Product Distribution - Publications - Faculty & Research

September 2017 (Revised April 2022)
Case

Tempur Sealy International (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Lauren G. Pickle

This case explores the long-term relationship between Tempur Sealy (TPX, a mattress manufacturer) and Mattress Firm (MFRM, a bedding retailer and TPX's largest customer). For almost 20 years, the firms enjoyed a mutually beneficial and commercially prosperous... View Details

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Bergerac devoted his energies to increasing the distribution of the company’s core cosmetics lines, which were suffering at the hands of fierce competition. Marketing and advertising schemes became more elaborate but paid off for Revlon,... View Details

Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products

September 2014
Case

Marquee: Reinventing the Business of Nightlife

By: Anita Elberse

Keywords: Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Distribution Channels; Product Marketing; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

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In 1959, with his partner Jay Van Andel, DeVos established one of the most profitable direct selling companies in the world. Van Andel and DeVos accomplished their success through the use of an elaborate pyramid-like distribution system... View Details

Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products

June 2010
Teaching Note

Radiant Cosmetics: What's in a Pout? (TN)

By: Robert C. Pozen and Mary Ellen Webster Hammond

Teaching Note for 310003. View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Decisions; Brands and Branding; Distribution; Globalized Markets and Industries; Intellectual Property; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; France

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12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Building Competitive Advantage Through Operations

It's the set of processes that transforms either materials or information into a product or service. EE: How has this definition evolved over the past decade? Upton: There have been some exciting changes in recent years. First, operations... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

07 Aug 2000
Research & Ideas

Rocket Science Retailing

forecasting; supply chain speed; inventory planning; and gathering accurate, available data. The following excerpt from their report in the Harvard Business Review shows how some of these companies are making the most of the data available to them to improve View Details

Keywords: by Marshall L. Fisher, Ananth Raman & Anna Sheen McClelland; Retail

20 Dec 2004
Research & Ideas

How an Order Views Your Company

into the business to the day the product departs the shipping dock. The researchers encouraged businesses to think of that order as the actual customer, and watched as they routed that person here and there among departments, perhaps... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston

10 Apr 2013
Research & Ideas

Learning Curve: Making the Most of Outsourcing

that the teleradiology industry views its product as a commodity—that is, two qualified radiologists are expected to read the same image in the same way. That situation provided the research team an opportunity to test three questions... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Guttry; Health

May 2025
Supplement

On (B): The Cyclon Spins On

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger, Sascha Mader and Karen Elterman

A follow-up to the On case (723-430), this short case explores how the performance athletic shoe company On expanded its Cyclon subscription and recycling program through 2024, adding two new shoe models to the subscription and a one-time-purchase recyclable T-shirt. View Details

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01 Jun 2012
News

A Better World, One Idea at a Time

A dozen budding social entrepreneurs pitched their ideas for innovative products and services during the annual Social Enterprise Conference in February, and four came away with top honors. The sold-out event marked the 13th year of the... View Details

Keywords: contests; awards; cosmetics; Crop Production; Crop Production; Crop Production; Crop Production; Crop Production; Crop Production

Article

Believe in Vaccine Bets Like Bill Gates's

By: Scott Duke Kominers

Commitment of public or private funds upfront speeds development, production, and distribution. View Details

Keywords: Coronavirus; Vaccine; Financing; Health Pandemics; Health Care and Treatment; Product Development; Production; Distribution

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January 2025
Case

Driving Efficiency and Sustainability at P&G China

By: Feng Zhu, Philip Kuai and Billy Chan

P&G China’s business had reached new heights thanks to the explosive growth of e-commerce in the country, but the rapidly increasing volume of shipments to customers had created operational and environmental challenges in terms of packaging waste, shipping damage, and... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Customer Value and Value Chain; Environmental Sustainability; E-commerce; Logistics; Product Design; Value Creation; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Supply Chain Management; Consumer Products Industry; China

Citation

Educators

June 2005 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Distrobot Systems, Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman

Distrobot is a start-up that has developed a new system for warehouse automation. The company is trying to raise money to finance the launch of the product. The founder must decide how much capital to raise, from whom, and on what terms. View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Product Launch; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Distribution Industry; Distribution Industry

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Educators

06 Jun 2013
Op-Ed

How to Do Away with the Dangers of Outsourcing

they pursue internally, while relying heavily on outsourcing many of those activities to strategic partners. At the same time, they seek to increase the number and nature of product offerings, many of which are also offered by their... View Details

Keywords: by Ranjay Gulati; Manufacturing; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion

Jay Van Andel

In 1959, with his partner Richard DeVos, Van Andel established one of the most profitable direct selling companies in the world. Van Andel and DeVos accomplished their success through the use of an elaborate pyramid-like distribution... View Details

Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products

07 Apr 2003
What Do You Think?

Should Global Business Initiatives Be Devalued?

expected reductions in productivity gains, or simply a decline in trust among some North Atlantic trading partners, the discussion seems to be occurring with increasing frequency. Boiled down to its simplest level, the underlying question... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

August 2018 (Revised February 2019)
Case

Shindigz

By: Frank Cespedes

Shindigz provides party and celebratory items for various occasions and events through its branded online channel, through third-party retail and wholesale channels, and external online marketplaces. The case focuses on pricing challenges facing a venture with an... View Details

Keywords: Ecommerce; Pricing; Price; Strategy; Decision Making; Brands and Branding; Distribution Channels; E-commerce; Consumer Products Industry

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02 Jul 2014
Blog Post

Connecting Fashion & Technology at Kate Spade

April was filled with introductory calls and various trips to New York City and San Francisco. In the end, my interview with the Senior Director of Product Strategy here at the Kate Spade company went extremely well, and I was very... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail; Consumer Products / Retail