Sales Planning - Publications - Faculty & Research

23 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Building a Better Buyer-Seller Relationship

increased sales over time. "If you get in with fewer customers for a long time, you get a greater share of wallet from the fewer customers" (as opposed to more mass market customers), he said. 2) Manufacturing costs went down.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

12 Aug 2014
First Look

First Look: August 12

notably higher entry rates and increases in plant productivity. These results are not present for districts located on another major highway system, the North-South East-West corridor (NS-EW). Improvements for portions of the NS-EW system were View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Dec 2014
First Look

First Look: December 16

the severity of pension plan underfunding, state budget deficits, and the use of high discount rates. Further we find opposing states are subject to more stringent balanced budget requirements and greater political pressure from unions.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Sep 2012
First Look

First Look: September 5

all its emphasis on data and number crunching, conventional strategic planning is not actually scientific. It lacks the hypothesis generation and testing that's at the heart of the scientific method. To produce novel and successful... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Mastering Strategy Execution

By: Robert Simons

Professor Robert Simons’ research encompasses three areas of management accountability that are the foundation for successful strategy execution: organization design, performance measurement and control, and risk management. In addition, Simons is interested in the... View Details

21 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

The Pandemic Conversations That Leaders Need to Have Now

transition back to “normal” (whatever that means). Although we are still living in COVID-19’s grip, companies are starting to devise plans to bring their workforces back to the office in the coming weeks and months. In recent... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Robin Abrahams, and Katherine Connolly Baden

14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

client-centric approach. It intensified virtual interactions with customers, merged sales and customer service, and boosted integration of all databases, which had been spread across functions, into a single customer resource management... View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

16 May 2023
In Practice

After Silicon Valley Bank's Flameout, What's Next for Entrepreneurs?

stabilized, First Republic’s weakness, which prompted a hasty sale to JPMorgan Chase, portends continued headwinds for startups seeking investors. Julia Austin: Take stock on how to manage in times of crisis When the SVB situation... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Technology; Financial Services

05 Jul 2022
What Do You Think?

Have We Seen the Peak of Just-in-Time Inventory Management?

distribution channel. Fluctuating demand at the retail level would generate exaggerated fluctuations—a “whipsaw” effect—in expected demand and inventory planning at the back end, or manufacturing level, in an effort to meet possible... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Manufacturing; Shipping; Transportation

26 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

Why Japanese Businesses Are So Good at Surviving Crises

to retain the Yakult Ladies, paying them 80 percent of their typical pay. Once delivery of Yakult products resumed, it took just five months for sales to reach the same level as the previous year. “Our HBS students went with the Yakult... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

13 Jan 2015
First Look

First Look: January 13

certification. While the NRC considers the application, the company will finish designing a nuclear plant to use 12 of its modular reactors. The company will see its first of several hundred planned sales by... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Budgeting Kills Your Company

performance indicators that shifts strategic decision making to customer-facing edges of the organization. Others advocate less sweeping but still significant changes: Housing the budgeting and strategic planning functions in one office,... View Details

Keywords: by Loren Gary

January 2024
Case

Sprouts Farmers Market

By: Rajiv Lal, Forest L. Reinhardt and Natalie Kindred

Sprouts Farmers Markets (Sprouts) is a Phoenix, Arizona-based chain of 400-plus natural foods stores in 23 U.S. states and $6.4 billion in sales as of 2022. In its product assortment, brand image, and store environment, Sprouts emphasizes freshness, health, innovation,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Strategic Planning; Sales; Business Strategy; Expansion; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Competition; Retail Industry; United States; Arizona

Citation

Educators

Purchase

30 Apr 2013
First Look

First Look: April 30

regularly advises executives and students on how to tackle these questions. In this indispensable new book, Kaplan shares a specific and actionable approach to defining your own success and reaching your potential. Drawing on his years of experience, Kaplan proposes an... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Jan 2019
Op-Ed

These 4 CEOs Created a New Standard of Leadership

Group to add healthier products to its lineup. When soft drink sales declined in 2010, shareholders criticized PepsiCo’s execution. Nooyi responded by beefing up PepsiCo’s marketing and strengthening her leadership team—but held firm to... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Health; Banking; Food & Beverage; Consumer Products

09 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Six Keys to Building New Markets by Unleashing Disruptive Innovation

voracious consumers of theory. Every plan a manager makes, every action a manager takes, is based on some implicit understanding of what causes what and why. The problem is, managers all too frequently use a one-size-fits-all theory. But... View Details

Keywords: by Clayton M. Christensen, Michael E. Raynor & Scott D. Anthony

19 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 19

Africa, Nike has decided to change its target market focus and to use digital and social media platforms to connect more extensively with consumers. In addition, Nike plans to launch innovative new boots and engage in corporate... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Mar 2017
Lessons from the Classroom

More Than 900 Examples of How Climate Change Affects Business

This word cloud is composed of blog posts by more than 900 students describing how individual organizations are likely to be affected by climate change. Image by Patrick Clapp Last fall, first-year MBA students at Harvard Business School received a new assignment in... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Green Technology

10 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 10, 2018

homogeneous product space. The data set has the unique feature of containing sales records from outlet stores wherein a subset of products have verifiably fictitious list prices and discounts, allowing for measurement of their impact on... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

March 2014
Case

Babcock International Plc

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2013, Babcock International Plc (Babcock) was the largest engineering services provider in the UK with sales of over £3 billion. Under the leadership of CEO Peter Rogers, Babcock had grown revenues and profits nearly tenfold over the previous decade as it benefited... View Details