Publications

06 Nov 2012
News

Businesses face post-Sandy challenges

26 Feb 2022
News

The Future of the Supply Chain

07 Aug 2019
Video

Thinking secondhand first

August 2017 (Revised September 2022)
Case

Fuyao Glass America: Sourcing Decision

By: Willy Shih

In today's global economy, what are the factors that go into production location choice? This case is set in the world's second largest automotive glass producer as it expands from China into the United States. To meet a very aggressive cost target, management is faced... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chains; Globalization Of Supply Chain; Manufacturing Footprint; Manufacturing; Manufacturing Strategy; Global Strategy; Supply Chain; Globalization; Supply Chain Management; Production; Logistics; Strategy; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; China

04 Feb 2020
Video

Savannah Maziya

Savannah Maziya, the founder of South Africa-based Bunengi Holdings, recounts how her involvement in the mining industry naturally led to involvement in both infrastructure and agriculture as the business needed to supply logistics as well as food for its workers. View Details

2006
Chapter

History, Structure, and Practices: San Pedro Longshoremen in the Face of Change

By: Kathleen L. McGinn

Keywords: History; Practice; Organizational Structure; Change; Shipping Industry; Shipping Industry; Los Angeles

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2010
Book

The Big Ditch: How America Took, Built, Ran, and Ultimately Gave Away the Panama Canal

By: Noel Maurer and Carlos Yu

On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal was officially opened for business, thus changing the face of both world trade and military power and playing a pivotal role in the rise of the United States on the world stage. Today we view the creation of the Panama Canal as a... View Details

Keywords: Political History; For-Profit Firms; Development Economics; Infrastructure; State Ownership; Ship Transportation; Panama; United States

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August 2024
Case

Zipline: Expanding the World's Largest Autonomous Drone Delivery Network

By: Tarun Khanna and George Gonzalez

Zipline initially established the world's largest logistics network in Rwanda and Ghana by delivering medical supplies to hospitals via automated drones from a centralized hub. The company is now looking to expand to the U.S. home delivery market and designed a... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Logistics; Expansion; Air Transportation; Rwanda; Ghana; United States

February 2000 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Owens & Minor, Inc. (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem

A forward-thinking manager at Owens & Minor (O&M), a large national medical and surgical distribution company, enlisted the help of both logistics and cost managers to develop an innovative pricing schedule based on the customer's activities instead of the price of the... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Logistics; Distribution; Price; Supply Chain Management; Customer Relationship Management; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

January 2017 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Delivering the Goods at Shippo

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Jeffrey F. Rayport and Olivia Hull

Laura Behrens Wu, CEO of software start-up Shippo, prepares her pitch for a Series A funding round following a successful seed round. Customer adoption of Shippo’s e-commerce dashboard application, which allows small and medium retailers to compare delivery rates... View Details

March 2007 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Will RacingThePlanet Ltd. Reach the Finish Line?

Mary Gadams, founder and CEO of RacingThePlanet is facing one of the many logistical crises that her young Hong Kong-based venture faces as it stages its popular 4Deserts(tm) adventure marathon series in Atacama Chile, Gobi Desert Mongolia, Sahara Desert Egypt, and... View Details

Keywords: Global Range; Business or Company Management; Logistics; Entrepreneurship; Globalization; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Hong Kong; Egypt; Mongolia; Chile; Antarctica

November 1996 (Revised February 1997)
Case

Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Don Daniels

Opening up of Asian markets for U.S. produce provided an opportunity for large-scale producers to develop their own packing house and airline to ship their product to Asian markets. Teaching Purpose: How do farmers take a proactive strategy in reaching global produce... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Global Strategy; Air Transportation; Asia; United States

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04 Jan 2016
Video

HBS Operations Administrative Services

1998
Chapter

Economic Performance, Strategic Position, and Vulnerability to Ecological Pressures among U.S. Interstate Motor Carriers

By: Jack A. Nickerson and Brian S. Silverman

Keywords: Truck Transportation; Environmental Management; Competitive Strategy; Performance; Shipping Industry; United States

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April 2010 (Revised October 2010)
Case

Vale: Global Expansion in the Challenging World of Mining

By: Tarun Khanna, Aldo Musacchio and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

In 2009 the management of Vale, a Brazilian diversified mining company and the largest iron ore producer in the world, was under pressure from at least two fronts. First, the emergence of China as the most important consumer of iron ore in the last few years had... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Investment; Global Strategy; Risk Management; Market Entry and Exit; Business and Government Relations; Competitive Strategy; Mining Industry; Brazil