Publications

November 2019
Case

Hapag-Lloyd AG:Complying with IMO 2020

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emer Moloney

A new environmental regulation known as IMO 2020 was creating what one industry analyst called “the biggest shakeup for the oil and shipping industries in decades.” According to the new regulation, all ocean-going ships would have to limit their sulfur emissions by... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Ship Transportation; Strategic Planning; Game Theory; Pollutants; Supply Chain; Corporate Accountability; Capital Budgeting; Environmental Sustainability; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governance Compliance; Shipping Industry; Transportation Industry; Germany

2011
Book

The Ultimate Question 2.0: How Net Promoter Companies Thrive in a Customer-Driven World

By: Fred Reichheld and Rob Markey

Defines the fundamental concept of Net Promoter, explaining its connection to your company’s growth and sustained success.
*Presents the closed-loop feedback process and demonstrates its power to energize employees and delight customers.
*Shares new and... View Details

Keywords: Customer Centric Initiative; Customer Defection; Customer Engagement; Customer Experience; Customer Focused Organization; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Value and Value Chain; Network Effects

Find at Harvard

May 2011
Case

Baria Planning Solutions, Inc.: Fixing the Sales Process

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and William Schmidt

Baria Planning Solutions (BPS) is a consulting firm that specializes in using spend analysis to help companies identify savings through reduced procurement costs and improved supplier performance. Management is concerned about the disappointing performance of the sales... View Details

Keywords: Quantitative Analysis; Technology; Operations Management; Product Lines; Manufacturing; Capacity Planning; Production Planning; Production; Management Practices and Processes; Service Operations; Supply Chain Management; Salesforce Management; Planning; Consulting Industry; North and Central America

22 Feb 2022
News

An Rx for Small Business Recovery

business can get a loan.” Small Businesses Strengthen US Supply Chains The current global supply chain back-up underscores the importance of valuing and fostering small manufacturers and service providers.... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg

06 Dec 2021
News

Tipping Point

Illustration by Erin Robinson At one end of the global coffee supply chain are the diners who gather for brunch at the sidewalk tables outside Chloe’s Cafe in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood. Regulars there order the fluffy... View Details

Keywords: April White; Food Manufacturing; Manufacturing

23 Jul 2021
Blog Post

Trends in Consumer Products

Gold Medal Flour and Betty Crocker desserts, working with facilities as far away as Dubai. Those external supply chain decisions were sometimes very costly, so we had to carefully manage our profit impacts while trying to get as much... View Details

21 Aug 2017
Blog Post

From Germany to HBS

classroom truly becomes a magical place. While discussing a wide range of topics, from the strategy of Airbus to supply chain ethics in the Bangladeshi garment industry, you draw from each other’s experiences in frequently heated but... View Details

11 Feb 2016
Blog Post

First Came Love, then Came Business School

Native Canadians Jocelyne and Corey first met and fell in love when they were studying Mechanical Engineering at McMaster University in Ontario. While Jocelyne went on to work for PepsiCo in operations and supply chain roles after... View Details

01 Jun 2009
News

Big Bailouts, Little Debate

Congress for the authority to take them over, it was granted without much debate. I’ve spoken to almost every lawmaker, regulator, and executive who might have influenced that decision, and none indicated they lost much sleep over the choice. Yet the View Details

Keywords: Charles Duhigg; Finance; Administration of Economic Programs; Government

December 2015 (Revised February 2016)
Case

Ocado

By: José Alvarez, David E. Bell and Damien McLoughlin

In 2015, U.K.-based Ocado was the world's largest pure player in the online home-delivery grocery business and was gaining a growing share of the highly competitive U.K. grocery market. Ocado had made heavy investments in technology, including a highly automated... View Details

February 2003
Supplement

Silvio Napoli at Schindler India

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Presents an interview with Silvio Napoli on topics relating to his fit in the new job, his strategic plan for the new subsidiary, and the decision on sourcing and standardization. View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Strategic Planning; Business Subsidiaries; Supply Chain; Decisions; Personal Development and Career; India

29 Aug 2006
First Look

First Look: August 29, 2006

Using Judgmental Forecasts Authors:Vishal Gaur, Saravanan Kesavan, Ananth Raman, and Marshall L. Fisher Periodical:Manufacturing and Service Operations Management (forthcoming) Abstract Measuring demand uncertainty is a key activity in supply View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2022
Case

A Sweet Dilemma: Sourcing Palm Oil with Ferrero SpA and Nestlé

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

This case focuses on Ferrero SpA's sustainable palm oil sourcing strategy in light of its acquisition of Nestlé's U.S. confectionery brands, which in many ways does not comply with Ferrero's sustainable sourcing commitments. The case reviews Ferrero's rich family... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Supply Chain; Food and Beverage Industry

September 2019 (Revised July 2021)
Case

Port Competition in the Pearl River Delta

By: Willy Shih

This case examines the competition between ports and port operators in the Pearl River Delta over the last four decades. The cities surrounding the Pearl River estuary are the "workshop of the world," and the development of manufacturing in the region was heavily... View Details

Keywords: Trade Links; Global Business; Globalization; Trade; Supply Chain; Logistics; Transportation Industry; Asia; Hong Kong; China

August 2016 (Revised November 2019)
Case

Baskits Inc.

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Soon after Robin Kovitz (MBA 2007) acquired Baskits Inc., the largest gift basket company in Canada, she became convinced that the business needed to make significant operational improvements. In her first year as CEO, she introduced an ERP system to help with sales... View Details

Keywords: Production; Supply Chain; Performance Improvement; Consumer Products Industry; Canada

04 Oct 2021
Blog Post

Tapping into “Nontraditional” Private Equity and Venture Capital Talent at HBS

After a year and half as a Process Engineer at Exxon Mobil in Texas, followed by a year and a half working in supply chain optimization at Pinnacle Foods in New Jersey, Sheil faced a choice – begin her MBA now or pull one more lever of... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Venture Capital

December 2006
Case

Vipp A/S

By: Robert D. Austin and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Rapidly growing Vipp sells highly differentiated (and expensive) "designer" versions of a product that most buyers think about in purely functional terms: Trash bins. Examines how the company successfully produces and positions a trash bin so that it is regarded as an... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Creativity; Product Design; Luxury; Brands and Branding

January 1988 (Revised February 1991)
Case

International Sourcing at Intercon

Describes the many international sourcing initiatives in a multinational connector manufacturing company. Focuses on the domestic operations, international staff, and their initiatives to create cooperative links among and with independent subsidiaries. Students can... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Multinational Firms and Management; Supply Chain Management; Manufacturing Industry; Japan