Case study-1

The New U.S. Digital Factory

Presented by
Nikita Porwal
• American Factory – is an information age marvel.

• It was a result of fundamental restructuring in 1980s by

American firms to regain their lost competitiveness.

• It resulted in high speed, flexibility, and productivity due to

union of computer software and networks in industries as
diverse as construction equipment, automobiles, PC’s and
pagers.

• The quickness of the digital factory allows it to customize

products down to one unit while achieving mass-production
speed and efficiency.
• Example: As a consumer places an order of a pager to Motorola
salesperson, the digitized data flow to an assembly line, where
production begins immediately and is completed in a few minutes,
so that a customer can have the customized pager the next day.

• This process is called Software controlled continuous- flow

manufacturing. Basically it means merging manufacturing and
retailing.

• This much faster time-to-market and customizing capability gave

many American firms a tremendous advantage over global
competitors.
 CAD
• Computer-aided design (CAD), also known as computer-
aided drafting and design (CADD), is the use of computer
technology for the process of design and design-
documentation.

• Computer- aided design (CAD) dramatically increases the

pace of innovations.

• CAD allows research and development engineers to design a

product or component on a computer screen, quickly
experiment with alternatives design, and test their strength
and reliability-all on the screen.
• Example : A designer can call up on the screen a car door and
test opening and closing the door, running the window up and
down, etc.

• Using CAD, scientists at Caterpillar (the largest earth moving

equipment builder in the world), test -drive huge machines in
virtual reality before they are built.

• The Boeing 777 jetliner was entirely developed by using CAD.

• In short, we are likely to be at the dawn of the biggest

revolution in manufacturing. And with US superiority in
software, it is unlikely that foreign competitors will match the
new American Manufacturing genius.
 Case Study - 2

The Euro and the International

Competitiveness of European firms
 EURO
• Euro is the official currency of 12 of the 15 member countries of the European
Union ( Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain).

• The euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency on 1

January 1999, replacing the former European Currency Unit (ECU) at a ratio of 1:1.

• The euro is the second largest reserve currency as well as the second most traded
currency in the world after the U.S. dollar.

• Euro coins and banknotes entered circulation on 1 January 2002.

 
 Competitiveness

• The adoption of the Euro removed the historical barriers to European

competition that resulted from different currencies and volatile exchange
rates.

• The single currency is forcing companies to adopt common performance

and reporting practices in all their operations from production to
marketing.

• The Euro made price variations transparent across the continent at both
wholesale and retail levels.

• Only cross -border price differences that are based on differences in the
costs of operation (production and marketing) in the various national
markets can now be sustainable.
• Many retail and wholesale prices are rapidly converging putting the profits
of manufacturers and retailers under pressure.

• Price competition has also increased due to rapid increase in e-commerce,

as consumers no longer have to visit other countries to take advantage of
price differentials.

• The introduction of euro is also forcing European companies to streamline

supply chains, consolidate production capacity, and develop integrated
product and market strategies.

• Only companies producing diverse and innovative products will prosper in

such an environment.
Thank You