2015/6/27「福特成立大數據部門，不只賣車更賣移動經驗」

福特成立大數據部門，不只賣車更賣移動經驗

摘錄自：NEO數位行銷學習報 電子報       2015/6/4

撰文者：李欣宜 發表日期：2015/06/02

福特今年在車聯網領域動作頻頻，年初先在CES上宣佈智慧移動藍圖，在全球推出25項革新實驗，範圍涵括自動停車、汽車共享、遠端定位、自動車、無人車、大數據...等科技趨勢，在北美、歐非、亞洲與南美進行。上禮拜在亞洲CES上又宣布與台達電和海爾合作福特智慧生活計畫，讓智慧家庭的能源應用達到最佳化。

福特全球智慧移動實驗計畫

福特研議與政府合作紓解雪隧車潮？

隨著全球市場的車子消費量逐漸達到飽和，福特扮演的角色不再只是車廠，而更像是移動方案解決提供商。福特全球研究發展中心未來交通規劃亞太項目主管謝茜燕表示，例如最近福特正在與台灣交通相關單位討論如何紓解雪隧每逢週末必塞車的問題，在無法擴建隧道的前提下，福特是否有可能根據即時車流量與人潮量等數據，動態調整往返台北宜蘭的巴士間距，而乘客過了雪隧之後若要各自前往不同目的地，又該如何將每個乘客分別送到不同目的地。雖然雙方合作尚未拍板定案，但從這個案例便可以得知，福特雖不見得是巴士製造業者，但卻可能是提供移動解決方案的顧問。

謝倩燕表示，福特因應車聯網時代的三大策略為：推出更多環保車種、持續開發最方便好用的車子共享系統以及電動車，電動車目前最大的障礙是基礎建設，而無人車可能還要五年才會真正面市。

福特的大數據策略：移動公司

「以前福特是車廠，現在的福特還是一家移動公司。」謝倩燕說。福特去年12月正式成立大數據分析部門，將各部門的數據分析人員聚集在一起，希望用數據的力量找到汽車產業的未來，汽車上的攝影機、感測器和雷達產生的數據量，已經達到每小時250GB的規模。

謝倩燕表示，將來人們上下班的模式不可能是用一輛車從一個點到另一個點，整個城市會有許多不同的交通方式，這裡面不會只有福特，福特只是一小部分，其他還會有公車、地鐵、自行車等不同交通工具，因此福特正在研究人們在什麼樣的情境下喜歡什麼樣的交通方式，而每個人的想法和態度都會影響做出不同的選擇。

而大數據在福特的智慧移動藍圖中扮演非常關鍵的角色，謝倩燕指出，未來的世界是車、人與建築物之間都會相互溝通，這當中若沒有數據就無法成真，但若只靠福特產生的數據是絕對不夠的，例如路況數據就非常需要與政府合作。

（圖說：福特全球研究發展中心未來交通規劃亞太項目主管謝茜燕主要負責福特亞太區的移動解決方案以及大數據研究。照片來源：李欣宜攝。）

福特最大挑戰：數據採集

車廠在應用大數據時最大的挑戰，謝倩燕認為就是採集數據，許多數據光靠福特本身無法獲得，最關鍵的是要搜集什麼數據以及要拿這個數據做什麼事，而且車子的數據常常牽涉到隱私問題，福特必須非常嚴肅面對。

福特的大數據應用在車子共享計畫、疏通城市交通以及車險上，不同的城市有不同的模式。例如停車在倫敦是一個大問題，福特就必須保證駕駛人在還車時可以輕易地找到停車位，而在印度社區，因為不是人人都買得起車，因此福特因地制宜推出社區車子共享計畫，由幾個特定的人分享一台車，分攤支出。

2014/1/20 「挖角失敗 微軟下任執行長難產」

挖角失敗　微軟下任執行長難產

摘錄自：天下雜誌 經濟學人電子報                        2013/1/17

2014-01-10 Web only 作者：經濟學人

圖片來源：flickr.com/photos/michigancommunities/

福特汽車執行長穆拉里（Alan Mulally）再也不必處理那個煩擾了他好幾個月的問題：他會不會離開福特，成為微軟的新任執行長？答案是：不會。

微軟執行長巴默（Steve Ballmer）計畫於8月退休，穆拉里則是最有可能的接任人選。穆拉里、福特和微軟數月來一直迴避此問題，而此問題很有可能掩蓋福特在北美國際汽車展中的光芒。這或許解釋了為何穆拉里終於在星期二的訪談中表示，他不會離開福特。

穆拉里接任福特執行長之時，福特正面臨極為嚴峻的挑戰；他上任後的第一項任務，就是宣佈福特史上最嚴重的虧損。但在福特的管理層週會上，所有的新管理者都強調一切正常；穆拉里這才了解，福特那高度政治的文化，讓高層管理者難以承認問題，解決此事也成為他的首要目標。到了下一次週會，當時的福特北美總裁費爾茲（Mark Fields）舉起手，報告新產品推出的問題，穆拉里給出肯定的回應，促使其他高層管理者報告他們遇到的問題。

沒多久之後，穆拉里就得簽署費爾茲等高層人員的計畫，抵押公司的一切以取得數十億資金，讓公司得以渡過嚴重衰退；事後證明，這個決定極具先見之明，福特是唯一一間避免破產命運的底特律汽車製造商。

穆拉里的另一項重要決定，就是創造了「一個福特」策略，出售旗下所有的非核心高階品牌，並將相對獨立的區域業務，整合為真正的全球化產品開發及製造系統。其成果十分豐碩；穆拉里上任後，福特已創造329億美元的稅前淨利。

微軟並未公開討論巴默的接任人選，但報告亦指出，微軟將一個福特視為對抗蘋果、Google等競爭對手的模範。分析師和投資人似乎同意這樣的看法：穆拉里留任福特的消息傳出後，微軟的盤後股價下滑，福特則上升。

事實上，穆拉里或許不會在福特久留。2012年末，他將費爾茲升為營運長，並將日常營運交給費爾茲，自己則將心力放在長期策略之上。費爾茲得處理品質評等下滑、2014預估利潤下滑等問題，處理是否得當，將決定費爾茲有沒有機會成為穆拉里的接班人。（黃維德譯）

©The Economist Newspaper Limited 2014

經濟學人英文原文

The Economist

Ford Motor Company

Mulally ends his dilly-dally

By The Economist

From The Economist

Published: January 10, 2014

Jan 8th 2014, 16:14 by P.E. | DETROIT

EXPECT to see Alan Mulally, boss of Ford Motor Company, wading through a crowd of journalists next Monday, as he unveils a new version of the firm's big F-Series pickup truck to kick off the North American International Auto Show. Amid the hubbub, the one question he will not have to deal with is the one that has been dogging the 68-year-old executive for months: will he be leaving for a new job as chief executive at Microsoft? He will not.

A long-time executive at Boeing, Mr Mulally was seen as the front-runner to replace the software giant's outgoing boss, Steve Ballmer, who plans to retire by August. Mr Mulally, along with Ford and Microsoft, had been dodging the issue for months, and it threatened to overshadow Ford's big announcement at the Detroit show. This may explain why he finally opened up on Tuesday in an interview with the Associated Press. "I would like to end the Microsoft speculation," he declared, "because I have no other plans to do anything other than serve Ford." Asked directly whether this meant he was going to remain at Ford as planned, Mr Mulally added that, "You don't have to worry about me leaving."

With an aw-shucks manner and the boyish looks of a schoolkid from his native Kansas, Mr Mulally seemed an unlikely choice to be the carmaker's chief executive when Bill Ford, a family heir, decided to relinquish the role in 2006. Mr Mulally, who trained as an aeronautical engineer and was heading Boeing's commercial aircraft operations, certainly could not have chosen a more challenging moment to move to Detroit. Like its cross-town rivals, General Motors and Chrysler, Ford was haemorrhaging cash and one of the new chief executive's first jobs was to announce the biggest loss in the firm's history.

Yet, during the company's regular weekly management meeting, all his new managers insisted everything was fine. Ford's highly political culture made it dangerous for an executive to admit to trouble, Mr Mulally realised. Fixing that became a priority. By the next Thursday meeting, things began to change. Mark Fields, then Ford's president of the Americas, raised his hand to report a problem with a new product launch. "Good exposure," Mr Mulally responded, triggering other executives in the room to reveal issues they also were facing.

Things were about to get tougher. Mr Mulally soon had to sign off on a plan devised by Mr Fields and several other top executives to raise billions in cash, which they hoped would see the firm through a deep recession. But it meant mortgaging everything the company owned, even its Blue Oval logo. It proved to be a prescient move. The anticipated downturn was far deeper than anyone expected. With its cash line, Ford was the only Detroit maker to avoid bankruptcy—something analysts say has helped both its reputation and sales.

Mr Mulally's other big move was creating the One Ford strategy. This meant selling off the carmaker's non-core luxury brands, including Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin, while consolidating a network of relatively independent regional operations into a truly globalised product development and manufacturing system. The payoff has been handsome, helping to generate $32.9 billion in pre-tax profits since Mr Mulally came to Michigan.

Microsoft has not publicly discussed the candidates it has interviewed to replace Mr Ballmer. Nonetheless, reports suggest the company saw One Ford as a model for rallying its own balkanised operations against competitors like Apple and Google. Analysts and investors seemed to agree: Microsoft's stock slid in after-hours trading when word got around that Mr Mulally was staying put. Ford shares rose.

In fact, he may not be around much longer in any case. In late 2012, he promoted Mr Fields to chief operating officer and handed day-to-day running of the firm to him. Mr Mulally, meanwhile, is focusing on longer-term strategic issues. And there are plenty of challenges for him to ponder, including a late start in booming China.

In his new role, Mr Fields will be addressing issues such as Ford's recent decline in quality ratings, as well as a forecast decline in 2014 profits. How he handles these challenges will determine whether he gets a shot at the top job when Mr Mulally finally decides to retire.

©The Economist Newspaper Limited 2014