Team Members
Team Awards
The 2013 INFORMS Prize is awarded to Ford Motor Company for the outstanding widespread use and influence of Operations Research throughout the company. Ford not only perfected the moving assembly line but also brought O.R., management science, and financial discipline to the company early on, helping to transform it into a data-driven and successful modern organization.
Ford’s focus on data-driven decisions was reinforced with the arrival in 2006 of CEO Alan Mulally, who guided the company’s restructuring. Analytical tools and the Analytics/O.R./M.S. team supported many decisions in this period, and a number of critical applications were developed: a dealer vehicle recommendation system; a detailed econometric model enabling the study of what-if analyses of inventory, production, pricing, and sales; and a strategic sourcing model to restructure the auto interiors division.
Analytics, O.R., and M.S. form a large, important, and vital activity in Ford, with hundreds of practitioners on three continents. Analytics is applied in Marketing and Sales, Ford Credit, Product Development, Corporate Economics, Human Resources, Material Planning and Logistics, and a number of other organizations at Ford. Its impact is measured not only in over $100 million of annual profit that analytics applications enable, but also in the major strategic and tactical decisions it supports. The level of engagement by senior executives and support of the analytics work inside the company is impressive.
By awarding the 2013 INFORMS Prize to Ford Motor Company, INFORMS recognizes Ford Motor Company’s widespread application of innovative, world-class Operations Research.