Caused heavy issues warranty policy as a strategic variable marketing. Also raises some interesting questions regarding the role of the product in competition policy, questions of the product line, cross-functional coordination issues, and some of the ethical issues. Ford Motor Co, the third-largest industrial organization of America, faced with the question of how to respond to significant changes in the warranty policy and philosophy of its main competitor - General Motors. Ford executives realize that their decision will have consequences not only for sales, costs and profitability, but also for several departments (eg, production, quality control, spare parts and maintenance, and extended service plans) and their dealer networks. "Hide
by Melvin A. Menezes Source: Harvard Business School 18 pages. Publication Date: 05 Oct 1988. Prod. #: 589001-PDF-ENG