Building the Boeing 787 Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Building the Boeing 787 Case Study - Essay Example It manufactures commercial aeroplanes, military jets, space shuttles and rockets. It has over the years produced a series of planes among them the latest project; the Boeing 787. This project was referred to as the 7E7 before being renamed the 787 in 2005. The plane has a similar size to the 767 with the overriding advantage over the former being its fuel consumption which is at 20% less. In addition to fuel efficiency, the 787 is credited with features like smooth nose shape, noise reducing chevrons and a four-panel windshield which are streamlined to reduce air resistance when airborne (Turner, 2010). This 787 project has not gone smoothly without operational hiccups; when the engineers came up with the first design, the plane said to have been overweight to the tune of 2,300kgs above the specified weight. This was however not all; there were 7 delays in the project process among them being an in flight fire on the Rolls Royce engine during testing. That not enough, just in the mon th of January 2012, the company reported numerous problems on some 787 fuselages. The effort and capital that was employed to come up with this latest machine is outrageous. Once the airline companies and other clients found the products offered by this company faulty, they claimed compensation which resulted in a dip in Boeing’s margins. Boeing’s corporate profile In terms of turnover, the company is among the largest in designing, assembly, selling and after-sales maintenance of aircrafts and other defence equipment. There are other companies within the European Union for instance the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) and French owned Dassault, who collectively share this global aircraft manufacturing business with Boeing. It is placed third, according to the latest estimations, in supply of defence systems and aerospace equipment with the biggest client being the American government. America continues to have interest in the management of the comp any because of the place it occupies in being part of its future ambitions in space exploration and general protection of the citizenry. The company, listed in the Dow Jones bourse, is America’s sixth largest exporter by product value. Good share prices at the listing helps it get more operational capital to finance its expansion strategies which is vital in an increasingly competitive market with new entrants like Embraer from Brazil. To add insult to injury, the year 2001 bombing of Twin Towers in New York dented the company’s revenue streams as the markets were down because of weak American economy. Such terrorist activities and general insecurity causes a fall in the number of airline passengers and increases fuel prices which are the two main problems associated with airline industry. Boeing global business model focuses on mass production of these plane components and defence equipment. It has a strong and well funded research and development department that look s into new technologies to tackle global communication problems. Its vitality as a producer of these important gadgets to the American government makes it look like a partner to the administration which funds some of its processes. In 2007, it partnered with NASA which is fully funded by the government to produce special parts of the Space Shuttle. By the year 2008, it topped the list of companies with the highest value