Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(371)
- Faculty Publications (87)
- April 2005
- Case
Handleman Company
By: Janice H. Hammond and Kevin Dolan
Describes the organization and operations of the Handleman Co., an intermediary in the music industry that buys recorded music and resells it to mass retailers such as Wal-Mart. The company provides distribution, inventory management, retail merchandising, and category... View Details
- April 2005 (Revised October 2006)
- Case
David Berman
By: Ananth Raman, Vishal Gaur and Saravanan Kesavan
Examines the decision of a hedge fund manager who is considering investing in a retail stock. The protagonist is concerned about the retailer's inventory level. Explores the relationship between the retailer's inventory and future earnings--and, hence, the relationship... View Details
- October 2000 (Revised November 2018)
- Exercise
Web-Based Beer Game Exercise
The Web-based beer game is an exercise that demonstrates supply channel dynamics. Simulates the flow of material and information in a simplified channel of beer production and distribution, focusing on the linkages between a beer manufacturer, its distributors, a... View Details
- February 2000 (Revised August 2000)
- Case
Priceline WebHouse Club
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Jon K Rust
Priceline empowered consumers to "name their own price" for airline tickets and hotel rooms; then it shopped these offers to marketers. Priceline's founder Jay Walker described the resulting transactions as a new ecosystem, that helped consumers realize lower prices... View Details
- April 1998
- Case
Jim Sharpe: Extrusion Technology, Inc. (C)
By: H. Kent Bowen and Barbara Feinberg
Jim Sharpe, president of Extrusion Technology, describes the first five years at the aluminum extrusion company he purchased. He begins with day one as he introduced himself to the employees in 1987 and assured them of the company's continuity. Over the next two years,... View Details
- April 1998
- Case
Compaq, 1998
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Matt Verlinden
In 1997, Compaq Computer Corp. had become a $25 billion powerhouse. It had accomplished its revenue growth projections, successfully made a number of strategic acquisitions, and increased its gross margins, principally by moving up market into servers, workstations,... View Details
- December 1997 (Revised April 1998)
- Case
www.springs.com
By: F. Warren McFarlan and Melissa Dailey
Business Week's June 1997 "Rising Star" profile of Springs Industries' president and COO, Crandall Bowles, reported that she was poised to become one of the top two or three women executives in the country. In November 1997, the company announced Bowles' appointment to... View Details
- October 1996 (Revised April 1997)
- Case
Northco (A)
By: Ananth Raman and Bowon Kim
A small school-uniform manufacturer wrestles with seasonal demand. The company is saddled with excess inventory when it is bought by a leveraged buyout firm. Students are required to identify ways to analyze and solve the problem. View Details
- June 1995
- Case
Polaroid Corporation: European Distribution System
By: Janice H. Hammond and Afroze A Mohammed
Describes distribution operations in Polaroid Europe. In the late 1980s, Polaroid senior management in the United States proposed moving from a system of 12 decentralized warehouses to a centralized distribution system in which all inventory for European retailers... View Details
- May 1995 (Revised April 1998)
- Case
AT&T Paradyne
By: Robert S. Kaplan
A company making data communication devices has adopted a Total Quality philosophy for working with suppliers, employees, and customers. The finance group finds its existing cost system has become obsolete because of a shift from manual to automatic production... View Details
- April 1995 (Revised April 2008)
- Teaching Note
L.L. Bean, Inc.: Item Forecasting and Inventory Management TN
Teaching Note for (9-893-003). View Details
- June 1994 (Revised October 1999)
- Background Note
Beer Game, The: Board Version
The beer game is an exercise that demonstrates supply channel dynamics. Simulates the flow of material and information in a simplified channel of beer production and distribution, focusing on the linkages among a beer manufacturer, its distributors, a wholesaler, and a... View Details
- October 1992 (Revised September 1993)
- Case
L.L. Bean, Inc.: Item Forecasting and Inventory Management
L.L. Bean must make stocking decisions on thousands of items sold through its catalogs. In many cases, orders must be placed with vendors twelve or more weeks before a catalog lands on a customer's doorstep, and commitments cannot be changed thereafter. As a result,... View Details
- October 1991 (Revised November 1993)
- Case
Play Time Toy Co.
By: Thomas R. Piper
The president of a toy company is considering the adoption of level production in a business characterized by highly seasonal sales. The issues include balancing the cost savings and the inventory risk, estimating the seasonal financing need, and determining the... View Details
- October 1990 (Revised May 1994)
- Case
Confederated Pulp & Paper
By: David E. Bell
A rewritten version of an old case that updates the dates and prices and simplifies the economics. The issue is still one of determining a suitable inventory of wood for the mill to last through the winter. View Details
- April 1989
- Case
Norton Auto Supply
Describes a multiechelon distribution system for the distribution of automobile spare parts. An analyst has been hired by the Norton Auto Supply Co. to improve the company's inventory planning and control techniques. Includes demand, cost, weight, and supplier lead... View Details
- February 1989
- Case
Reorder Point Based Inventory Control Systems
- 1989
- Article
The Creative Environment Scales: The Work Environment Inventory
By: T. M. Amabile and N. Gryskiewicz
The Creative Environment Scales Work Environment Inventory (WEI) is a new paper-and-pencil instrument designed to assess stimulants and obstacles to creativity in the work environment. Unlike many instruments that are designed as comprehensive descriptions of the work... View Details