Reference no: EM133310785

Question: Do you see any other differences that were not addressed?

For this discussion we will evaluate the differences between Ford and Amazon. During the founding of Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford decided he required total control of his supply chain. During this period of Ford's operation they owned everything from the raw material mining to finished product assembly. Very few companies, today, own their entire supply chain. This becomes relevant when we start to compare manufacturing and retail. Modern manufacturing has some similarities to retail, as many finished sub-components come together to make a finished product. While Ford may not be directly in the controlling path of raw materials, they still rely on the availability. We have seen this in the micro chip shortage and the inability to complete new cars.

Conversely, Amazon is taking the output of a manufacturing company and delivering it to our doors. While they are not directly assembling the finished goods, the process of international importing and shipment is similar. Where the divide comes is in the nature of the operation. Ford is taking semi-finished materials or completely finished components and creating a finished product. Amazon is pulling completely finished goods from suppliers and routing them to consumers. While Ford primarily interfaces with dealers, and the dealer interfaces with the consumer.