Publications

24 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

These Coronavirus Heroes Show Us How Crisis Leadership Works

their companies. If ever there was a time for leaders to be authentic, this is it. They need to be humble, open, and realistic about the health care and logistical challenges they are facing while using the best scientific and technical... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Health

March 1993 (Revised April 1995)
Case

IBM After-Sales Service

By: Janice H. Hammond

IBM has established a service delivery system to provide service and maintenance parts for its installed base of computers. The case outlines the competitive pressures IBM faces from alternative providers of maintenance services (e.g. other OEMs, third-party... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Service Operations; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Logistics; Operations; Distribution; Customer Focus and Relationships; Competitive Strategy; Computer Industry

28 Nov 2011
Research & Ideas

Rethinking the Fairness of Organ Transplants

typically need to be transplanted within 36 to 48 hours, otherwise they begin to deteriorate, so recipients who live close to the source of the donated organ often are logistically preferable. Another difficulty: waiting lists can be much... View Details

Keywords: by Dennis Fisher; Health

Article

Managing Climate Change: Lessons from the U.S. Navy

By: Forest Reinhardt and Michael W. Toffel

The U.S. Navy operates on the front lines of climate change. It manages tens of billions of dollars in assets on every continent and on every ocean, which take many years to design and build and then have decades of useful life. This means that it needs to understand... View Details

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24 Sep 2007
Research & Ideas

The FDA: What Will the Next 100 Years Bring?

world's premier regulator of food, drugs, cosmetics, and other products and also of helping to lead the transformation of medicine to a molecular level. Current logistical challenges include ever-more rapid movement of products across... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Biotechnology; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage; Health

December 18, 2023
Article

Are Everywhere Stores the New Face of Retail?

By: David R. Bell, Santiago Gallino and Antonio Moreno

Historically, customer engagement and product fulfillment occurred in the same place — a traditional retail store. But today, retailers are beginning to explore how they can create opportunities for customers to engage with products in native environments. A related... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Consumer Behavior; Distribution; Logistics; Retail Industry

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26 Mar 2012
Research & Ideas

What Neuroscience Tells Us About Consumer Desire

has its own logistical limitations. Running an fMRI scanner costs researchers up to $1,000 per hour, and studies often use 20-30 subjects, Karmarkar says. And while EEG lets subjects move around during testing, fMRI requires them to lie... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products

30 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

New Paths to Success in Asia

make the best use of their time by providing logistical and research support, establishing contacts with leading CEOs in the region, and sharing expertise that comes from living and working in the Asian environment on a daily basis."... View Details

Keywords: by Alejandro Reyes & Deborah Blagg

October 1994
Case

Campbell Soup Company: A Leader in Continuous Replenishment Innovations

Campbell Soup, like most food manufacturers, faced grocery chain and wholesale demand for its goods driven by Campbell's own promotional pricing structure rather than retail consumer demand. Former policies to encourage overstock created huge swings in production and... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Supply Chain Management; Logistics

September 1991 (Revised September 2010)
Case

Dore-Dore

By: Janice H. Hammond and Audris Wong

Dore-Dore, a French manufacturer of socks and children's knitwear, has just converted a portion of its knitwear operations to a flexible modular system to allow faster response and greater flexibility. The case provides an opportunity to assess the changes in knitwear... View Details

Keywords: Order Taking and Fulfillment; Logistics; Production; Performance Productivity; Apparel and Accessories Industry; France

August 2020 (Revised March 2021)
Supplement

Migros Turkey: Scaling Online Operations (B)

By: Antonio Moreno and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in February 2020 as Ozgur Tort and Mustafa Bartin, CEO and chief large-format and online retail officer of Migros Ticaret A.S. (Migros), Turkey’s oldest and one of its largest supermarket chains, are looking over the results of the fulfillment pilot the... View Details

Keywords: Grocery; Business Model; Strategy; Digital Platforms; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Value Creation; Globalization; Competition; Expansion; Logistics; Profit; Resource Allocation; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry; Turkey

October 2007
Article

Grist: A Strategic Approach to Climate

By: Michael E. Porter and Forest Reinhardt

Climate change will affect everything businesses do, as government efforts to mitigate carbon emissions cause their prices to rise steeply. This special edition of Forethought takes a hard-nosed look at the risks and opportunities of climate change. Michael E. Porter... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Leadership; Logistics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Improvement; Climate Change; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy

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November 2022
Supplement

Arcos Dorados’ Quest for the Digitalization of Last-Mile Delivery in Colombia (B)

By: Jorge Tamayo, Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago and Mariana Cal

In 2020, Francisco Staton, president of Arcos Dorados’ Caribbean Division, and Héctor Orozco, Managing Director of Arcos Dorados Colombia, were looking into Arcos Dorados’ options to consolidate its food delivery service in Colombia. This time the matter at hand hinged... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Global Strategy; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Tactics; Logistics; Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Performance Improvement; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Latin America; South America; Colombia

December 2020 (Revised April 2021)
Case

Arcos Dorados: A QSR Recovery Plan

By: Forest Reinhardt, José B. Alvarez, Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago and Mariana Cal

Arcos Dorados—McDonald’s largest independent franchisee, covering Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)—faced a pandemic that was disrupting the entire consumer foodservice business in 2020. With the exclusive right to own, operate, and sub-franchise McDonald’s... View Details

11 Sep 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, September 11, 2018

this case:https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/219014-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 618-037 EKOL Logistics: Thinking Outside the Box This case describes Ekol, an intermodal transportation and logistics company, and how it manages... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

17 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

A Litmus Test for Entrepreneurs

be able to experiment with the economics and logistics of a pizza business and gain firsthand experience of his customers as well. The outlet was an instant hit, but Pujals resisted the temptation to immediately replicate it. He waited a... View Details

Keywords: by Walter Kuemmerle

September 2023
Supplement

CMA CGM: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Container Shipping

By: Willy Shih

Marine transport is the most cost-effective way to move large volumes over long distances, and container shipping is the backbone of international trade in goods. Yet shipping contributed 3% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, and the deep-sea segment, which... View Details

Keywords: Container Shipping; Decarbonization; Energy Efficiency; Logistics; Supply Chain; Trade; Environmental Regulation; Governance Compliance; Ship Transportation; Transportation Industry; Shipping Industry; Europe; Asia; North America