Ford fuels outsourcing revolution

"Building cars is no longer core business," says Ford. "We may outsource our property management too."

"We want to be a leading services company, like BT, Dell or Microsoft," a Ford spokesman tells I-fm. "We're not just trialling the outsourcing of car manufacturing, but also looking at property management too."

The comments came as Ford announced it is to begin trials of outsourcing the manufacturing of its cars, aiming to reposition the company as a wider consumer brand.

One plant in Brazil is currently undergoing a move into outsourcing, with equipment suppliers taking over tasks such as body assembly and maintenance, and another first for Ford - property management may also be outsourced.

Speaking to I-fm about the change John Gardiner, Manager of Corporate Affairs at Ford's HQ, said: "We want to become the world's leading consumer company, benchmarking ourselves against the world's biggest & best service companies rather than traditional car manufacturers."

Ford already have between 40 and 60 percent of their components supplied by external manufacturers, and although the firm's manufacturing bases are all currently Ford owned and operated, such a massive shift away from its core business is bound to have implications across its worldwide business.

"Ford want to compete with companies such as Microsoft, Dell and BT," Gardiner added. "Instead of being a sole manufacturing company, we want to expand the brand to cover new areas, widening the focus so that car-making isn't the sole area we specialise in."

The announcement underpins the worldwide outsourcing revolution - where the world's biggest companies are often being seen as little more than a brand name of collection of brands.

There are currently no plans to introduce the outsourcing model to the UK, but don't be surprised to see major changes and opportunities at Ford in the near future…