Competitive Advantage Essay, Research Paper

The process of developing and designing products has taken a sharp change in the last couple of years. Companies are being pushed by demanding global customers and are being challenged by rapid change of technology. Manufacturers have had to increase the speed of design cycles while at the same time cut the cost of development and manufacture. They must ensure the product takes full advantage of the latest and best technology. Leading companies have found that obstacles in the market today are far too rigorous to overcome on their own. This process of design and development of products has never been so competitive and daunting. However, it is more critical for future success. The Success of modern day companies is due to help from a resource that has been present since the early days of the company. The answer is suppliers. In some industries suppliers are taking on responsibility for designing parts, components, materials, assemblies, and even complete systems for automobiles, computers and other products. Leading manufacturers are using their supply bases as a key element of their product design strategies, and it’s paying off in a big way. In other words the old saw “Slow and sure wins the race” no longer holds. Speed is competitive edge today s business needs to succeed. Including suppliers in the manufacturing process adds to the clock-speed of a company. The Honda Motor Company is one such company that has recognized this need for speed and has thus adjusted its production to accommodate.

The Honda Motor Company is one of the world s most well known producers of motor vehicles. The Company itself is based in Japan, but it had branches all over the world. From a simple start, Honda has grown to one of the world s most successful motoring companies, selling products in almost 200 countries. Honda has set new standards in vehicle production and design. From the Civic to ongoing participation in automotive racing, Honda s spirit of challenge and commitment forms the basis for every Honda project. Honda’s new “world platform” strategy will produce four variants of the new mid-size Accord platform. Honda s Research and development team found that the easiest way of producing their most popular make of car, the Accord, was to produce a world platform . This platform is an Accord chassis around which different accord bodies are built. For example; The Accord built for America will be larger than the one built in Japan because there is a market for larger cars. The one built in Europe will narrower so that it may compete with other cars on the European market. Essentially the Accord platform is universal. The car s appearance changes due to its location around the world. Accords will be produced in 11 and sold in 100 countries.