Publications

October 2002 (Revised December 2003)
Case

eShip-4U

By: Roy D. Shapiro and Timothy M. Laseter

eShip is a small Israeli start-up with a potentially exciting new concept for the residential package-delivery value chain--the Automatic Delivery Machine (ADM). Much like today's ubiquitous ATMs, ADMs would allow consumers to have parcels delivered to a nearby ADM... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business Model; Service Operations; Logistics; Corporate Strategy; Information Technology; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation; Saving; Innovation and Invention; Transportation Industry; Service Industry; Shipping Industry; Israel; United States

01 Dec 2018
News

Ask the Expert: Gimme Shelter

integrate supportive services to provide stability and reduce management costs for property owners. For example, a service provider can work with new tenants to create a monthly budget, ensure they pay their rent on time, and effectively navigate the emotional,... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint

01 Oct 1998
News

A Marketable Skill

mix of vendors, smoothed neighborhood relations, and hired logistical help on weekends. Greenflea will contribute nearly $500,000 this year to fund educational enrichment programs, and Gehrke says she could expand the operation to include... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg

Article

Strategic Management of Product Recovery

By: Michael W. Toffel

Manufacturers of an expanding range of durable products are facing regulatory and market pressures to manage the products they manufactured upon their end of life (EOL). In part, this attention is motivated by a growing number of countries—especially across Europe and... View Details

Keywords: Product; Environmental Sustainability; Cost Management; Government Legislation; Logistics; Risk and Uncertainty; Strategy; Europe; Asia; United States

Find at Harvard

Read Now

26 Jun 2020
Blog Post

(PPE)ople First: Bringing Critical Personal Protective Equipment to Boston Hospitals

ever-evolving customs clearance guidelines. Our logistics experts – Elaine and Matt – work with third parties including Flexport and Grossman Marketing to oversee this process. Finally, Graham and Danielle synthesize the needs of the... View Details

February 2010
Case

Shurgard Self-Storage: Expansion to Europe (Abridged)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh

Shurgard, a U.S.-based firm that rents storage facilities to consumers and small businesses, is considering financing options for rapid expansion of its European operations. Five years after entering Europe, Shurgard Europe has opened 17 facilities in Belgium, France,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Growth and Maturation; Multinational Firms and Management; Logistics; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Trade; Equity; Corporate Finance; United States; Europe

July 2019 (Revised November 2019)
Case

Osaro: Picking the Best Path

By: William R. Kerr, James Palano and Bastiane Huang

The founder of Osaro saw the potential of deep reinforcement learning to allow robots to be applied to new applications. Osaro targeted warehousing, already a dynamic industry for robotics and automation, for its initial product—a system which would allow robotic arms... View Details

08 Jan 2020
Blog Post

Know Your Audience - Recruiting HBS Students for Private Equity

firm with the human capital resources to do targeted outreach through the Resume Database, VCPE Club and/or Women In Investing Club. A dedicated recruiter can also manage the heavy logistics and communication throughout the interview... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital / Private Equity

March 2016 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Lotus F1 Team

By: Stefan Thomke, Nikolaos Trichakis, Jérôme Lenhardt and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Describes the detailed inner workings of a high performance Formula One (F1) racing team. It shows how Lotus F1 Team has been able to battle bigger rivals in a very fast-moving, highly regulated, and ultra-competitive environment, where winning races can come down to... View Details

Keywords: Formula One; Motor Sport; Racing Cars; Car Development; Supply Chain; Logistics; Innovation and Management; Competitive Advantage; Product Design; Research and Development; Auto Industry; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

01 Jun 2001
News

Q&A: Donna Dubinsky

as CEO and president of Palm Computing and a decade as a marketing and logistics executive at Apple and its spin-off Claris, Dubinsky cofounded Handspring. As the company’s CEO, she oversees development, production, and marketing of the... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; PalmPilot; Apple; Telecommunications; Information

August 2024
Case

Quickmart: Sustaining Growth in a Challenging Economic Environment

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Kuria Kamau

In July 2023, Peter Kang’iri, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Quickmart, Kenya’s second-largest retail chain, sat in his Nairobi office reviewing the company’s first half financial results before the weekly executive committee (EXCO) meeting. The company was in... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Supply Chain; Logistics; Business Strategy; Expansion; Business Earnings; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategic Planning; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Africa; Kenya; Nairobi

08 May 2022
Blog Post

The Territory of Motherhood: A Reflection in Honor of Mother’s Day

I was anticipating how helpful this community of moms would be to ease the logistical challenges of an early, quick delivery without family in town, I greatly underestimated how important their emotional support and friendships would be... View Details

08 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 8, 2019

case:https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/119025-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 119-026 Predicting Purchasing Behavior at PriceMart (B) Supplements the (A) case. In this case, Wehunt and Morse are concerned about the logistic regression... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

01 Mar 2012
News

Shop Talk, Different Avenues

The challenge we’ll have to address is how to set up logistics so that we can service a luxury shopping experience in any location without losing that sense of excitement that comes with having what you ordered arrive quickly. MT:... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; shopping; e-commerce; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Retail Trade

01 Feb 2001
News

The Road Taken: One Family's Worldly Adventure

simple advice for interested peers. With a little effort, he says, it was possible to extricate himself gradually from direct responsibility on projects at work. Simon explains that it's a matter of logistics — of planning ahead. "If you... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

17 Feb 2021
Research & Ideas

Pandemic Self-Care for CEOs: Rituals, Running, and Cognitive Restructuring

subjective stress, although his responsibilities had increased as he navigated the logistics “to get back to normal, and to re-employ many people whom we had to furlough.” A second acknowledged that anxiety about his business had... View Details

Keywords: by Gamze D. Yucaoglu, Robin Abrahams, and Boris Groysberg

15 Jul 2015
Research & Ideas

Amazon Prime Day: The Logic Behind a Retailer’s Made-up Holiday

challenges. Gupta said Amazon will have to carefully plan for a huge surge in demand, and the supply chain logistics that come along with that, though he believes they are well-equipped to do so given their robust technological... View Details

Keywords: Re: Sunil Gupta; Retail

January 2010
Case

DR Corporation

By: Roy D. Shapiro

DR Corporation is a manufacturer of major appliances. The traffic manager is facing a decision of selecting a carrier for the inbound movement of motors. The primary case decisions are 1) what factors are critical to the decision; 2) how to calculate the tradeoffs... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Managerial Roles; Logistics; Supply Chain Management; Truck Transportation; Consumer Products Industry