Publications

September 2023
Supplement

CMA CGM: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Container Shipping

By: Willy Shih

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; Decarbonization; Energy Efficiency; Logistics; Supply Chain; Trade; Environmental Regulation; Governance Compliance; Ship Transportation; Transportation Industry; Shipping Industry; Europe; Asia; North America

Web

Alumni Career Journey: Margot Zuckerman (MBA 2024) – Integrating Climate into Business (and Government) Priorities - Blog - Business & Environment

a crash course in negotiation, stakeholder management, and project management. I also led a few internal sustainability initiatives, like building a supply chain risk visibility tool and scouting for... View Details

01 Mar 2012
News

Balanced Scorecard and Beer Game Go High-Tech

current iteration, the game still teaches supply chain costs, lead time, and inventory management, but now students order kegs on beloved tablets and other devices. For students, simulations bring material... View Details

Keywords: Professor V.G. Narayanan; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

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... View Details

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

01 Jun 2011
News

Walking the TalkTalk

challenges.” She embraced a formidable task in 2010 when, with years of experience at supermarket chains Sainsbury’s and Tesco but none in telecom, she became CEO of TalkTalk, which supplies telephone and... View Details

Keywords: Telecommunications; Information; Food and Beverage Stores; Retail Trade

06 Dec 2021
News

Elevator Pitch: Power Sourced

Illustration by Drue Wagner Illustration by Drue Wagner Chaku Foods Nikki Okrah (MBA 2021), CEO and Founder Concept: A snack-food company in Okrah’s native Ghana that is building farming supply chain... View Details

Keywords: agriculture; Africa; food manufacturing; entrepreneurship; startup; Agriculture; Food Manufacturing; Manufacturing

November 2012
Case

New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. (Abridged)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Robert S. Huckman, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Matthew Preble

Considers whether New Balance, one of the world's five largest manufacturers of athletic footwear, should respond to Adidas' planned acquisition of Reebok—a transaction that would join the second- and third-largest companies in the industry. Highlights the unique... View Details

Keywords: Production; Competitive Strategy; Supply Chain; Brands and Branding; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry; Retail Industry; Asia; United States

October 2021
Supplement

Diversifying P&G's Supplier Base (B)

By: Kris Ferreira, Kym Lew Nelson, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Sarah Mehta

This (B) case accompanies the (A) case of the same title. View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Business Organization; Family Business; Joint Ventures; Demographics; Diversity; Ethnicity; Race; Fairness; Ownership; Supply Chain Management; Consumer Products Industry; Service Industry; United States; Ohio

26 Apr 2011
News

BioMine Strikes Gold

marketing, were as follows: Africa Angus Rowe, OPM 38 2009 LifeQube mobile clinic management Watch their pitch. Asia-Pacific Oliver Segovia, MBA '10 Jennifer Kelly, MBA '10 AVA invitation-only shopping platform Watch their pitch. Canada... View Details

Keywords: Mining (except Oil and Gas); Mining; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

July–August 2019
Article

Coupling Labor Codes of Conduct and Supplier Labor Practices: The Role of Internal Structural Conditions

By: Yanhua Bird, Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel

Exploitive working conditions have spurred companies to pressure their suppliers to adopt labor codes of conduct and to conform their labor practices to the standards set forth in those codes. Yet little is known about whether organizational structures such as codes... View Details

Keywords: Organization Theory; Economic Sociology; Social Responsibility; Sustainability; Auditing; Process Improvement; Organizational Structure; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Supply Chain; Labor; Working Conditions

Find at Harvard

Read Now

September 2010 (Revised December 2011)
Case

WildChina: Taking the Road Less Traveled

By: Mukti Khaire, Daniel Isenberg, Victoria Song and Shirley Spence

This case deals with supplier difficulties faced by WildChina—a travel service provider in China. WildChina is a classic case of a company that is trying to bring a local, within-country product to a market outside the country (in this case, travelers to China from... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Local Range; Globalized Markets and Industries; Supply Chain Management; Conflict Management; Travel Industry; China

October 2003
Case

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company: Building a Platform for Distributed Innovation

By: Marco Iansiti and Marcin Strojwas

Surging costs of building a state-of-the-art fabrication facility were pushing firms to outsource manufacturing while advanced technologies were requiring a tighter coupling between design and manufacturing. Explores the development of strategy in this environment.... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Business Model; Networks; Product Design; Production; Decisions; Customer Relationship Management; Supply Chain Management

27 Sep 2021
News

Sewn with Love

supply chain. The gowns were produced by a tight circle of manufacturers that had begun to shut down as a result of COVID-19. “The system works very well when the demand is stable,” notes Hanazawa. It was clear, however, that the View Details

January 2025
Case

COMAC - Chinese Aviation Soars to New Heights

By: William C. Kirby and Daniel Fu

COMAC's C919 manifested the first challenge to the Boeing-Airbus duopoly since it came to dominate aircraft manufacturing in the 1990s. Beijing sought to export the C919 abroad in its quest to become a "transportation superpower." Was it a wise decision for COMAC to... View Details

Keywords: Aviation; Boeing; Airbus; Aircraft; State-owned Enterprise (SOE); Chinese Manufacturing; Airline Industry; Airports; Global Strategy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Supply Chain; Expansion; Aerospace Industry; China; United States; Europe

September 1992 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Staples, Inc.

By: David E. Bell

Staples is dissatisfied with the merchandising of its office furniture. The case reviews the situation, allowing students to consider whether the category should be dropped or changed. Permits consideration of the portfolio of products a positioning implies, and... View Details

Keywords: Change; Product Positioning; Supply Chain; Salesforce Management; Manufacturing Industry

November 2011 (Revised January 2014)
Teaching Note

FIJI Water: Carbon Negative?

By: Michael W. Toffel and Francesca Gino

Keywords: Energy; Pollutants