Case Study

Harley Davidson Motor Company: Enterprise Software Selection

Analysis

Background:
Harley Davidson is most well known brand in the motor bikes industry !he company is well known for its heavy weight bikes and for a uni"ue design and style of their own !he fans of Harley Davidson are very loyal !hese fans keep the company active through the clubs and events Harley Davidson is an #merican based motorcycle manufacturing company !he company was established in $%&' (n the start the company has many rivals but the company turned out to be the survivor of the depression of the $%'&)s along with an (ndian company (n $%*' the (ndian company left and the Harley Davidson was the only motor cycle manufacturer left to serve the +nited ,ations Harley Davidson is a multinational company serving in countries like -rance. /ermany. +0 and 1apan !he company has employed appro2imately 3.&&& employees worldwide 45ikipedia6 ,ow Harley Davidson)s motorbikes compete with the international brands of various other companies from all over the world Harley Davidson is an e2perience of life time !he fans of Harley Davidson are ready to wait for two years even to get the bike 7ne of the Harley fan says: its all about independence. freedom. and power #nother fan says: four wheels move the body and two moves the soul !he company faced financial difficulties in the $%8&)s !he band of its own managers came to its rescue by buying the stock of the company ,ow a publicly owned company. Harley has scored double digit growth for eighteen consecutive years Harley transformed itself into a strong marketing company with a focus on lifestyle image and product "uality

(dentification of ma9or Enterprise #rchitecture (ssues:

#fter a thorough study of the case study and a deep contemplation of the issues ( have found the following issues: Expansion of the company No supply Chain Management Complex process and high costs Competition Human resources

Expansion of the company: (n $%%;&)s when the company was near bankruptcy< the ma9or reason identifies of this issue is considered to be the e2pansion of the company !he company has hired a lot of unnecessary human resources along with establishment of the new plants !his issue was addressed by focusing on the need of changing the whole process and cutting the costs of both human and material costs No Supply Chain Management: !he company revised the whole process of supply chain management !here company came up with the idea of outsourcing !his idea did not only cut the costs but also frees Harley Davison from lots of worry !his idea was shared through out the organi=ation and the human resource of the company was taken into confidence before renewing the whole strategy of the company Complex process and high costs !he process of making a motor bike was renewed !he basic part of making the raw materials was outsourced !he company decides to cut costs #lmost 8*> of costs are invested in the production sector !he company team assigned for the task breakdown the whole plan into simple small achievable sections !hese sections help to see things in particular and in general !his also shows that before venturing to take the action the company team did its complete homework Competition: Harley started working on si?)0 pro9ect when it was surrounded in the midst of international competitors like Honda. @amaha. and 0awasaki (t was important for the company to stand and fight against the competitors So when the company was trying to sell #M-< its own managers went out to buy the company stock

Human Resources: !he company team working on the si?)0 pro9ect is taken from all the departments !he human resources are considered to be the core of Harley Davidson Company !he resources are given due empowerment and are fully capable of bringing out the most reliable facts !he company sticks to its values !he company)s stood to keep the "uality intact and stood by their values is commendable 4Case study: !opic: -orming the !eam. page number 3 6

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Current Status of EA at Harley Davidson:

!hrough the incorporation of the si?)0 pro9ect. Harley Davidson Company is able to get back its image of the most aspired for bike of the +nited States #fter the successful implementation of the pro9ect. many companies followed the lead of the company !his helped Harley Davidson to cut costs and achieve its goals !he pro9ect helps the company to maintain strong relationships with the company !he Harley Davidson Company relied on the functions of the E# to e2ecute the si?)0 pro9ect

Conclusion:
!he si?)0 pro9ect is the fruit of thorough planning !he pro9ect also shows that while dealing in team pro9ects. the team when once made should be empowered to take all the decisions (t)s the selection of the right human resources that makes the pro9ect a success (f the goals are broken down into many small other subAgoals then it is easier to achieve goals !his also makes goals measurable !he pro9ect was a huge success !his pro9ect saved the company and moves the company into a new direction of self reliance and risk taking

Becommendations:
#lthough the pro9ect turns out to be a success. no pro9ect should be implemented on the whole organi=ation !his pro9ect would have taken less time and less financial support if implemented on one of the sites of the Harley Davidson)s company !he company can start a new pro9ect with more reliance on the process rather then people Centrali=ation in the team would have speed up the process

Beferences: Case study: Harley Davidson: Enterprise Software

http:DDwww uwosh eduDfacultyEstaffDwreschDHDSchmidt htm http:DDdevtrends blogspirit comDinde2A3 html http:DDdevtrends blogspirit comDenterpriseAarchitectureD http:DDen wikipedia orgDwikiDHarleyADavidsonFCurrentEmodelEdesignations