Reverse Logistics Operations in the Ford Motor Co - Research Paper Example

Ford has always been credited with the manufacturing invention. Scone its founding in the late 19th century, the firms has been in the forefront of defining mass production. The founder of Ford, Henry Ford is credited to have been the inventor of the assembly line. With its over a hundred years in manufacturing automobiles and auto parts, Ford has come to know the importance of having a smooth supply chain and the logistics that goes into sustaining this supply chain. It is not just its supply chain; it is also about its reverse logistics which refers to the products or parts travelling backwards from the normal direction of the supply chain to the manufacturer.

Reverse logistics has a impact on a business. For instance, some finished products may reach the market but have a default, the reverse logistics that are required to return these products to the factory for the correction of the fault are always important. Ford realizes that there is a need to carefully and efficiently manage these reverse logistics. No matter what, the reverse logistics associated with the return of faulty products are an expense to any firms (Davis, 2012). Automobile manufacturers stand to incur an even bigger loss with such reverse logistics.

Many auto manufacturers have in the past found themselves in the situation where they need to reverse the logistics for a large number of logistics. For instance, the Japanese auto manufacturer has in the past needed to recall millions of cars after they have reached the market and a major fault is detected. For instance, there has been one of the cars from Toyota that had a fault with its acceleration and the fault had to be corrected back at their factories. Such reverse logistics cost the firm a lot of millions.

Ford realizes that such reverse logistics need to be managed in a serious way and should not be treated as a secondary logistics. They realize that