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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(298)
- News (46)
- Research (232)
- Events (1)
- Multimedia (1)
- Faculty Publications (110)
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- August 2021 (Revised November 2023)
- Supplement
Coats: Supply Chain Challenges
By: Willy C. Shih
Coats, the largest thread maker in the world, transformed its business to digital colour measurement so that it could respond better to customer demand in the garment industry for rapid product cycles and more fragmented colour choices. Its embrace of digital colour... View Details
- August 2021
- Supplement
Coats: Supply Chain Challenges: Spreadsheet Supplement
By: Willy C. Shih
Coats, the largest thread maker in the world, transformed its business to digital colour measurement so that it could respond better to customer demand in the garment industry for rapid product cycles and more fragmented colour choices. Its embrace of digital colour... View Details
- May 2021 (Revised July 2021)
- Case
Coats: Supply Chain Challenges
By: Willy C. Shih and Adina Wong
Coats, the largest thread maker in the world, transformed its business to digital colour measurement so that it could respond better to customer demand in the garment industry for rapid product cycles and more fragmented colour choices. Its embrace of digital colour... View Details
Keywords: Inventory Management; Supply Chains; Digital; Operations; Supply Chain Management; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Asia
Shih, Willy C., and Adina Wong. "Coats: Supply Chain Challenges." Harvard Business School Case 621-115, May 2021. (Revised July 2021.)
- 1980
- Working Paper
Components of Manufacturing Inventories: A Structural Model of the Production Process
By: Alan J. Auerbach and Jerry R. Green
This paper presents a structural model of production and inventory accumulation based on the hypothesis of cost minimization. It differs from previous attempts in several respects. First, it integrates the analysis of input inventories with output inventories, treating... View Details
Auerbach, Alan J., and Jerry R. Green. "Components of Manufacturing Inventories: A Structural Model of the Production Process." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 491, June 1980.
- December 2023
- Article
What Can Stockouts Tell Us About Inflation? Evidence from Online Micro Data
By: Alberto Cavallo and Oleksiy Kryvtsov
We use a detailed micro dataset on product availability and stockouts to construct a direct high-frequency measure of consumer product shortages during the 2020-2022 pandemic. We document a widespread multi-fold rise in stockouts in nearly all sectors early in the... View Details
Keywords: Prices; Stockouts; Inventories; Supply Disruptions; COVID-19 Pandemic; Supply Chain; Product; Demand and Consumers
Cavallo, Alberto, and Oleksiy Kryvtsov. "What Can Stockouts Tell Us About Inflation? Evidence from Online Micro Data." Journal of International Economics 146 (December 2023).
- May 2009
- Case
Ceres Gardening Company: Funding Growth in Organic Products
By: John H. McArthur and Sunru Yong
Ceres is a leading player in the growing organic gardening industry, selling seeds, small plants, and related items. Their distribution depends heavily on retail sales through independent nurseries and garden centers. Because these small dealers are unable to finance... View Details
Keywords: Accounting Procedures; Marketing; Business Growth; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Marketing Strategy; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Marketing Channels; Credit; Financial Statements; Sales; Retail Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry
McArthur, John H., and Sunru Yong. "Ceres Gardening Company: Funding Growth in Organic Products." Harvard Business School Brief Case 094-017, May 2009.
- December 2008
- Case
Merrimack Tractors and Mowers: LIFO or FIFO?
By: William J. Bruns Jr., Sharon Bruns and Susan S. Hameling
At Merrimack Tractors and Mowers in 2008, product manufacturing costs are increasing faster than competitors' costs, and as a result earnings are likely to fall below those reported in 2007. The company president and the company controller have discussed this problem,... View Details
Keywords: International; Financial; Reporting; Standards; Inventory; Business Ethics; Assets; Valuation; Ethics; Taxation; Financial Reporting; Manufacturing Industry
Bruns, William J., Jr., Sharon Bruns, and Susan S. Hameling. "Merrimack Tractors and Mowers: LIFO or FIFO?" Harvard Business School Brief Case 083-217, December 2008.
- Article
The Effects of Product Line Breadth: Evidence from the Automotive Industry
By: Antonio Moreno and Christian Terwiesch
Using a detailed data set from the U.S. automotive industry, we enrich the existing literature on product line breadth with new results that highlight previously unexplored operational aspects of its benefits and costs. We find that expanding product line breadth has a... View Details
Keywords: Variety; Pricing; Automotive Industry; Marketing/operations Interface; Platforms; Empirical Operations Management; Product Marketing; Production; Management; Auto Industry
Moreno, Antonio, and Christian Terwiesch. "The Effects of Product Line Breadth: Evidence from the Automotive Industry." Marketing Science 36, no. 2 (March–April 2017): 254–271.
- July–August 2017
- Article
Why Outlet Stores Exist: Averting Cannibalization in Product Line Extensions
By: Donald Ngwe
Outlet stores are a large and growing component of many firms' retailing strategies, particularly in the fashion industry. Outlet stores offer attractive prices in locations far from central shopping districts. The main perspectives on why outlet stores exist can be... View Details
Keywords: Fashion; Industrial Organization; Outlet Stores; Price Discrimination; Retail; Channel Management; Luxury; Product Marketing; Price; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry
Ngwe, Donald. "Why Outlet Stores Exist: Averting Cannibalization in Product Line Extensions." Marketing Science 36, no. 4 (July–August 2017): 523–541.
- June 2017
- Article
Is Operating Flexibility Harmful under Debt?
By: Nikolaos Trichakis, Dan A. Iancu and Gerry Tsoukalas
We study the inefficiencies stemming from a firm's operating flexibility under debt. We find that flexibility in replenishing or liquidating inventory, by providing risk-shifting incentives, could lead to borrowing costs that erase more than a third of the firm's... View Details
Keywords: Covenants; Risk-shifting; Inventory; Agency Costs; Debt Financing; Risk Management; Borrowing and Debt
Trichakis, Nikolaos, Dan A. Iancu, and Gerry Tsoukalas. "Is Operating Flexibility Harmful under Debt?" Management Science 63, no. 6 (June 2017): 1730–1761.
- 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; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; Europe
Wheelwright, Steven C., and Afarin Bellisario. "FoldRite Furniture Company: Planning to Meet a Surge in Demand." Harvard Business School Brief Case 104-555, June 2010.
- Article
Innovations in Retail Operations: Thirty Years of Lessons from Production and Operations Management
By: Marshall Fisher and Ananth Raman
We review papers published in Production and Operations Management (POM) during its thirty-year history that deal with retail operations issues with an empirical approach. The papers span a range of issues, from traditional ones like forecasting and inventory... View Details
Keywords: RFID; Innovation and Invention; Technology Adoption; Operations; E-commerce; Strategy; Retail Industry
Fisher, Marshall, and Ananth Raman. "Innovations in Retail Operations: Thirty Years of Lessons from Production and Operations Management." Special Issue on The 30th Anniversary Issue of Production and Operations Management edited by Subodha Kumar and Christopher S. Tang. Production and Operations Management 31, no. 12 (December 1, 2022): 4452–4461.
- February 2016 (Revised June 2016)
- Case
Curtis LLP: A Case on Cases
By: Nikolaos Trichakis
A product market firm faces an inventory investment decision in the face of demand uncertainty. To hedge against some of the uncertainty, the firm contemplates an additional fixed investment that would offer the flexibility of diverting inventory in case of weak sales.... View Details
Keywords: Dynamic Decision Making Under Uncertainty; Operations Management; Inventory Management; Real Options; Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Choices and Conditions; Operations
Trichakis, Nikolaos. "Curtis LLP: A Case on Cases." Harvard Business School Case 616-049, February 2016. (Revised June 2016.)
- 02 Apr 2024
- Research & Ideas
Employees Out Sick? Inside One Company's Creative Approach to Staying Productive
can’t control absenteeism, and you don’t know when you will receive an order for a very important buyer,” he says. “So how do you execute your strategy?” While studying a factory in India, Tamayo found one efficient way businesses can remain View Details
- May 2011
- Case
The Morrison Company
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Paul Meyers
The Morrison Company develops and manufactures radio frequency identification tags (RFID) known as smart labels for the retail and pharmaceutical industries. RFID technology is a fast-growing and increasingly competitive industry. Sales have risen dramatically over the... View Details
Keywords: Quantitative Analysis; Technology; Operations Management; Product Lines; Manufacturing; Capacity Planning; Production Planning; Information Technology; Strategy; Production; Organizational Structure; Infrastructure; Product Development; Information Infrastructure; Manufacturing Industry; Retail Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Electronics Industry
Wheelwright, Steven C., and Paul Meyers. "The Morrison Company." Harvard Business School Brief Case 114-564, May 2011.
- January 2018
- Supplement
Interview with Case Protagonist Wen Li
By: Willy C. Shih
In today's global economy, what are the factors that go into production location choice? This case is set in the world's largest automotive glass producer as it expands from China into the United States. To meet a very aggressive cost target, management is faced with... View Details
Keywords: Globalization Of Supply Chain; Production Management; Production; Globalization; Global Strategy; Auto Industry; China; United States
Shih, Willy C. "Interview with Case Protagonist Wen Li." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 618-704, January 2018.
- June 1977 (Revised September 1992)
- Case
Sorenson Research Co. (Abridged)
Presents the issues facing a high volume, high margin (but lightweight) medical products business. The company is trying to improve its inventory control to reduce inventory investment and improve service. The present multi-site inventory system is described and major... View Details
Keywords: Business Earnings; Investment; Volume; Service Delivery; Supply Chain; Performance Improvement; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry
Wheelwright, Steven C. "Sorenson Research Co. (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 677-257, June 1977. (Revised September 1992.)
- December 1983 (Revised July 1988)
- Case
General Electric--Thermocouple Manufacturing (A)
By: David A. Garvin
GE is considering introducing a "just-in-time" production system to reduce inventory in its thermocouple manufacturing area. The case presents students with a description of the present inventory management system, the production process, and the perspectives of... View Details
Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Time Management; Production; Supply Chain; Perspective; Energy Industry; Technology Industry
Garvin, David A. "General Electric--Thermocouple Manufacturing (A)." Harvard Business School Case 684-040, December 1983. (Revised July 1988.)
- August 2014
- Case
Three Jays Corporation
By: Paul Marshall and Mark Davis
Brodie Arens is an MBA student and summer intern at Three Jays Corporation, a jam and jelly manufacturer in Michigan. Brodie's first assignment as an intern is to update the inventory and production planning system. Initially, he begins by updating the Economic Order... View Details
Marshall, Paul, and Mark Davis. "Three Jays Corporation." Harvard Business School Brief Case 915-531, August 2014.
- July 2005 (Revised January 2009)
- Case
Paper and More (A)
Provides a context and exercise for introducing retail inventory management, including cost optimization, service-level criteria, and forecasting in single and multiproduct settings. The owner of a single-location paper and paper products store considers the... View Details
Keywords: Cost Management; Measurement and Metrics; Logistics; Sales; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry
Watson, Noel H. "Paper and More (A)." Harvard Business School Case 606-023, July 2005. (Revised January 2009.)