September 19, 2006

FORD merger with GM: Another Case In Point

A merger between U.S. giants promises to whip up financial disparities and meld balance sheets. Cash flow should be an intangible as long as at pertains to the 'mergers' future. Sales and Services; existing accounts have definite possibilities as tangible resources but future transactional promises are intangibles; promised only by sales presentations and slick marketing know-how to either-side; GM or Ford.
GM's sales, mostly to corporate buyers does not address quality, fuel efficiency and core engine technology. Check out this link:http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/gm_red_tag.html
Viewing the link below, one can see compromises and non-visionary tactics hopeful of painting a truthful future for Ford: "Analysts remain cautious about the F-150 given the competition from General Motors Corp.'s new Chevrolet Silverado pickup that will hit showrooms later this year, and Toyota Motor Corp.'s all-new Tundra pickup expected in early 2007."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060918.IBFORD18/TPStory/Business
What does a merger bring forward; the continued existance of one or the other's technologies, processes and governance structure. Since these groups are still competitors, their foundation or base business platform are different and dissimilar in all things factory, Information management and Information technology wise.

Yes, a production line (moving line) may have simmilarities but the processes are not mergable. Difference in technology; dissimilar database stores and platforms, customer services, supply-chain management and inventory, let alone financial accounting systems with major differences in accounting methods should be capable of merging separate processes and therefore, increase or keep the same, performance technology and methodology. History of mergers show just the opposite and disparate Information Management Systems do not help each other.

Two giants themselves, Microsoft and SAP would agree that there exists major platform challenges ahead. Both software companies will say that their systems are able and ready but in a manufacturing environment SAP has shown world-wide that its mySAP BI with Netweaver and BW are ways to the future. Microsoft speaks of it SQL 2005 database and XP Pro as a viable contender and preferred operational system. So, who makes the choices and are these choices based on truth, politics or a mixture of both.

Surely, for a successful merger that focuses on profits for all divisions and factories, the Unions would compromise and choose only a political solution for its technology infrastructure or will its once mighty hand settle for a pure technological solution?

I doubt that it will - History proves that technology after the industrial revolution is not their friend but a friend to the company executives. So, merging personalities, yada, yada, yada.

Merger's are a sales job and hungry for a survivor; together they may survive but the excrutiating pain comes after when the trucks, cars, production technology and comunications infrastructure deliver the best technologically designed platform that is capable to compete globally on terms of pollution quality and environmental design. Not far behind are components and materials manufactured and supplied. Are these lines of communication open to drastic changes which merger's hasten?

"Although Ford executives have said since January they plan to sell a subcompact car in the U.S. market, the company made clear last week that will not happen until 2009."
The finished product will conjure the best debates and money for continued research and may drive exceptional quality, but for how long and who cares?

Have you seen these cars during the '70's? Pieces of shit - no doubt!

My bets are on foreign exports as they ratchet up technology as they have for the last 3 decades; for outstanding flex fuel use, exceptional microprocessor steering and shifting controls, along with best-practices security and anti-collision avoidance systems, all in the name of pronounced customer satisfaction and truly environmentally friendly machines - bar none or should I say, the bar is raised and opened for service.

September 17, 2006

Boeing's Allan Mullaly: A Case In Point

Boeing's Allan Mullaly surely turned Boeing's Commercial Airplanes around. For two and a half years; I was there and saw first hand how it was done and why I know Mr. Mullaly will do good for Ford Motors. Despite Ford's reluctance and arrogance to not deliver globally competitive products to a base Ford thinks it knows best was the primary reason for losing cash flow.



Let's first look at Information Management
and then its technology in one brush stroke.

Do you have any idea how large the Network Infrastructure is within the BCA (Boeing Commercial Airpalnes) division of Boeing? It use to be 58,000 nodes. I saw somewhere that it is now 128K.
http://www.boeing.com/news/frontiers/archive/2005/april/i_ids3.html
Now, this is just one out of several divisions that Boeing owns. Then there are the global partners. As my job as Infrastructure Manager for BCA, my groups included scientists, SA's, dBA's, technical SME's, Financial and Business Managers, Analysts and Chief and Fellow Architects, which represented the Network Infrastructure Services which I facilitated for all of Boeing's Commercial Airplanes division.
http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2004/prod_071304.html?CMP=ILC-001
We handled global data distribution and had sufficient band-width because of innovative and proactive NOC personnel. Scoop up all the dark fiber and only light it when needed and off again when traffic subsides.

I wanted to go after them to do some business analyzing but I was thwarted by my good friend, the fellow architect, Craig Dupler. He was sure that the Network Operations Center, Large Lab, and Distributed Centers World-Wide was proactive. Because we were looking into these areas daily, I had no reason to dismiss his research. In fact, I later found that the NOC was indeed - way ahead of industry because of forethought and proactive processes.
http://www.northwestern.edu/observer/issues/2005/10/20/ford.html
Cost cutting was on the front burner; impose an Enterprise topology of WiFi, and look at SATCom as a potential backup service if needed. We has spinning globes up there to use, right? The offices and campus needed WiFi, but notably the greatest value for return on investment was within the factory walls. Compress this new technology and change out the way planes are manufactured by utilizing a 'moving line' using wireless tools. Savings? Big Time - Wireless' ROI 165% - Cost cutting of $2.2MM per yr. at an expenditure of just over $750K for implementation (hardware, security layered 128 bit over WAP / WEP). The moving line's ROI was into the several millions per plane and several more annually.

Then data stores; too much free space (white space) on servers hard drives. Take away the white space and use it for data. Cut down on the numerical number of servers; change out to more efficient hardware - less power consumptiom, etc.

Go to Microsoft to develop changes in their upcoming Long-Horn and have this consistency transfer to newer OS beta's that would benefit Boeing's way of doing business.

Other enterprise infrastructure demanded that all of Boeing's divisions deliver VOIP for telephony and video; inorder to adapt, Commercial Airplanes formed its own group to look into this Emerging technology; which I headed. My partner was a long-time Boeing employee and frankly, was a dead beat - Charles Green never offered to help me or steer me clear of unforeseen roadblocks or reefs that he surely knew were there. I took this virtual group of 50 active members on a fantastic ride - most of the technology that this group uncovered was implemented in one way or another. I was successful because of them. We produced tremendous effort and ROI for each technology implemented through project management and our ability to talk with each other as professionals.

Restructure not reengineer; A dismal failure was to re-engineer in the '80's and late 90's. But through examination, the internal and external processes the worker's used to service customer's, supply chain and partners were aligned for further cuts because of waste and needed mechnisms in place for delivering process improvements on a large scale. Process management and project management worked hand in hand; not withstanding ISO 20,000 for ITIL Library Framework or other series of ISO 90002 and Sigma Six (Black Belts) which were all designed for process improvments; ITIL Library Framework was a logical next step because existing processes were dumped into the framework and was used to streamline everything in IT. From portals to better servers, from our partners and supply chain - to inacting RFID for inventory; every thing was fair game to process manage.

Then partnerships were established in other countries for manufacturing airplane components like tails, and other parts - cutting off the supply which came from U.S. plants were now processes that went to global partners such as Russian Engineers and the plants their government set up to manufacture Boeing's parts. It was a vision that Mullaly and the Russian government had; without it - Russia would not purchase Boeing Airplanes. Many other countries had the same setup.

Finally, the final straw that broke the proverbial camel's back was the massive layoff's of over 55K to 65K skilled worker's. Wireless (WiFi) now campus wide, and in the factories was a large contributor to the worker's demise. So, the Machinist's Union worst fear materialized. There were several avenues to avert this catastrophy but that's another story.

Now, let me address briefly Ford Motor's tangled web of failure as an American citizen. In many parts of the country trucks are needed to do heavy tasks but that's not all. The majority of drivers thoughts and practices were never addressed by Ford. Ford took for granted the 'old' and mistakenly fragile adage, that if we build it, they will buy. Guess what - they were dead wrong.

Without substantial innovation like automatic steering control or traction control or for that matter better gas and diesel mileage with less emmisions, from their trucks and cars - global competition with these innovative ideas in place sucked the wind right out from under Ford.

Yes, the people base that Ford relied on as the 'dumb fucks', who will do anything we ask them too, did not respond to the new models, evident by the poor showing of financial profits, really gets to the heart of it all. Don't misjudge your clientel by treating them like they are dumb - even though, they maybe... treat them with respect and believe what they say and want and deliver it with creativity and innovative cost cutting ways.

Another point - the Union and Ford are so way outa touch - look at entry line level wages - $27.00 / hour. That's a joke - folks. Entry level - who do you think you are?

Ford! Is the business healthy? NO! So, do something about entry level wages. I'm not talking about skilled tool and die makers here, just the newbe, entry wage earner.

September 08, 2006

What Is Business Strategy?

Here he is today: a very happy and humbled man. The opportunities manifested; four fold.

What are the odds of having four (4) separate job interviews happening in the same week? That's what's happening baby.

The first one on Tuesday of this week (Sept. 5th) for an International Business Consulting firm. The second one on Wednesday (Sept. 6th) for the EPA. The third one on Thursday (Sept. 7th - Full Moon) and the fourth one on Friday (Sept. 8th), both the 7th and 8th as well as the 6th are for government entities.

The wonderful and yet perplexing point I wish to make is that during these times; the first as well as the second interviews were done and in each case I was the only person considered for the final interviews. I have been offered positions in each of the four different companies. How strange!

Now, which one am I going to choose? They all have different salary requirements; some lower and some higher than the others but one of the jobs is so cool; dealing with humanity. One deals with humanity but more educating and policing. The other one is managing 10-15 personnel which is all IT and strickly customer service. The one job that is high-visibility, has buuko bucks to pay me, yet 100% travel.

Here are my immediate goals: pay-off my bills, purchase a motor home, quit my job, write two books, at least, and tour America and Canada again, for three or four years then I'll be ready for retirement.


How very strange - as the increase of the moon (ascending) these jobs started to fall in place, then on the full moon day, the last interview was done. The remaining 2nd interviews were done on the decrease of the moon, (building root structures in the Hawaiian Calendar of Agriculture). We all use our own magic, trinkets and prayers; don't we?!

But the unfolding of events...isn't that magnificient.

Business is brighter again...but which one? Which one will I enjoy; truly enjoy performing?