Any consumer product needs a strong brand symbol because it helps consumers remember your product and it helps you stand out from your rivals by making it clear what you have to offer that makes you the superior option. In the auto industry, brand badges, particularly on cars, are the only identifiers apart from the design that are visible to the onlooker.
The blue oval badges that are placed on almost every Ford car for its namesake brand have been a significant element of recent supply chain issues for the company.
Both the nameplates that identify the model and the Ford emblems have been in short supply at the Detroit carmaker.
On Friday, citing unnamed sources, The Wall Street Journal was the first to reveal the issue, which included badges for its F-Series pickups.
According to the Journal, a Michigan-based company called Tribar Technologies, which has previously produced badges for Ford, was forced to restrict operations in August after telling Michigan regulators that it had dumped industrial chemicals into a nearby sewer system.
However, Ford Motor Co. on September 22 announced a management shuffle and the streamlining of its product development and supply chain units, days after flagging a likely inventory buildup of up to 45,000 cars that may lack certain parts.
The automaker said Chief Financial Officer John Lawler would take on the additional responsibility of overseeing the makeover of its global supply chain operations until it names a new supply chain chief.
US carmaker Ford is also preparing to cut several thousand jobs to reduce costs and intensify its transition to electric vehicles, US media reported on Wednesday.
The group is expected to announce the elimination of more than 4,000 jobs in the coming weeks, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited people close to the matter.
The factory workers are not expected to be affected, the report said.
