Basic Product- As of 2012 Ford Motor Company sells a broad range of automobiles under the Ford marques worldwide,

and an additional range of luxury automobiles under the Lincoln marques in the United States. The company has sold vehicles under a number of other marques during its history. Ford introduced the Mercury brand in 1939, continuing in production until 2011 when poor sales led to its discontinuation. In 1958,

Ford introduced the Edsel brand, but poor sales led to its discontinuation in 1960. In 1985, the Merkur brand was introduced in the United States to market products produced by Ford of Europe; it was discontinued in 1989. Ford acquired the British sports car maker Aston Martin in 1989, later selling it on March 12, 2007, retaining a small minority stake, and bought minority Volvo Cars of Sweden in 1999, selling it to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in 2010. In November 2008, it reduced its 33.4% controlling interest in Mazda of Japan to a 13.4% non-controlling interest. On November 18, 2010, Ford reduced their stake further to just 3%, citing the reduction of ownership would allow greater flexibility to pursue growth in emerging markets. Ford and Mazda remain strategic partners through exchanges of technological information and joint ventures, including an American joint venture plant in Flat Rock, Michigan called Auto Alliance. Ford sold the United Kingdom-based Jaguar and Land Rover companies and brands to Tata Motors of India in March 2008. In 2011, J.D. Power ranked Ford 23rd in initial quality, a drop from fifth in 2010. Consumer Reports magazine likewise decided not to recommend several new Ford SUVs, blaming the Sync entertainment and phone system used. Primary Market- Ford Motor Company is a leading producer of automobiles in the Unites States and around the world. Lingering worries about the global economy, in particularly the Euro zone, is causing uncertainty for Fords operations. The two primary markets for Ford Motor Company, Europe, and Asia-Pacific-Africa (APA). These two markets are key to Fords success. Fords current pricing strategy, which is, a premium product, at a premium price. Starting in 2006 Ford laid the ground work for a new global manufacturing initiative know as One Ford; the Ford One manufacturing system improves flexibility, process/quality, investment efficiency, capacity utilization and lowers costs. Principle Technology- Knowing what you have and where it is within the supply chain at any given time should be straightforward. After all, it doesn't require sophisticated technology solutions to see when a box is empty or when it's full. But consider an enormous manufacturer, such as Ford Motor Company, which must manage tens of thousands of items, and suddenly the seemingly simple task of knowing what you have-and where it isbecomes staggeringly complex. Temporarily misplaced items can stop a

manufacturing process, delay the delivery of products, result in excess or obsolete inventory and contribute to a loss of productivity. And as companies implement lean manufacturing processes, the value of realtime information for every container of inventory flowing through the supply chain is critical. To meet these challenges, Ford Motor Co. has adopted a wireless RealTime Locating System (RTLS), which has been implemented at several of its plants throughout North America and Europe. The system, from WhereNet Corp., the leader of wireless supply chain visibility solutions, is driven by wireless tags, fixed position antennas, and Web-enabled software. This industrial information system locates and tracks inventory using extremely low-power radio frequency tags and a communications network. Antennas positioned inside and outside the factory receive tag transmissions and deliver tracking information to a computer. The system then identifies the location of the tag within 10 feet of its exact position. Ford initially implemented its WhereNet system in February of 1998, to track materials within a 250,000 square foot area of its Van Dyke facility in Sterling Heights, Mich., which produces more than nine million components annually for Ford cars and trucks. Utilizing the same local infrastructure of antennas, Ford and WhereNet then co-developed a wireless "call" system known as WhereCall to bring parts to the line as needed. To date, roughly 35 Ford Motor Company manufacturing plants have begun to use the WhereCall technology. Most recently, Ford implemented a third application of WhereNet's real-time locating technology-the Vehicle Inventory Management System (VIMS). The use of VIMS began as a pilot project in June 2000, at Ford's Michigan Truck Plant, which assembles thousands of vehicles daily. The pilot was completed in February 2001, and a version of the technology - called Quick VIMS has been rolled out to all manufacturing plants in North America.