International Marketing Study Program 2002
Boeing, USA
25 January 2002
On arrival to the Boeing Corporation, Monica Schuster and Lewis Brinson, both of whom organised our visit, welcomed the group preparing us for the day's presentations. The first presenter Sherry Carbary (Deputy to the Vice President International Sales) provided a brief company overview to provide the group with an insight into one of the world's leading aerospace organisations. We discovered that despite the earthquake in Seattle in February, a slow economy and the events of September 11, Boeing was able to deliver solid results in 2001 totalling $58.2 billion up 13% from the previous year. Moreover Sherry emphasised that Boeing is currently experiencing major transformations from being a product/hardware orientated organisation to a global customer solutions provider aiming to deliver value for the 'new frontier'. This will be achieved by integrating four fundamental principles in every aspect of business, including customer, employee, investor and community satisfaction.
Fred Kelly (Director of Sales and Marketing Communications) discussed the critical importance of communications in the marketing and selling of aircrafts. He reported that it can take up to a decade to close a deal with an airline and therefore the critical success factor to survive in the industry is being flexible to adapt to dynamic changes in the environment, such as the case of 9/11.
Gordon McHenry (Director of Marketing Development) provided a detailed insight into the dynamics of the airline industry claiming that multiple forces drive it; such as passengers, regulation, airline capabilities and airline strategies. Gordon also provided informative comparisons with Boeing's major competitor - Airbus, providing an in-depth outline of the company's product strategy.
The last presenter Eric Fromm (Director of Business Strategy Commercial Airplane Services) detailed the lifecycle of an aircraft, discussing the creation and protection of aircraft value. Key stages in the lifecycle include training, logistics, maintenance and engineering.
Following the presentations, the group travelled to the Boeing mock up facility for lunch and to gain an insight into the psychology and ergonomics of the interior of both the Boeing and Airbus aircrafts. After experiencing economy class for so long, it was greatly satisfying to get a taste of the high life as we lounged in first class… even if it was only for a short moment. The visit concluded with a trip to the company's Everett Factory which is the world's largest building by volume, being the size of 11 baseball fields!! Gaining a look at how the planes we had been travelling on are constructed, finished off what had been a great day at our final company visit.
We take this opportunity to extend our gratitude for all the informative speakers and organisers involved in the visit. The visit will definitely be memorable and valuable for research projects at present and in the future.
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