HARLEY DAVIDSON

Harley Davidson



Harley Davidson

Part 1:

The resurgence of Harley-Davidson was guided by a vision sensitive to customer is focused on partnerships, which identified that the company was and where it should forward its future. For many, the revival began with the creation of the Harley Owners Group (HOG, symbol, or group of owners of Harley-Davidson), in order to encourage loyalty and involvement of customers. Soon, the HOG has become the largest club of its kind in the world, bringing nearly 1 million members. The bike rides, meetings and events sponsored by the factory generate high visibility that can benefit both the marketing and service customer service, and position the brand as a choice associated with the lifestyle.

The second essential component of the Renaissance was the product launch further, that increased the emphasis on lifestyle. Extensions mark included upgrades and accessories: clothing for motorcyclists and apparel common household items and a series of badges played by "harleymaníacs. In 2006, sales of items such as accessories and other totaled $ 862 million, and general marketing accounted for an additional $ 277.5 million (total sales were U.S. $ 5.8 billion).

At the same time, Harley-Davidson began to diversify into activities next. The purchase of Eaglemark, renamed Harley-Davidson Financial Services (HDFS), allowed the company to offer insurance for motorcycles and extend lines of credit. The business unit is growing at a double-digit increasingly contributing to operating profits of the parent. Today customers can, for example, learning to ride a bike at a dealer's mark or rent a vehicle during a test period. The promotional activities include sponsorship from race to the supply of vehicles to escort the official policies of the ceremonies.

The transformation of the vision and the business can be understood through pictures. The organization before, and based on the hierarchical system of command and control, was replaced by a flatter structure and integrated with practices and procedures more flexible and inclusive. Harley-Davidson also renewed its corporate culture, but without the need to change everything. The values promoted by it, as truth, accuracy, integrity and respect for the individual, always worked, it was necessary to improve the management style. The company abandoned its focus on short-term goals and management vertical, with an eye on continuous improvement and commitment of employees with quality, productivity and innovation. Instead of occupying the role of antagonists, unions have agreed to act as partners and not missing at Harley-Davidson was room for improving relations. Since the early 1980s, the company was placed in a protective relationship with the regulators, taking advantage of his position as a national icon to contain, through obstacles, the advance of foreign competitors, especially Japanese. Two decades later, the world had changed and was very difficult to justify protectionist stance.

What's more, the World Trade Organization has condemned such tariffs and for the Harley-Davidson, it was appropriate to enter into more open and more fair. For this, it was necessary to have standards higher across the value chain. In order to reduce costs and improve its ...