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This paper looks at logistics and supply chain strategy.
Abstract
Subject area
This paper looks at logistics and supply chain strategy.
Study level/applicability
The paper is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate management students.
Case overview
By November 2009, realising the competitive pressures created by the regional and global players, Mr Khalid Ahmed, SVP, Economic Zones World (EZW), decided to strategically re-position EZW in the global supply chain map. He knew it would be very challenging in view of changing landscape of international business and he was eager to start formulating his plans.
Expected learning outcomes
This case can be used to teach logistics and supply chain strategy as well as the understanding of the development of country level strategy. A better understanding of the demographics and geography of UAE is required.
Supplementary materials
A teaching note is available on request.
Details
Keywords
Robert F. Bruner, Marc L. Lipson and Sean Carr
In early 2006, the anticipated expansion of package delivery services in China provided a great opportunity for the two package delivery giants FedEx and UPS. It was unclear which…
Abstract
In early 2006, the anticipated expansion of package delivery services in China provided a great opportunity for the two package delivery giants FedEx and UPS. It was unclear which of these firms would make the most of this opportunity. An analysis of financial performance suggests that UPS is the better performer. On the other hand, the FedEx stock price performance has been far stronger. This apparent conflict highlights the fact that stock prices reflect anticipated future performance and new information. A teaching note and instructor and student spreadsheets are available.
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Keywords
Fawzeia Abdulla Al Marzooqi and Syed Zamberi Ahmad
Growth strategies, marketing strategy, resources-based value theory, alliance network model, logistic and supply chain.
Abstract
Subject area
Growth strategies, marketing strategy, resources-based value theory, alliance network model, logistic and supply chain.
Study level/applicability
This case can be used in undergraduate and graduate classes as well as development programmes for managers in small to medium-size enterprises. The case suits courses in business, strategy, marketing and freight forwarding.
Case overview
Union National Air, Land and Sea Shipping Co (LLC) (UNASCO) is a small to medium-sized freight forwarding company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It has three offices, two in Dubai and one in Abu Dhabi. UNASCO handles commercial imports/exports from/to many destinations, including Europe, Asia, the USA, India, the Far East, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Middle East (ME) and Africa. UNASCO has been in business for more than 35 years and has run the business smoothly. Recently, the company has faced several internal and external challenges that impact business performance. These challenges are high operating expenses, stiff competition and low market demand. Due to these challenges, the sales staff is being pressured to generate more income to ensure that the company is not experiencing a loss. Now, UNASCO is uncertain how to sustain the business.
Expected learning outcomes
The learning outcomes are as follows: to learn about the freight forwarding industry, the competitive landscape and the challenges surrounding it; to enable the participant to generate a list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) for UNASCO and to gain skill at using SWOT analysis; to increase the participant’s ability to evaluate a situation and effectively communicate remedies about it both in writing and verbally; to enable the participant to analyse a problem using the Fishbone Diagram cause and effect tool; to enable the participant to use the Six Thinking Hats technique to make more reliable and sounder decisions; to gain skill at using Porters Five Forces tool, understand the competitiveness of UNASCO’s business environment, and identify the potential for business growth; and to gain skills at developing a marketing strategy using the 4Ps model.
Supplementary materials
Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
Subject code
CSS 11: Strategy.
Details
Keywords
Syed Zamberi Ahmad and Norita Ahmad
The subject areas are strategic management, transportation management and business management.
Abstract
Subject area
The subject areas are strategic management, transportation management and business management.
Study level/applicability
This case is useful for undergraduate and postgraduate level students majoring in strategic management, transportation management and business management.
Case overview
Etihad Rail Company is planning to implement a mega infrastructure project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They have included freight rail system as part of the 2030 Abu Dhabi economic vision and the UAE national Charter 2021. The plan is to link the UAE’s main cities via the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) border. This ambitious project presents a formidable task for the Etihad Rail Company and the region, as there is no previous railway history of this kind. The project requires coordination of rail standards from East of Ghwefatet and the Northern Emirates cities and will ultimately be combined with the Western Saudi Arabia borders. The transportation system in the region will be improved greatly with the introduction of a cargo and passenger railway system in addition to the current road system and other means of transportation. The Etihad railway network is the first infrastructure project in the UAE, and it will bring economic, strategic, social and environmental changes to the country. This case aims to present an overview of the strategic management dimensions of the Etihad Rail and the processes involved. This case will analyze whether Etihad’s top management team should make a decision to focus only on freight rail or to include passenger transportation as well. Many questions will be addressed in this paper such as the following: What steps should Etihad take to start passenger rail? Will economical, strategic and environmental aspects affect it? And if so, how? The case will focus on the analysis of the different aspects of Etihad Rail by using strategic management tools as guidance for implementation and determining its success factors.
Expected learning outcomes
In this case, the students can learn and understand the purpose of commencing cargo rail projects in the region; discuss the mechanisms which help in promoting sustainability and the business growth of Etihad Rail; and identify the challenges and issues freight rail may face in terms of legal, economic and environmental aspects and identify and alternative solutions.
Supplementary material
Teaching notes are available upon request.
Subject code
CSS 11: Strategy.
Details
Keywords
Stephan M. Wagner, Viviane Heldt, Katrin Lentschig and Jennifer Meyer
The case of Bertelsmann China: Supply Chain for Books (B) is situated in China in the beginning of 2006. Bertelsmann Direct Group, the Chinese subsidiary of the worldwide…
Abstract
The case of Bertelsmann China: Supply Chain for Books (B) is situated in China in the beginning of 2006. Bertelsmann Direct Group, the Chinese subsidiary of the worldwide Bertelsmann AG, is one of the leading book retailers in the country. Supply chain management is essential for success in retailing, which is why Bertelsmann puts a lot of effort into the optimization of its supply chain design. As costs are paramount to importance in the low-margin book retailing sector, linear programming methods are applied to optimize the network
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Bishal Dey Sarkar, Prasad Vasant Joshi and Nisarg Shah
After completion of the case study, students will be able to understand the concept of clustering and identify clusters for improving capacity utilization, analyse transport…
Abstract
Learning outcomes
After completion of the case study, students will be able to understand the concept of clustering and identify clusters for improving capacity utilization, analyse transport routes to optimize logistics resources, analyse the impact of a full truckload on resource optimization, evaluate unused capacity and ascertain the impact of reverse milk run to reduce the same and apply clustering and reverse milk run to optimize the logistics resources.
Case overview/synopsis
The case study is about a freight forwarding company that offered end-to-end logistics solutions for the exporters based in India. Within a short time span, the company became one of the sought-after service providers for its clients. However, when the company planned to expand its business by expanding its client base, the efficiencies reduced and hurt the profitability of the company. It was all excellent with the limited number of clients, but as the number of distantly located clients surged, the operating costs increased. Trucks were running with partial loads, thus reducing efficiency. The rate of increase in cost surpassed the rate of revenue every time. The cost per mile of transportation was on the rise. The surging fuel prices were adding to the heat. In spite of being one of the first choices for clients, the company could not generate good profit margins. If they chose to increase prices, the company would have lost customers to the cheaper unorganized players in the market. It was time to choose between growth and survival. The company could not sustain itself without devising a mechanism to reduce costs. The company would not have sustained itself without devising a mechanism to reduce costs. To sustain in the business, the company had to device a mechanism to reduce costs. Whether to continue operating the conventional way or to transform? Was there a logistics strategy that would have improved transportation efficiency and reduced the costs for the company?
Complexity academic level
The case study is suitable for teaching post-graduate management courses in operations and logistics, supply chain management and supply chain analytics, as well as entrepreneurship-related courses.
Supplementary material
Teaching notes are available for educators only.
Subject code
CCS 9: Operations and logistics.
Details
Keywords
Marketing, entrepreneurship, operations management, and transportation/logistics.
Abstract
Subject area
Marketing, entrepreneurship, operations management, and transportation/logistics.
Study level/applicability
The case is suitable for junior, senior undergraduate and first-year graduate business classes. It can be used entirely in business classes in marketing, entrepreneurship, operations management, and transportation/logistics, and parts of it can be used for discussions in classes related to emerging economies/markets, environmental management, sustainability, and technology management.
Case overview
The case builds on the expansion plan considered by a young software company, called Hangzhou Omnipay located in the city of Hangzhou, China. Mr Chao, Vice President (VP) of Omnipay, is the main character of the case. He was aware of the current car-sharing industry leader – Zipcar headquartered in Boston and also identified multiple stakeholders in the city for decision making. By collaborating with a global student project team, Mr Chao collected a great deal of information and data. This teaching case provides students and educators ample opportunities to examine, from a multitude of aspects, the viability of a car-sharing service in Hangzhou.
Expected learning outcomes
The central goal is to help students gain a comprehensive understanding of the role of car-sharing service in a country's development in sustainability, socio-economy, environmental commitment, and new urban life style, as well as in a technological company's active pursuit of business expansion opportunity. In addition, students will not only understand the social, cultural, technological and strategic perspectives of car-sharing service implementation, but also develop and enhance analytic skills needed to conduct fundamental cost analysis, determine a base-line pricing scheme, and service location network design.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available, please contact your librarian for access.
Details
Keywords
Jochen Wirtz, Indranil Sen and Sanjay Singh
Marketing; customer segmentation; operations and logistics.
Abstract
Subject area
Marketing; customer segmentation; operations and logistics.
Study level/applicability
Undergraduate business and management students, MBA/MA level application for international marketing modules incorporating customer segmentation and customer asset management.
Case overview
DHL, the international air express and logistics company, serves a wide range of customers, from global enterprises with sophisticated and high volume supply-chain solutions shipping anything from spare parts to documents, to the occasional customer who ships the odd one or two documents a year. To be able to effectively manage such a diverse customer base, DHL implemented a sophisticated customer segmentation cum loyalty management system. The focus of this system is to assess the profitability from its customers, reduce customer churn, and increase DHL's share of shipments.
Expected learning outcomes
Case teaching objectives: to demonstrate the concept of customer segmentation with loyalty management as a total system in a logistics company setting, and to evaluate appropriateness of the classification; to utilize the concept of service tier model within the company's current operations, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the model; to analyze the implementation of the customer segmentation cum loyalty management system and development of the necessary rules required to classify the various accounts into categories; to highlight the possible challenges arising from the implementation of customer segmentation cum loyalty management system, and to discuss possible methods of resolution.
Supplementary materials
Teaching note.
Details
Keywords
Khaksari Shahriar and Platikanov Stefan
The case presents a financing dilemma at a fast growing, Brazilian construction company. The growing demand for residential and commercial real estate in Brazil, coupled with the…
Abstract
Case description
The case presents a financing dilemma at a fast growing, Brazilian construction company. The growing demand for residential and commercial real estate in Brazil, coupled with the capital intensive nature of the industry generates the need for a considerable external financing. The students are invited to take the perspective of the financial manager and evaluate three financing alternatives – an issue of debentures, a seasoned equity offering, and a capital-raising ADR offering. In their evaluation and final recommendation students need to consider the implications of each of the financing alternatives on firm value, equity risk, cost of capital, financial leverage, issuance costs, and ownership structure. The case also presents a valuable opportunity to discuss the interdependence between the institutional development of an economy and the development of its capital markets.
Details
Keywords
Melodena Stephens Balakrishnan
This paper covers marketing strategy, retail management, branding, customer value, and competitive analysis.
Abstract
Subject area
This paper covers marketing strategy, retail management, branding, customer value, and competitive analysis.
Study level/applicability
The paper is applicable to undergraduate and postgraduate business and management level.
Case overview
This case spotlights Al Ain Dairy in Dubai, UAE. It focuses on the launch of the new product – “Long Life Juice” in Dubai 2010. Al Ain Diary is the UAE's largest dairy company by market share but now wants to replicate success in both the regional market and the fruit juice market. The case highlights the challenges of increasing production capabilities; product innovation; supply chain management; and brand building in newer markets.
Expected learning outcomes
This case can be used to teach marketing strategy, retail management, branding, customer value, competitive analysis, and potentially elements relating to international business strategy.
Supplementary materials
A teaching note is available on request.
Details