Publications

April 2020
Background Note

U.S. Food Retail During the Pandemic: March 2020

By: José B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

This note, written in late March 2020 and mainly U.S. focused, looks at the unfolding impact of the coronavirus pandemic on food retailers and their suppliers. It allows student to consider the challenges facing food retail executives as they navigate urgent supply... View Details

Keywords: Coronavirus Pandemic; Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Food; Supply Chain; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Trade; Crisis Management; Health Pandemics; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Retail Industry; United States

25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

QT has resource groups where employees regularly get together and discuss problems and improvement opportunities. Many of these opportunities end up being implemented across the chain. "It's amazing how clearly the employees' voices are heard," Ton adds.... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

2020
Working Paper

Reverse Information Sharing: Reducing Costs in Supply Chains with Yield Uncertainty

By: Pavithra Harsha, Ashish Jagmohan, Retsef Levi, Elisabeth Paulson and Georgia Perakis

Supply uncertainty in produce supply chains presents major challenges to retailers. Supply shortages create frequent disruptions in terms of promised delivery times, quantity and quality delivered. To alleviate these challenges, dual sourcing--a strategy in which... View Details

Keywords: Information Sharing; Yield Uncertainty; Ration Gaming; Blockchain; Supply Chain; Risk and Uncertainty

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May 2003
Background Note

How to Induce Retailers to Reduce Stockouts?

By: V.G. Narayanan

Describes how the lack of incentive alignment between retailers and their vendors can lead to stockouts. Also describes various means to reduce incentive misalignment and hence stockouts. View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Supply Chain Management; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution; Alignment; Business Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

02 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

Retail Reaches a Tipping Point—Which Stores Will Survive?

In this three-part series, we start with an overview of why retail experts Rajiv Lal, José B. Alvarez, and Dan Greenberg believe retail is at an inflection point. In Part Two, coming next week, they identify... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

December 2014 (Revised August 2015)
Case

Muñoz Group: Sustaining Global Vertical Integration Through Innovation

By: Jose B. Alvarez and Annelena Lobb

Muñoz Group, which supplied supermarket chains and food distribution chains around the world with fruit, flowers, juice and ice cream, was at a strategic crossroads in 2014. CEO Alvaro Muñoz had to choose the best way to achieve profit goals and provide his company... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Supply Chain; Retail; Agribusiness Industry; Globalized Firms and Management; Supply Chain Management; Competitive Advantage; Vertical Integration; Profit; Innovation and Invention; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; North and Central America

10 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

The Surprising Winners and Losers in the Retail Revolution

The new book Retail Revolution: Will Your Brick-and-Mortar Store Survive? lays out the thesis that traditional store-front retailing is at an inflection point, under tremendous pressure from ecommerce and... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

January 2014
Case

Tesco Group Food

By: Jose B. Alvarez, Damien P. McLoughlin and Mary Shelman

In 2010, the world's third largest retailer created a new centralized sourcing department for fresh food and store-brand grocery products in response to changes in global supply and to better meet the needs of a new multi-channel retail environment. The case, set in... View Details

Keywords: Food Retailing; Multichannel Retailing; Sustainable Supply Chains; Agribusiness; Food Marketing; Supply Chain Management; Marketing; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United Kingdom

July 2022
Supplement

Solution for E-Commerce Analytics for CPG Firms (B): Optimizing Assortment for a New Retailer

By: Ayelet Israeli

2010
Book

The New Science of Retailing: How Analytics Are Transforming the Supply Chain and Improving Performance

By: Marshall Fisher and Ananth Raman

Retailers today are drowning in data but lacking in insight: They have huge volumes of information at their disposal. But they're unsure of how to sort through it and use it to make smart decisions. The result? They're struggling with profit-sapping supply chain... View Details

Keywords: Profit; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Logistics; Supply Chain Management; Mathematical Methods; Retail Industry

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05 May 2020
Research & Ideas

China Tariffs and Coronavirus a Double Hit to American Retailers

The double-whammy of increased tariffs imposed by the United States on China and fallout from the coronavirus could make it even more difficult for American retailers to weather the storm in the coming months—or increase pressure on them... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Fall 2016
Article

The Impact of Supplier Inventory Service Level on Retailer Demand

By: Nathan Craig, Nicole DeHoratius and Ananth Raman

To set inventory service levels, suppliers must understand how changes in inventory service level affect demand. We build on prior research, which uses analytical models and laboratory experiments to study the impact of a supplier’s service level on demand from... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Service Delivery; Supply Chain; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Retail Industry

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20 Nov 2000
Research & Ideas

Moving from Supply Chains to Supply Networks

place in today's supply chain, as well as the far-reaching impact of information technology advancements. Outlining the program's curriculum, they explain how the participants leave the program armed with the principles and perspectives necessary to leverage their... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

01 Jun 2020
What Do You Think?

Will Challenged Amazon Tweak Its Retail Model Post-Pandemic?

ablokhin SUMMING UP Is the Amazon Organization Losing Its Ability to Learn? There was little sympathy for Amazon’s loss of online retail market share at the outset of the current global pandemic among respondents to this month’s column.... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Retail

May 2017
Teaching Note

The Container Store

By: Tatiana Sandino and Kyle Thomas

“The Container Store” teaching note describes how the case can be taught to MBA or executive education students who are interested in developing a strong culture, implementing strategy, and managing growth. The authors wrote the case for teaching MBA courses such as... View Details

Keywords: Retail Chains; Growing Organization; Culture; Organizational Culture; Management Systems; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Employee Relationship Management; Retail Industry