Publications

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May 2023
Case

CMA CGM: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Container Shipping

By: Willy C. Shih and Emilie Billaud

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; Logistic Regression; Trade Links; Decarbonization; Environmental Strategies; Environmental Impact; Globalization; Trade; Environmental Regulation; Logistics; Supply Chain; Governance Compliance; Shipping Industry; European Union; Asia; North America

June 2010 (Revised January 2011)
Teaching Note

Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case)

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and William Schmidt

Teaching Note for 4208 View Details

Keywords: Inventory Control; Inventory Management; Materials Management; Order Processing; Warehousing; Logistics; Supply Chain Management

January 2014 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Henry Schein: Doing Well by Doing Good?

By: Rebecca Henderson, Raffaella Sadun, Aldo Sesia and Russell Eisenstat

Henry Schein Inc., a distributor of supplies to dentist, physician, and veterinary practices, had sales approaching $9 billion and employed nearly 16,000 people. The company had experienced impressive growth under the leadership of Stanley Bergman and his executive... View Details

September 2012
Case

SCMS: Battling HIV/AIDS in Africa

By: Ananth Raman, Noel Watson, Santiago Kraiselburd and Emmanuel Akili

In 2005, USAID and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), created the Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) to procure and distribute essential medicines and supplies; provide technical assistance to transform existing supply chains; and... View Details

05 Jul 2022
What Do You Think?

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

(iStockphoto/aydinmutlu) Logistics issues have taken on unexpected and possibly unwanted “glamour” among those who study business and economics, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and its global aftermath. It’s a throwback to the days when... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Manufacturing; Shipping; Transportation

August 2017
Supplement

Quiet Logistics: CEO Bruce Welty Discusses New Robotics Company

By: Robert L. Simons and Jennifer Packard

This is a video supplement to Quiet Logistics A (HBS No. 115-001) and Quiet Logistics B (HBS No. 115-003). View Details

Keywords: Strategy And Execution; Management Control Systems; Risk and Uncertainty

April 1989 (Revised August 1989)
Case

Burlington Northern (A)

By: Janice H. Hammond

Describes the forces that led to the development of a logistics analysis program by the Burlington Northern Railroad. The first half of the case describes changes in industrial structure, technology, demographics, shipper practices, and government regulation that led... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Rail Transportation; Logistics; Rail Industry; United States

September 2000 (Revised June 2002)
Supplement

Overview of E-Business Pricing Models

By: Lynda M. Applegate, W. Earl Sasser and Kristin Kohler

Supplements National Logistics Management. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Price; Business Model; Information Technology Industry

May 2000 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Service and Value in e-Commerce

This collection of readings illustrates the importance of service and logistics in e-commerce, focusing on e-Toys' disastrous 1999 holiday season. View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Internet and the Web; Service Operations; Logistics; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

April 2005 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Exel PLC--Supply Chain Management at Haus Mart

By: Zeynep Ton and Steven C. Wheelwright

Exel plc is a global third-party logistics provider, serving clients such as Home Depot, Dell, Unilever, and Marks & Spencer. Describes the range of activities Exel performs for its clients and the capabilities the company has developed. Exel traditionally focused on... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Supply Chain Management; Logistics

August 2024
Case

Coca Cola İçecek—Managing a Sudden Turbulence

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Namrata Arora and Gizem Cihan Dincsoy

In November 2021, Kerem Kerimoğlu, Coca Cola İçecek (CCI) Group Supply Chain Development Director, is alarmed by a news headline revealing a shortage of Turkish truck drivers impacting Europe. This crisis quickly affects CCI's distribution as third-party logistics... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Logistics; Supply Chain Management; Crisis Management; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Turkey; Central Asia; Middle East

February 2010 (Revised January 2013)
Case

The Dabbawala System: On-Time Delivery, Every Time

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Mona Sinha

Describes the Mumbai-based Dabbawala organization, which achieves very high service performance (6 Sigma equivalent or better) with a low-cost and very simple operating system. The case explores all aspects of their system (mission, information management, material... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Logistics; Alignment; Management Systems; Human Resources; Innovation and Invention; Mumbai

April 1989 (Revised March 1990)
Case

Burlington Northern (B)

By: Janice H. Hammond

Describes the experiences of a seasoned Burlington Northern (BN) sales representative after the introduction of ShipSmart, a decision support system developed by the BN to help its employees and customers analyze logistics problems. After a brief description of a... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Expansion; Rail Transportation; Logistics; Distribution Channels; Truck Transportation; Innovation and Invention; Sales; Rail Industry; United States

August 1992 (Revised July 2013)
Case

ChemBright, Inc.

By: Janice H. Hammond

ChemBright is a small start-up company that manufactures private-label household chemicals. The company sells its products to grocery chains in the New England area. Its strategy is based on a significant logistics-based cost advantage. The primary case decisions are... View Details

Keywords: Price; Growth and Development Strategy; Logistics; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Chemical Industry; New England

November 2020 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Zipline: The World's Largest Drone Delivery Network

By: Tarun Khanna and George Gonzalez

Zipline established the world's largest logistics network in Rwanda and Ghana by delivering medical supplies to hospitals via automated drones. The company is now looking to expand in the U.S. and partnered with Walmart to expand into home delivery. Zipline must... View Details

Keywords: Drones; Business Startups; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States; Africa

August 2018 (Revised September 2018)
Supplement

Predicting Purchasing Behavior at PriceMart (B)

By: Srikant M. Datar and Caitlin N. Bowler

Supplements the (A) case. In this case, Wehunt and Morse are concerned about the logistic regression model overfitting to the training data, so they explore two methods for reducing the sensitivity of the model to the data by regularizing the coefficients of the... View Details

Keywords: Data Science; Analytics and Data Science; Analysis; Customers; Household; Forecasting and Prediction

February 1988 (Revised August 2000)
Background Note

Note on the U.S. Freight Transportation Industry

By: Janice H. Hammond and John E. P. Morrison

Describes the major modes of domestic freight transportation (motor carrier, rail, air, water, and pipelines). Examines the characteristics of the transportation service that each mode provides and discusses changes in the industry that have resulted from recent... View Details

Keywords: Change; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Industry Structures; Logistics; Service Operations; Transportation; United States