Motorcycle and financial services Essay Example for Free

Motorcycle and financial services Essay Abstract The strength of Harley-Davidsons brand and dominant market position give the firm a wide moat, in our opinion. However, weaker consumer spending and tight credit markets are presenting the firm with some significant near-term challenges. In addition, we believe the firm must carefully broaden the appeal of its brand to secure its long-term success. Harley-Davidson is a cult brand that resonates around the world. There are more than 1 million members of the Harley Owners Group, and every year several hundred thousand Harley fans attend biking events at Daytona, Fla. , and Sturgis, S. D. Its no wonder that over 50% of Harleys revenues are generated from repeat sales and these sales are at premium prices to other motorcycle brands. In addition, with almost a 50% share of the U. S. market, Harley also achieves economies of scale greater than most of its competitors. A Harley is not just a bike it is an investment. brand loyalty, its economies of scale, and its network of mostly exclusive dealers have created significant barriers to entry, and as a result, Harley has achieved historical operating margins of over 20% and returns on invested capital of over 40%, excluding the financial services segment. JIT Principles JIT is an operational strategy which helps in making inventory levels lean. An organisation which goes for synchronous manufacturing incorporates JIT to have lower inventory levels. Synchronous manufacturing encompasses techniques of JIT to achieve the target. Organisations which have implemented JIT and are using synchronous manufacturing have a very lean system. It has minimum wastage and the highest possible quality. These organisations are cost effective and generally have higher margins than their competitors. This results in higher level of efficiency in the organisation and a better work environment. BPI helps in management of inventory and related operations. It is very important that organisation understand the importance of new methods and reengineer their processes in line with the requirements. The minimum level of inventory which is required as WIP is determined by the organization and then control efforts are put in so that there is always the minimum level available and it would never cross the maximum level. This is done because one cannot hold high levels of inventory because it comes at a very high cost and is an occupational and can be a operation hazard. The strength of Harley-Davidsons brand and dominant market position give the firm a wide moat, in our opinion. However, weaker consumer spending and tight credit markets are presenting the firm with some significant challenges and we believe the firm must carefully expand the appeal of its brand to secure its long term success. Harley-Davidson is a cult brand that resonates around the world. There are more than 1 million members of the Harley Owners Group, and every year several hundred thousand Harley fans attend biking events at Daytona, Fla. , and Sturgis, S. D. Its no wonder that over 50% of Harleys revenues are generated from repeat sales and these sales are at premium prices to other motorcycle brands. In addition, with almost a 50% share of the U. S. market, Harley also achieves economies of scale greater than most of its competitors. The intensity of the firms brand loyalty, its economies of scale, and its network of mostly exclusive dealers have created significant barriers to entry, and as a result, Harley has achieved historical operating margins of over 20% and returns on invested capital of over 40%, excluding the financial services segment. Despite its strong brand, sagging consumer spending on high-ticket items is likely to continue to depress volumes in the near term, and we expect the economic downturn to prolong the period of failing sales through 2010/11. The firm has already cut production in an attempt to trim costs in line with faling demand. in addition, just over half of Harleys motorcycle revenues are derived from retail sales made on credit. We think that the lack of available funds on the wholesale markets and the shrinking of the number of qualifying customers will make it difficult for the companys financial services division to continue to support retail sales by providing credit to customers. Harley must address some long-term challenges. The firm has been focused on a narrow demographic group (around 89% of customers are male) and the median age of Harleys customers has been on a long-term upward trend. We believe that the firm must find ways to broaden the appeal of its brand without alienating its core customer base. Harley has grown in recent years in the international market , and revenues generated abroad have risen to 25% of total revenues in 2007 from 19% in 2004. Although the firm has recently introduced a performance motorcycle for the European market, I think that it may find it difficult to deliver customized products for overseas markets while supporting its brand franchise. Risk Harleys revenues could be severely hurt by a further weakening of the global economy and increased reductions in consumer spending on high-ticket discretionary items, and the firm may not be able to securitize its receivables if the asset-backed security market is slow to recover. Harleys sales are focused on a thin demographic segment: 35- to 54-year-old males. In our opinion, the firm must broaden its appeal in order to secure its long-term profitability, but any missteps in marketing its products to other demographic segments could damage the brand. Harley-Davidsons brand resonates around the world, and it has particular strength in its key target market of 35- to 54-year-olds. Â  Historically, Harley has generated free cash flow at around 15% of revenues, allowing the firm to develop a strong track record of returning cash to shareholders through dividends and stock repurchases. Â  Through the downturn, Harleys management has been careful to maintain spending on research and development and marketing, important steps in maintaining the strength of the brand, in our opinion. The firm has worked successfully with its network of dealers to significantly reduce dealer inventory over the last 12 months. Â  Harleys core demographic, the baby boomer generation, is aging, and thats likely to reduce demand for Harleys products in the future. In order to mitigate the negative impact on revenues, the firm must improve its penetration in other segments. * Harley is likely to continue to face some severe short-term head winds, with anemic consumer spending likely to hurt revenues through 2010. The large inventory of used Harley motorcycles is likely to contribute to Harleys near-term challenges, as a greater number of under-pressure consumers may opt for a cheaper used model in the secondary market. Â  The turmoil in the credit markets is likely to raise the cost of the short-term capital required to fund HDFS. Â  Despite raising the retail rate on its loans, I expect the operating margins of HDFS to come under severe pressure through 2009. HDFS may also find it difficult to raise financing for retail credit in the wholesale markets. This could restrict the number of loans the firm can make to customers and thwart the firms attempts to support retail sales volumes. Inventory Management in Harley Davidson Growth: Historically, the strong spending power of the baby boomers, Harleys core demographic, has been favourable for the motorbike manufacturer. As the baby boomers age, however, I expect slowing domestic revenue growth to be only partially mitigated by international expansion. Profile: Harley-Davidson is the worlds leading manufacturer of heavyweight motorcycles, parts, and accessories. It sells the Softail, Sportster, Dyna, Touring, and VRSC models under the Harley-Davidson name, and it also manufactures the Buell brand. Harley-Davidson Financial Services provides wholesale financing to dealers and retail financing and insurance brokerage services to customers. Strategy: Harley leverages its strong brand to sell a broad range of motorcycling-related products. The firm is attempting to broaden its appeal to more demographic groups by expanding its product line-up. It is also focused on international expansion, and it has introduced a new performance-based bike in an attempt to increase its share in overseas markets. Management: I think the quality of corporate governance at Harley-Davidson is above average. I applaud the firm for splitting the chairman and CEO roles between two individuals, although I am concerned that the relationship between the two individuals serving in these roles may weaken the chairmans ability to provide independent oversight. CEO James Ziemers career at Harley blossomed under the leadership of former CEO and current Chairman Jeffrey L. Bluestein. In addition, although nine of the firms 12 directors meet the NYSE definition of independent, a total of six of them have served on the board for over a decade, and I believe that their long-term relationships with management, together with some related-party transactions, may further compromise their independence. Having said that, the Harley-Davidson board does contain a solid range of legal, accounting, and executive experience. Management compensation is skewed to long-term incentive components, and I think that this aligns the interests of the management team with those of shareholders. The firm has a strong track record of returning cash to shareholders, both through dividend disbursements and share buyback programs. Harley Reports Lower 3Q Earnings I am leaving our fair value estimate for Harley-Davidson in place following the release of third-quarter earnings, which were in line with our expectations. Revenue fell 8% year over year, to $1. 42 billion, as the economic downturn hurt retail sales volume, which declined 14%. The bright spot was international sales, but only a small part of the 11. 3% rise in international revenues was attributable to volume increases; most of the increase was caused by favourable currency movements. At Harley-Davidson Financial Services, the customer finance division, third-quarter earnings fell 28% from the same period last year, to $35. 6 million, because of lower securitization income and the write-down of some finance receivables held for sale. I was pleased to note that the firm is being proactive in securing alternative sources of funding for the finance division, in the event that it cannot raise funds in the unsecured debt market. However, we expect that Harleys funding requirements would be met comfortably by its bank credit facility, if required. Supply side Economic Scenario Given the continued macroeconomic deterioration and tightness in credit markets, I am raising our fair value uncertainty rating for Harley-Davidson. The companys growth has decelerated during the last three years, and year-over-year shipments were down 15% last quarter. In addition, we see significant downside risks to the contribution from Harley-Davidson Financial Services. Last quarter, financial services income was down 43% because of a $20 million reduction in securitization gains. Financial income was also affected by a $6 million write-down in retained securitization interests. Since that time credit markets have seized up, and its likely the firm will report increasing charge-offs on consumer loans in the coming quarters. Summary Business process reengineering is very critical for companies and industries which survive on innovation. Sometimes there are cases when old processes in the company are dying and their is a pressing need to rejuvenate then. This process of is known as business process reengineering. A company that does not innovate dies out in the market. Old operations over time die down and new process needs to be rebuilt into the system. This is where the concept of business processes engineering is very critical. The objective of the paper is to critically evaluate symptoms which suggests organisation to go for business process reengineering then come up with one of those symptoms and write a detailed analysis of it. References: http://www. emeraldinsight. com. / Gao, F, Li, M. Clarke, S. (2008). Knowledge, management, and knowledge management in business operations. Nonaka, I. (2005). Knowledge Management: Critical Perspectives on Business and Management. Taylor Francis. Tait, A Richardson, K. A. (2010). Complexity and Knowledge Management Understanding the Role of Knowledge in the Management of Social Networks. IAP Goldman, A. (n. d. ). Eliminating Bottlenecks. Retrieved 28th March, 2011, from http://www. gaebler. com (n. d. ). Retrieved Mar 27th, 2011, from Customer Relationship MAnagement: http://www. customerthink.com (n. d. ). Retrieved Mar 27th, 2011, from More is not value Proposition: http://sinekpartners. typepad. com Auction site. (n. d. ). Retrieved MAr 27th, 2011, from Harley Davidson Value: http://harleyauctionsite. com Harley Davidson USA. (2011, MAr 27). Retrieved Mar 17, 2011, from Harley Davidson: http://www. harley-davidson. com Impact Factory. (2010, Feb 2nd). Retrieved mar 27th, 2011, from http://www. impactfactory. com http://www. h-dsn. com/genbus/links. jsp Management Research Review. (2000) Johan Van Nimwegen, Brian H. Kleiner, Volume 23 issue 7/8.

Supply Chain Management :: Business Case Studies Essays

In this competitive world every organization is striving hard to be at the top in its own field. The competition in the business environment has become intense. The winds of change are blowing in purchasing and supply. And it is one of the areas that the organisations look into for achieving competitive advantage. The changes in conformance quality standards, JIT approaches to material availability, long term relationships with fewer suppliers and a win-win approach to negotiations have helped organisations to survive and succeed in a very competitive world. It's every organisations dream to have a low cost supplier and a low cost service provider to its customers. In this changing world of competition, globalisation, innovation and technology all organisations are thriving to re-engineer their business processes to achieve a competitive edge over others. These changes have led the organisations to cost effectiveness aspect in every department of business especially supply, purchasing, distribution and management. In terms of tough competition organisations offer similar products in terms of quality, price and features. Customer service differentiation can provide an organisation with a distinct advantage over the competition. The level of service provided to functions such as marketing and production affects the organisations ability to serve the need of the customers. The organisation can achieve competitive success if they satisfy the customers through their services effectively and efficiently. This is achieved if they are capable of retaining their customers. A greater customer satisfaction is achieved by a superior service provided by the organisation. This is achieved if the business functions are well defined and are supported by other functions. This report gives an insight about the various aspects of supply chain management and operational management and also the important strategies involved. It also explains the importance of managing the supply chain in the business perspective. v Before proceeding further its important for us to know what supply chain is and what supply chain is about? Supply chain: In an industrialized or non-industrialized society goods are physically moved from production area to the service area. This exchange takes place when there is discrepancy between the amount and type of goods available and the goods needed. If there is surplus amount of goods in organisation that someone else needs, becomes a basis for exchange. This gives rise to channels where there is an exchange between producers and consumers. The alignment of firms that bring products and services to market is called supply chain.

Henry VII and Retaining Essay

Retaining involved magnates taking men into their service, generally involving the payment of fees and sometimes the granting of a distinctive badge or uniform (livery). This practice served the king, in that it allowed him to recruit armies more easily, by making contracts with leading magnates who then provided their retinues for service with the king’s army for a specified time. However, it did allow magnates to retain what were, in effect, ‘private armies’ and, at this could be very detrimental to public order. Thus, kings grew increasingly concerned to control the practice. The major statute of the fifteenth century which tried to limit it was Edward IV’s statute of 1468. This outlawed some forms of retaining, but implicitly allowed others by stating (vaguely) that no unlawful retaining was allowed. In practice, retaining continued after Bosworth. Henry VII’s Attempts to Control Retaining In 1486, Henry persuaded both Houses of Parliament to take an oath promising that they would not retain unlawfully. In all, Henry’s parliaments passed four acts relating to retaining, but three of these did little to change the position that had existed since 1468. According to Chrimes, Henry wished to maintain the practice of retaining, but ‘only so that he himself got the benefit of it for his own purposes’. Chrimes also noted that he sought to repress it ‘insofar as its practice by his subjects redounded to the public disadvantage and the corruption of public order’. Thus, Henry never intended totally to end the practice of retaining, but he did intend to control it. The most significant of Henry’s acts relating to retaining was 19 Henry VII c.14 (1504), which stated that retaining, other than of household servants, was illegal. According to Cameron, this act represented the first occasion  upon which the right of a nobleman to retain was called into question. The act did, however, allow Henry to grant licences to individuals to retain. There are few examples of such licences, but recent research suggests that they were granted to crown stewards and other officials entrusted with the management of royal estates. Prosecutions For Illegal Retaining There were a number of prosecutions before the court of King’s Bench for illegal retaining under Henry VII, e.g.: 1491 – Sir Nicholas Vaux prosecuted for illegally retaining 5 men 1504 – the earl of Northumberland was indicted for illegal retaining (the case was dismissed) There were also some high profile cases later in the reign, e.g. involving the prosecution of Henry’s ally, the earl of Oxford and Lord Burgavenny, who was heavily fined in 1507 for keeping an illegal retinue in Kent (Burgavenny had a long history of violent disorder in Kent).

Social Provincial Exam - 3766 Words

Social Studies 11 Examination Booklet 2008/09 Release Exam DO NOT OPEN ANY EXAMINATION MATERIALS UNTIL INSTRUCTED TO DO SO. FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS REFER TO THE RESPONSE BOOKLET. Contents: 21 pages 55 selected-response questions 2 written-response questions Examination: 2 hours Additional Time Permitted: 60 minutes  © Province of British Columbia PART A: SELECTED RESPONSE Value: 70% Suggested Time: 50 minutes INSTRUCTIONS: For each question, select the best answer and record your choice on the Response Booklet provided. Using an HB pencil, completely fill in the bubble that has the letter corresponding to your answer. You have Examination Booklet Form A. In the box above #1 on your Response Booklet, fill in the†¦show more content†¦A. B. C. D. Workers wanted better wages. Veterans demanded war pensions. Women were seeking better employment opportunities. Unemployed men were protesting work camp conditions. 18. Which of the following was an outcome of many residential school programs? A. B. C. D. They prepared youths for university. They contributed to the banning of the Potlatch. They increased understanding of Aboriginal culture. They alienated Aboriginal children from their families. 19. What allowed Canadians to invest in the stock market during the 1920s? A. B. C. D. inflation laissez-faire protectionism buying on margin Page 6 Social Studies 11 – 2008/09 Release Exam 20. Which of the following events is associated with the Persons Case? A. B. C. D. the arrest of the Famous Five the appointment of a female Senator the election of a woman as a Member of Parliament the creation of pay equity between women and men 21. Which of the following describes a change brought about by the Statute of Westminster? A. B. C. D. Britain could no longer control Canada’s foreign policy. Canada could amend its constitution without British approval. 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