for everyone to see, no secrets.  Yet Albertsons is closing stores and leaving Texas, which just goes to show that success is harder to duplicate than one might think.

DLE

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5 responses to “BMW-Dream Factory”

  1. Pam Joyce Avatar
    Pam Joyce

    The difficult thing about duplicating another companies’ success is that you have to totally duplicate the company. Many times a company will pick parts that they think is the key to success but they don’t completely duplicate the whole product. BMW hires the best people that will fit in their organization. It is an honor to be hired to work at BMW. Each person has input and can express their ideas. Everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed. They also share the company profits with all of the workers. BMW invested in their employees and are able to produce a product in which everyone had a role. I have always heard that you had to be related to someone to get a job with GM or Ford. I don’t know if it is true, but it doesn’t make a good impression. Also, wasn’t it Albertsons that cut their employees back to part time so that they wouldn’t have to pay for benefits for full time employees? Obviously these instances are not the total reason for the decline of Albertsons and GM but they probably play a small role. I think that both GM and Albertsons are unwilling to change and without change, it is difficult to survive.

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  2. Dennis Elam Avatar
    Dennis Elam

    The sister of one of my employees worked for Albertsons, I did not hear that they cut folks to part time to avoid benefits but that is a frequent charge about Wal Mart. I think all three of your examples GM Ford Alb are in denial. Now that I think about it, what is clear is that GM Ford Chrysler never really had any competition, they were all doing exactly the same thing. When the Japanese entered the market putting more value in the car like FM radios, reclining seats but for the same money, well, their reaction was to ask for import quotas rather than process re engineer. Good obervation that it is difficult to duplicate the whole thing.

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  3. Bryan Qualls Avatar
    Bryan Qualls

    I find it extremely interesting that BMW is able to be so flexible on the assembly lines, tailor each car-to-order, even add “fingers” onto their lines and still not plunder the company into the ground with overwhelming costs. Also I applaude them for keeping their communication lines “flat”. Even the line workers can feel the least bit of inferiority and are able to voice their opinion. That is a contributing factor to the reason why they can roll out a new Z4 in just 17 months! That is a small problem that American companies (not just auto makers) possess. The heiarchial gap between entry -level workers and top management is tremendous, leaving lower-ranking workers with a feeling of uncertainty. Could this be why US automakers go on strike, opposed to BMW never having one on record? What other “wanna-bes” need to adapt from this concept is to keep ALL lines of communication open and do what works best for you, your company and your target market.

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  4. Joseph Windholz Avatar
    Joseph Windholz

    I think customizing cars is a great idea especially with the tuner craze going on after the Fast and the Furious movies. I think all companies should have this option but I see a couple of problems with this option. First, BMW is one of the most profitable car companies in the industry so they can afford to customize cars and spend money to find new ways to cut cost. Second, BMW sells cars that not everyone can afford so they can add the additional cost of customization in the price. When people go to Toyota they expect to spend from $14-20 thousand and not $30-50 thousand. So for Toyota to add customization to the cars like BMW offers, they are going to have to take losses or hike up the price.

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  5. Dennis Elam Avatar
    Dennis Elam

    Joe, well taken, however customization takes place in clothing and well hamburgers. Okay a car is more complex than a hamburger but then most of the custom work is upholstery or paint, not the engine due to epa requirements.

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