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Ford Chosen as a Best Practices Company

26 March 1999

Ford Chosen as a Best Practices Company

    DEARBORN, Mich., March 25 -- Ford Motor Company was
one of six companies recognized as a "Best Practices" company by the American
Productivity and Quality Center (APQC).  Ford was honored for its innovative
performance in creating a knowledge sharing culture at an APQC conference in
Houston, Texas.
    APQC is considered the industry leader in knowledge management (KM),
setting the standard for identifying and sharing innovative practices and key
trends in KM through benchmarking studies, publications, research, training,
and conferences.
    "Ford has been recognized for its excellent knowledge management
capabilities," said Bud Mathaisel, chief information officer, Ford Motor
Company.  "Extensive use of the Internet is helping drive change in how Ford
does business."
    Ford was selected based on findings from site visits from APQC staff,
questionnaires, and a vote that was conducted in which representatives from 18
companies participated.  Based on the results APQC determined Ford is a leader
with respect to knowledge management.
    Ford uses the Internet both externally and internally as an opportunity
for improving its ability and effectiveness in sharing information and
developing new tools for capturing information and developing long-term
relationships with its customers.  "The Internet gave us the power to harness
the power of information and data through its ubiquity and ease of use,"
Mathaisel said.
    Ford's web strategy, adopted in 1996, includes an overall objective to
move to the Intranet as a way of doing business -- and to create a single
point of contact for knowledge.  "Ford recognized in early 1996 that the
repositories of information being acquired by individuals could be better
managed by the use of web technology," Mathaisel said.  "In September 1996,
Ford became the first automotive manufacturer to offer a fully integrated,
multi-lingual web site when it launched web sites in more than 50 countries on
the external Internet."
    APQC defines best-practice companies as companies which tie the sharing of
knowledge to their business strategy; build a culture that supports the
sharing of knowledge; build awareness among employees on the value of
creating, sharing and using knowledge; develop and maintain human networks
that share current knowledge and create new knowledge; share knowledge
regardless of proximity through virtual collaboration and decision making; and
address the social side of information technology.