Supply chain management

Product companies often try to differentiate themselves by offering ancillary services. Many struggle to make money at it.

As commissioner of the New York City Police Department, Lee P. Brown faces two enormous challenges. The first is crime. In 1989 in New York City, 712,419 crimes were reported, including 1,905 murders, 93,377 robberies, and 3,254 rapes. As Brown is quick to point out, the situation has grown so severe that people in cities […]

The U.S. may be the world’s leading innovator, but it won’t be for long if investors, regulators, and the legal establishment continue to penalize companies for risk taking, says Deborah Wince-Smith, president of the Council on Competitiveness. Recently, the council’s National Innovation Initiative, a leadership network of CEOs and university presidents, released a report in […]

Delivered-cost analytics can tell you how much those supply chain services you're offering are really costing you.

Deep, lasting culture change requires an integrated approach that remodels a company’s social systems. The leadership team of Home Depot employed a remarkable set of tools to do that.

Just five years ago, salespeople at Whirlpool were in the habit of referring to their supply chain organization as the "sales disablers." Now the company...

Beyond the devastating and saddening human costs, the earthquake in Japan is another reminder of the complexity of the world’s supply chains and the great interdependencies in global production systems. The world’s supply chains are complex and highly optimized to deliver products efficiently at the lowest cost. They are characterized by a sequential mode of […]

Instead of battling the NLRB, McDonald's should extend an approach it's using with suppliers.

Business people often allude to “my product” or to “the market,” suggesting a far more monolithic view of business than is warranted. Companies vary products and marketing channels in order to accommodate real or perceived differences either in markets or in the laws under which businesses must operate. Most businesses sell a variety of products […]

Editor’s Note: This article sets out a simple, elegant, and ultimately tough-minded way to build profitability in a service business. Originally published in 1994, it offers as much today as it did then and is a perennial best seller. ♦ UPDATE: Learn about companies that are applying this timeless advice today. Top-level executives of outstanding […]

It's time to look past simplistic solutions.

Electronic invoice and payment systems have been slow to catch on, even though they offer enormous promise for cost savings, speed, and transparency in business-to-business transactions. The technology has a lot going for it: It’s getting more robust all the time, and big financial services firms, including American Express and JPMorgan Chase, are partnering with […]

Companies need to make their networks more resilient. Here’s how.

Procter & Gamble’s radical strategy of open innovation now produces more than 35% of the company’s innovations and billions of dollars in revenue.

In the past 25 years, major original equipment manufacturers have delegated the management of their supply chains to a handful of first-tier suppliers....

Take control of your fate.

Today, most multinationals have a conspicuous social conscience. They publicize their internal codes of conduct, monitor labor conditions in their global supply chains, and require suppliers to meet basic labor practice standards. But despite efforts to be better global citizens, companies by themselves are unable to eliminate abuses in their supply chains. In fact, so […]

When service companies put employees and customers first, a radical shift occurs in the way they manage and measure success.

Sustainability starts in the supply chain.

Three capabilities the consumer health company invested in after demand surged during the pandemic.

With 26 casinos in 13 U.S. states and $4.5 billion in revenue in 2003, Harrah's Entertainment Inc. was one of the leading brand names in the casino entertainment...

Los Grobo, a grain farming company based in Argentina, must decide whether to expand internationally to neighboring Paraguay and Uruguay. Los Grobo has...

Like other small shops based in Chongqing, China, Zongshen Industrial Group started by assembling motorcycles from "standard" parts. The quality of its...

This case describes the innovative business model of Better Place Inc., an electric vehicle company. The key challenges in operating the business model...

This case discusses the astounding growth of Crocs, Inc., a manufacturer of plastic shoes, from 2003 through early 2007. Much of the company's growth...

Multiple delays of the Airbus A380 have shocked analysts and investors alike. What are the causes of these delays and how should investors respond to...

L'Oréal, the world leader in beauty products, began to rethink its vision for the industry. The world was on the cusp of a digital future full of possibilities....

The case narrates the process of testing the concept of weather derivatives in developing countries. It describes why the World Food Programme chose Ethiopia...

"This case focuses on production and inventory management at Synthite, an oleoresin manufacturer in Kerala, India. It discusses the problems the company...

In 2015, the lean transformation of the University of Chicago Medicine medical centre encompassed substantial renovation of its internal supply chain....

PCH International started out as a sourcing agent of low-priced electronic components from Taiwan and China to the Western world in the mid 1990s, it...

Ford Motor Co., General Motors, and DaimlerChrysler--the three original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that dominated the automotive industry throughout...

The case is set in 2023. The protagonist is Laxman Narasimhan, Starbucks' CEO since April 1st, 2023. Starbucks is a multinational coffee company and restaurant...

IBM needed a win. Facing flattening sales and increasing analyst concerns, the century-old giant that had reinvented itself so often before was in search...

SATTVA eTECH is an electronics company involved in design and development of embedded new products. The company designs and manufactures client's requirements...

Describes production task of meeting peak seasonal demands in a light manufacturing plant. Information is provided for evaluating the options of overtime,...

In essence, this the story of how two INSEAD MBA students had a great idea for an integrated service to take over companies' product return streams and...

In August 2019, Fair Trade Jewellery Co., a mid-size jewellery retailer based in Toronto, Canada, was wondering how to ensure that its customers received...

Supplements the (A) case.

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...

Product companies often try to differentiate themselves by offering ancillary services. Many struggle to make money at it.

With 26 casinos in 13 U.S. states and $4.5 billion in revenue in 2003, Harrah's Entertainment Inc. was one of the leading brand names in the casino entertainment...

Los Grobo, a grain farming company based in Argentina, must decide whether to expand internationally to neighboring Paraguay and Uruguay. Los Grobo has...

Like other small shops based in Chongqing, China, Zongshen Industrial Group started by assembling motorcycles from "standard" parts. The quality of its...

This case describes the innovative business model of Better Place Inc., an electric vehicle company. The key challenges in operating the business model...

This case discusses the astounding growth of Crocs, Inc., a manufacturer of plastic shoes, from 2003 through early 2007. Much of the company's growth...

Multiple delays of the Airbus A380 have shocked analysts and investors alike. What are the causes of these delays and how should investors respond to...

As commissioner of the New York City Police Department, Lee P. Brown faces two enormous challenges. The first is crime. In 1989 in New York City, 712,419 crimes were reported, including 1,905 murders, 93,377 robberies, and 3,254 rapes. As Brown is quick to point out, the situation has grown so severe that people in cities […]

L'Oréal, the world leader in beauty products, began to rethink its vision for the industry. The world was on the cusp of a digital future full of possibilities....

The case narrates the process of testing the concept of weather derivatives in developing countries. It describes why the World Food Programme chose Ethiopia...