Publications

November 2011
Case

Comfort Class Transport: Does Customer Service Need an Overhaul?

By: Michael J Roberts and Paul E. Morrison

The general manager of a chauffeured limousine transport company is concerned about underperformance at the company's customer service call center. The eight-person call center handles almost all customer interaction including discussing company services with... View Details

Keywords: Capacity Utilization; Supply ＆ Demand; Operations Management; Customer Service; Management; Demand and Consumers; Service Operations; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Performance Capacity; Customer Satisfaction; Transportation Industry

12 Oct 2016
Research & Ideas

Break the Rules of How Business is Done

fulfilling prophesy (if we tell them about their first week, they’re more likely to accept our offer!), but regardless, the effort to be transparent sets this company apart from so many of the humdrum companies doing the same old thing.... View Details

Keywords: by Julia B. Austin

July 1994 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Pacific Bell: Centrex Reengineering

Describes the redesign and rollout of the new order-fulfillment process for a flagship product at Pacific Bell. Pacific Bell is one of the Regional Bell Operating Companies comprised of seven regional business units. Rather than implement the new process, roles, and... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Information Technology; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Telecommunications Industry

08 Sep 2015
First Look

September 8, 2015

team owner, is now the time to sell while franchise value and fan support are at their peaks, or will the business of the NFL be viable for years to come? Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/815071-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 815-104... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

21 Feb 2007
Op-Ed

What a U.N. Partnership with Big Business Could Accomplish

insufficient. Fulfillment of community needs such as clean air and human rights is every bit as important. This concept offers multinationals a mechanism to do well with minimum risk and maximum efficiency. It also provides them with a... View Details

Keywords: by George C. Lodge & Craig Wilson

14 Feb 2005
Research & Ideas

Desktop Search and Revenue Streams

different products. His answer, "our monetization strategy today, which has been effective over quite a long period for Yahoo, is to fulfill the unmet need of the user." Lahiri said his company has taken a similar approach over... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette

February 2016
Case

Express Scripts: Promoting Prescription Drug Home Delivery (A)

By: John Beshears, Patrick Rooney and Jenny Sanford

The pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) sector processes prescription drug claims on behalf of companies that offer a prescription drug benefit to their employees. This case follows Bob Nease, Chief Scientist at Express Scripts, as he considers methods to promote home... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceuticals; Prescription Drugs; Pharmacy Benefit Manager; PBM; Healthcare; Behavioral Economics; Choice Architecture; Active Choice; Service Delivery; Decision Choices and Conditions; Health Care and Treatment; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Compensation and Benefits; Pharmaceutical Industry

April 2009
Case

Supply Chain Optimization at Hugo Boss (A)

By: Ananth Raman, Nicole DeHoratius and Zahra Kanji

We evaluate the impact of a supply chain pilot implemented at Hugo Boss. This pilot entailed altering the way in which Hugo Boss orders from its suppliers. We explore the challenge of assessing the impact of supply chain change, the link between operational performance... View Details

Keywords: Order Taking and Fulfillment; Logistics; Supply Chain Management; Performance Evaluation; Sales; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; Europe

03 Feb 2018
Op-Ed

How to Heed BlackRock's Call for Corporate Social Responsibility

entities across sectors to refine them and arrive at meaningful and useful standards. Besides holding companies accountable, we also have to help them as they transition to pursuing social objectives alongside financial ones. Too few managers are familiar with View Details

Keywords: by Julie Battilana

April 2021
Supplement

Buy Online, Pickup in Store: Vice President of E-Commerce Supplement

By: Antonio Moreno, Santiago Gallino and Amy Klopfenstein

In April 2019, Sylvarella VP of E-Commerce Charla Limont must review an analysis of her department’s sales data to determine the impact of the company’s Buy Online, Pickup in Store (BOPS) program. The program implementation created significant problems for the... View Details

Keywords: Operations; Service Delivery; Logistics; Infrastructure; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Analysis; Retail Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States; Canada

June 2010
Case

FoldRite Furniture Company: Planning to Meet a Surge in Demand

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Afarin Bellisario

Demand for folding and stackable chairs and tables at FoldRite Furniture Co. is unexpectedly strong. The company spent the previous two years improving manufacturing quality and efficiency, dropping poor-performing product lines, developing new products that are... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Production Capacity; Production Scheduling; Risk Management; Growth Management; Production; Logistics; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; Europe

17 Apr 2017
HBS Case

This Turkish Debt Collector Is Customer-friendly

experience with a debt collector, it reduces the risk of regulatory scrutiny and may incline them more toward doing business with the bank again in the future. Lastly, Turkasset’s methods are better for employees, as well, who see themselves as performing a mission to... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

08 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Management Education’s Unanswered Questions

give back, is misguided. The heart of a profession is that it is in the course of doing one's work that one is actually doing good and fulfilling the duty that is demanded of professionals. My worry—and this is not limited to business... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Education

23 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

Product Disasters Can Be Fertile Ground for Innovation

technological complexity only magnifies the challenge. Many companies, meanwhile, are apt to see investment in safety as the cost of fulfilling regulatory requirements or protecting against lawsuits, rather than as an opportunity to... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health; Medical Devices & Supplies

13 Dec 2004
Research & Ideas

Sharing News That Might Be Bad

fulfill her commitments and still protect the business by shifting the focus of the conversation to the future, says Heath Shackleford, manager of public relations at Nashville-based American Healthways. "What the manager really... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Michelman

12 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Waking Up a Sleeping Company

choice but to make the Medtronic culture more performance-oriented if we were going to fulfill our mission. Otherwise, we would lose out to more aggressive competitors and never earn the right to serve those patients. ... the organization... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

March 1993
Case

Liz Claiborne, Inc. and Ruentex Industries, Ltd. (Abridged)

By: Roy D. Shapiro and Marie-Therese M. Flaherty

Details the evolution of a value-creating supplier-buyer partnership. Describes the buyer's (Liz Claiborne) manufacturing and marketing strategy, and details the workings of the firm's relationship with an important Taiwanese supplier of piece goods (Ruentex Industries... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Production; Supply Chain Management; Alliances; Value Creation; Manufacturing Industry