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Early in 2008, Tony Truesdale, President of the Vitamin Shoppe, was preparing for a meeting with the company's investment bankers. In particular, he was wrestling with supply chain issues that were becoming increasingly pronounced in light of the company's aggressive growth plan. Truesdale recognized that it was nearly impossible to effectively manage the company's large and fragmented supply base, resulting in higher than necessary costs and lower than desired performance. The company also relied too heavily on one supplier for a significant amount of the company's volume. Truesdale recognized that it was nearly impossible to effectively manage the company's large and fragmented supply base, resulting in higher than necessary costs and lower than desired performance. The company also relied too heavily on one supplier for a significant amount of the company's volume.

Further, in the company's single distribution center, 95 percent of the available storage capacity was utilized throughout most of 2007; well above what was considered optimal. The lack of space was driving excessive product handling and increasing operating expenses. The company's inbound and outbound transportation strategies also contributed to inefficiencies and unnecessary costs. Operating efficiencies could be achieved if all transportation needs were brought together under one strategic umbrella. Truesdale was certain that in order to reach the company's growth targets and maintain its competitive advantage, addressing these supply chain issues was critical. Students are asked to describe the specific issues affecting supply chain performance and recommend approaches to solving the problems

This case describes the challenges faced by Amul in organising dairy farmers into a co-operative and creating continuous opportunities for value addition. Participants in the case discussion are required to review the developments in the organisation and recommend a strategy for the future.

This case study considers the supply chain redesign of a multinational company, with specific emphasis on production lot sizing, inventory policy and transportation decisions.

The material is intended for senior level students of business administration, logistics and similar departments. An intermediate knowledge of supply chain, purchasing and inventory concepts is required; therefore, the case is better suited for students who have taken one-semester courses on supply chain management and inventory management. This case can be used in graduate courses as part of discussions on physical distribution, supply chain design/redesign, risk pooling through process optimization.

Within the global market, establishing the right business model where cost of operations is optimized has become key for competitiveness. This necessitates the simultaneous consideration and reevaluation of production, inventory and transportation interactivities within the integrated supply chain. We first discuss the business procurement model of a multinational company with emphasis on critical aspects of the current structure. An alternative model brought into consideration by the managers of the company considers consolidation of shipments through supply hubs and distribution to regional manufacturers. We present an analysis based on perspectives of company managers for and against this new business model. We finally provide numeric evidence on relevant costs of both models in order to enhance further discussion on redesign decisions.

The discussion regarding the case will provide a better understanding of key concepts of supply chain integration and coordination as well as the significance of the optimization of underlying processes.

Teaching notes.

Small to medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, play a critical role in the global economy. They comprise 90% of the global firm population and employ more than 50% of the labor force in the private sector. This case study examines issues related to sustainable supply chain management and social entrepreneurship in the SME context. Being small does matter and the efficiencies of small to medium-sized companies struggling for competitive advantage in the global marketplace warrants consideration. Philosopher's Wool Co., located in Inverhuron, Ontario, Canada, is a woolen producer and woolens product manufacturer that partners with other Ontario wool producers and American wool processors and distributors. Its sustainable vertical supply chain system increased local woolen farmers' revenues contrary to the “conventional” price wisdom in the Canadian woolen industry and turned by-product cost into profitable end use. It also effected social change in its local business community and in global customer relations through resource efficiency and socially responsible employee and consumer policies. However, the struggle to maintain a foreign distribution network and remain competitive and profitable was problematic. Students are challenged to solve the problems of an SME operating in a global economy.

The case deals with the financial and accounting aspects of the one of the important aspects of Power Sector Reforms in the developing countries. It captures the experiment of involving the private parties in improving the overall performance of the company.

The case can be used at postgraduate-level studies in Management, Accounting or Commerce.

The organization in focus is a unique case where the regulator of the sector has become its manager. The shareholder with the majority stake has withdrawn from the business, but the ownership has not been transferred and the organization is now under the custody of the regulators. The organization has a very weak balance sheet, so finding a new owner is not easy, if not impossible. Purposeful inefficiency and a rent-seeking attitude at the field level forced the new chairperson of the State Regulatory Commission to take the bold step of involving the private parties to strengthen the operations of the organization with the sole purpose of improving the financials of the organization. The organization entered into a contract with more than three private companies using variations of a franchisee model. Will such shift improve the overall performance of the organization? The case will try to capture the shift and its ramifications.

The objective of the case is to introduce students to certain strategic decisions that organizations must take to make them financially strong and vibrant. The case requires students to critically examine the legal, financial and accounting implications of the decisions taken by the management. It provides an opportunity to undertake a detailed analysis of the financial position of the company. The case provides lessons about several complications of evaluating corporate and divisional performance. The case contains issues relating to finance, law and accounting which can all be discussed at the postgraduate level. Knowledge about the regulatory issues affecting the power sector will add further value to the analysis. In case students are not exposed to the regulatory accounting and finance, it is necessary for them to go through the suggested readings as a prelude to the case analysis. The following may be the guiding objectives for the class discussion: to critically examine the changes in the organizational ownership and management of regulated entity; to undertake analysis of the financial performance of a regulated entity; to evaluate the financial implication of micro-privatization of certain activities of a regulated entity.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Marketing management and marketing strategy, rural marketing, sales and distribution.

Students of business schools specialising in the area of marketing or rural marketing.

The case focuses on the rural market. It deals with the alternative distribution channels adopted for last mile distribution among rural consumers of underdeveloped Odisha (India). The case discusses key issues pertaining to rural marketing, business viability, social issues and public sentiment.Easy access is an entrepreneurial venture by an erstwhile intellectual marketing professor of a premier B-school. The objective behind this initiative is multiple, viz., rural marketing, developing alternative distribution networks, women empowerment, etc. The case highlights that the business of Easy Access started with noble social objectives like women empowerment and developing a cost effective distribution network so that rural customers would be benefited. The case also highlights that the practices adopted by Easy access was not good enough to track & forecast demand effectively as well as the supply chain to replenish stock was not proper.Since the particular market is a backward region and there are number of Govt. schemes and people are given many things for free. People thought Easy Access is result of one of such schemes. Also there were social issues of improper address and mismatch identity (as mentioned in the case) etc.So the issues of demand forecasting and supply chain management along with social issues resulted in financial loss and thus the viability of business venture (Easy Access) is a concern. The social objectives associated with this venture are also at stake or at danger because of financial loss.

The case provides insights into the marketing concepts like rural marketing, marketing strategy in emerging markets and sales and distribution.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is about to launch the first of three pilot Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects to improve water supply in Delhi. The case describes the past history of such projects and the design of new pilot projects, especially the terms of the concession agreements. This provides an opportunity for assessing the PPP Concession agreement in terms of incentivizing performance and simultaneously maintaining flexibility given project uncertainties.

This case study aims to be taught at an MBA level. Students who are majoring in the supply chain would benefit the most from this case study. This case study has elements of logistics management, supply chain management, supply chain strategies, warehouse and logistics and responsible supply chain. The learning outcome of this case study could be seen if the students identify the gaps in the real market setting and come up with strategies that would connect and/or fill the areas missing. Teaching objective 1: students should be able to identify unstable demand scenarios and learn how demand collaboration could be implemented in that setting. Teaching objective 2: students should identify how a transparent and interconnected supply chain, both upstream and downstream, can be created. Teaching objective 3: students should be able to understand the role of a responsible supply chain and to define the role and responsibility of each party. Teaching objective 4: students should be able to learn the dynamics of safety stocks, reorder points and incorporate that in warehouse management decisions.

Based in Lahore, Pakistan, Total Technologies (Pvt.) Ltd is a company that supplies medical equipment and provides solutions in the health-care industry. This case explores the supply chain issues faced by Tallat Mehmood, who is the Managing Director of the company, during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2021. Oxygen cylinders have become the need of the hour as more and more patients need oxygen. The supply of medical gases across Pakistan has become a logistical issue, causing hospital reserves to be drained without timely replenishment. Increasing the number of beds in hospitals, with limited oxygen outlets, has increased the demand for oxygen cylinders. Operating under unstable demand and not being able to meet it has caused Tallat to realize that the company is out of its comfort zone and is not responding well to the environment. The company needs to redesign the supply chain as well as collaborate with the supplier and buyer to provide better levels of service.

Masters level supply chain courses.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 9: Operations and logistics.

Stan Kent, vice president of pharmacy at NorthShore University HealthSystem, is faced with the challenge of seasonal planning for the influenza vaccine. The supply received by the multilocation healthcare system is unreliable in terms of timing and quantity. As part of improved planning, Kent is contemplating a new contract with NorthShore's major supplier of flu vaccines. The options under consideration include fixing either the date of delivery or the quantity delivered. The main decision involved in either option would be how much vaccine to order. The case also provides details about the seasonal influenza epidemic in the United States, illustrates operational complexities of the U.S. flu vaccine supply chain, and provides a brief description of the various channels used to distribute flu vaccine to end consumers.

The main objective of the case is to illustrate supply chain decision making when there is an unreliable supply (in contrast to the usual case of uncertain demand). A secondary objective is to make students think about appropriate internal (within sector) and external (other sectors) benchmarks to evaluate the performance of a health commodity supply chain.

Continuous process improvement has been widely taught in business schools and has yielded real results and success in both for-profit and non-profit sectors. Though there have been many cases developed for use in business schools, few, if any, situate the topic in a military context. Further, expeditionary logistics presents managers with special problems of being removed from their supporting enterprise systems that process, track, and/or control of such logistical elements as purchase orders, inventory, distribution, receivables, and fulfillment. The authors present a case in a military setting that exposes students to the challenges of expeditionary logistics and takes them through the fundamentals of process analysis and process improvement.

The authors used a research methodology of a case study. Data were collected during field visits over the course of multiple interviews. Interviews were conducted with subject matter experts and active professionals serving in US Navy expeditionary logistics roles regarding processes and process performance.

This case can be applied to senior undergraduate or graduate-level courses in operations management, supply chain management, or logistics.

The theoretical bases adopted in this paper are supply chain management, information technology, operations management, and process improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma and Lean.