Logistics/Supply Chain Management Cases
Balancing Revenue, Volume, and Price
Abstract
Just Tents, Inc. specializes in large tents. They are manufactured in Wisconsin from fine materials manufactured in various parts of the U.S. The employees at Just Tents have worked with their vendors for many years and have been able to create several tent models using materials from their loyal vendors. Even though pricing pressures have been significant, the financial results from the company have been good as more people are taking their families out away from the cities for adventures and family vacations. Many families want to have a tent that meets their needs but needs vary, and most tent manufacturers are not accommodating. An online design tool has been integrated into the Just Tents website such that customers can build and order the tent that they want with the features that are interesting to them. Once they have virtually built their tent, they pay for it and it goes into production. Once the tent has been manufactured, it is sent to the purchaser’s house that submitted the order. This case discusses the financial results for Just Tents and relates the volume with the revenue and the price structure as represented on a financial scorecard. This information is used to make critical decisions in the company leading to growth strategies and operational performance.
Creating a Media Platform to Resolve Distribution Hurdles
Abstract
A successful investor wanted to help the community of independent filmmakers distribute their content. Unfortunately, the cost was a barrier and so the content remained unavailable to the public. Movie viewers were complaining that the major studios were producing content that was full of special effects but bland when it came to the storyline. Many viewers wanted to have a different experience. Independently produced titles were the answer to this unmet need. The solution was to establish a unique platform that carried content from various independent film distributors. A company was engaged to create the platform. They prepared all the assets and uploaded them onto a platform from which viewers could select the content that interested them. The user interface (UI) for the portal was attractive and intuitive. It was not overly complicated, but it separated the titles by genre for easy searching. Poster art was used for selection and a trailer gave the potential viewer the chance to see what they might purchase before doing so. Within three months the team was able to leverage the orders that Jamal routed to BPP resulting in a platform with 7000 titles (movie packages) that many viewers had not been able to see.
Proof of Delivery Download Cycle-Time Reduction
Abstract
MediaCorp was using 125 freight agents (think brokers) including 25 direct-to-customer (DTC) carriers to move freight across the U.S. Within this vendor pool only six agents and two DTC carriers consistently transmit their proof of delivery documents (POD’s) within 12 hrs. The goal, in this case, is to reduce the time between physical delivery and POD transmission such that all POD’s are delivered within 12 hours at a contractually obligated 95% success rate. This improvement will improve the company’s ability to provide customers with POD’s in a timely manner. In this case, the agents and the DTC’s performance will be measured. The current performance during the last 12 months was that only 4.8% of the agents used and 8% of the DTC carriers used transmitted their POD’s within 12 hours. If the POD’s are transmitted within contractual SLAs (service level agreements) then the cash flow is enhanced as all involved in the supply chain can be paid faster.
Ready for Change: Gasoline to Electric Car Manufacturing
Abstract
Electric vehicles are enjoying an increasing growth in vehicular market share. The manufacturing of electric cars requires either a new facility to be built around the process or existing facilities must be converted to accommodate the new workflows associated with the changes to the components used and the assembly requirements. In this case, an existing facility in Mexico City is converted to produce electric vehicles. The employees in the facility have been building internal combustion engine vehicles for many years and now they need to transition into an area that is unfamiliar to them in many ways. Not only will the workflows and the components change but assembly methods will be different. The technologies used will be new. The culture in Mexico is relevant to the change effort. Consequently, an assessment of readiness for this change is critical to the overall strategic plan.
Reducing The Unbilled Balance To Minimize The Need For Working Capital
Abstract
Digital Marketing, Inc. (DMI) wanted to grow quickly. They had been in ‘start-up’ mode for three years, had built a global footprint, and now it was time to scale. Deals were being made and the revenue forecast was looking promising. Cash flow was a problem that put stress on working capital as the company took on more labor for growth projects. During some month’s payroll was a challenge. George, the CFO, asked the controller. Mattie, to put together a team to investigate the issues with cash flow and make corrections such that the company could invest in its future. In the first session, several ideas came up from accounts receivable to vendor management, however, the team decided to look at unbilled revenue as a starting point for the first phase of the project, the subject of this case. Unbilled revenue is the amount of revenue that is not billed or not ready to be billed after a billing and revenue post has happened. The forecast looked promising each month, but the monthly results were always off by several hundred thousand dollars. Where was the leak? Was the company performing work that was not being billed? The reconciliation activities between forecasting amounts and invoiced amounts were the beginning of the project.
Scanning the Mexican Food Business Environment
Abstract
MMG was a leading Mexican-style restaurant with big plans to expand worldwide. Mexican food is popular in many countries, it is easy to make, and it has healthy ingredients. The founder of MMG, Steve Martinez, started as a food stand owner near a manufacturing center. The company grew into an international organization with restaurants in many countries. It was time now to grow the company and saturate markets that did not have access to Steve’s cuisine. The founder decided to use environmental scans to help them with their strategic planning. The information from the scans exposed risks and opportunities. This was valuable information as decision-makers were deciding in which countries expansions should take place.
Segregating Operations, QC, and Client Services to Make Grass
Abstract
A sod farm transformed itself into an international turf manufacturing company. One thing led to another as the business environment and sod environment changed. With the growth came iterations of change in the organizational design. The envisioned design had clear lines and the segregation of duties. Even so, the current design had evolved to something that was sloppy and hard to manage. Stakeholders were not sure to whom they should go if they had a suggestion or a struggle. STL decided to increase its ability to be profitable by implementing a clear organizational design. The result was improved performance and reliability. STL was better able to grow and keep its promises.
Alternative Bioenergy for the Energy Starved
Abstract
Algoil, LLC is an energy company. They create a variety of fuels from algae. A unique process, genetically modified algae, and plant design rigor enable Algoil to be profitable while helping the energy-starved population in South America and Africa. Algoil has used a scaling methodology to minimize processing plant design risk. This has enabled Algoil to duplicate facilities in two continents with three different capacity-related sizes to choose from. At the core of the endeavor is a technology that is both biological and process-related. These technologies are exploited in a commercial context leveraging country-specific development plans and vision-based initiatives. In this case, the development of a prototype facility and portfolio of products must be scalable. The case discusses methodologies used to scale biochemical processing facilities while minimizing the associated risk.
Logistics to a Large Group of Music Stores
Abstract
The current marketplace has competing variable sensitivities including product volume, volatility, and price. This sensitivity creates tension in the supply chain and makes success incumbent upon knowledge of pipeline requirements along the supply chain from marketing to raw materials requirements. A supplier to a chain of stores was able to manage their relationship by constantly evaluating their pipeline design. Profitability throughout the supply chain was sustained, as pricing for products with predictable forecasting was sourced with lower costs. Products that had poor forecasting accuracy were locally sourced using agile vendors with burst capacity. This case discusses how a supplier, which was a distributor of materials for a chain of music stores, was careful to avoid revenue cannibalization. Stockouts are the ultimate mistake, however, transparency throughout the supply chain enabled the flow of product at a pace that matched the appetite of the market that the chain of stores served.
Building on a Humanitarian Legacy
Abstract
A company that was built on a legacy of humanitarian service decided to build its own plane based on its knowledge of operating requirements in remote areas. With many thousands of hours of experience, STOL Supreme Aircraft Company was able to map out opportunities in international markets. Their new plane, the Arava, was able to accommodate niche services in an expansive portfolio. With the prospect of expansion comes risk and reward. The company had to consider the opportunity in light of all the variables that needed consideration. Ultimately, they were able to manage significant expansion and growth while increasing profits per unit sold.
Abstract
Software development and platform-based distribution is a significant business segment in the digital global economy. Action Design has had success in building an open platform that has attracted a significant amount of attention from game developers. Essentially, the platform has now enabled anyone in the world to influence what is on the platform providing earning potential to the submitter. The challenge is to make sure that the games that are submitted actually work. A pre-qual process is used to make sure requirements are met. Additionally, a bug clearing methodology using an S-curve Burn-Down chart is used to make sure that new release dates are met.
Interactive Digital Signage using Digitally Addressable Surfaces
Abstract
A company has spent considerable effort figuring out how to paint displays on continuous surfaces. This technology has opened up a significant market for them in digital signage. A unique technological advance has made it possible to display advertising on these paint-on surfaces. While this challenge is behind them, the next one is daunting. Swansea Digital now needs to take the advertising content used in static and interactive displays and prepare the elements into an asset package that will be used by a centralized distribution system that will manage the content on each display at any location globally. The content is often localized to accommodate language, censorship, and cultural differences. These packages need to be prepared from a content library continuously curated for the advertising company's clients. The schedule must be adhered to for SD to be profitable in this market. Creating an optimized workflow with a suitable throughput will be essential. This case discusses their approach to leveraging the opportunity.
Recycling Large Electric Vehicle Batteries
Abstract
Electric vehicles (EVs) will likely have a market share in vehicle sales in less than 20 years. The lifespan of the batteries that propel these vehicles is about ten years, although this might change with new technologies. Batteries are already starting to pile up as many have achieved the end of life. The ability to recycle the lithium-ion batteries currently being used will keep them out of landfills and keep their toxic materials from polluting groundwater. Pyro-Recyclers has developed an economically feasible workflow that will reduce the need for both mining new raw materials and the use of landfills as the terminal location of spent batteries. A recycling process needs to be implemented in the battery supply chain that has the necessary recovery efficiency in returning critical materials to battery reconstruction at a cost less than the cost to make the battery using newly mined materials.
Abstract
Global supply chains are dependent on logistics constraints and manufacturing uptime. Disruptions in the transportation systems used to move raw materials used in manufacturing can be disrupted by several constraints and random events. Government policies can disrupt supply chains that are dependent on manufacturing production. Speedster Athletics is dependent on a global supply chain and has lost the ability to bring a product to distributors due to constraints. Supply chain issues have caused them to have a backlog of 10's of millions of shoes, leading to loyal customers leaving for other brands that can deal with supply issues. These constraints will need to be understood and mitigated to increase throughput to deal with the backlog. Throughput accounting can be used to measure the impact of the actions taken to achieve minimal inventories and consistent flow aligned with demand. A balanced scenario is the most profitable situation for Speedster Athletics.
Marketing an Integrated System of Products
Abstract
Product launches are fraught with risk. While the product's usefulness is essential, getting the product in front of potential purchasers and then acquiring the product at a price that makes everyone happy is complicated. In this case, a group of interactive products was invented. The product is an opportunity to solve whatever someone wants to hang from a surface (generally a vertical one). A variety of items could be hung, removed, and replaced quickly due to a proprietary snap design in each of the items in either male or female form. Snap Lights was working on launching this product, which had become mature through feedback from experts in a commercial context who used large quantities of related products and input obtained from individual users of similar products. The portfolio offered by Snap Lights made this type of work easier. Their marketing strategy for getting the product in front of consumers to make a purchase is discussed. Further discussion includes extending the lifecycle of the system of products through incremental additions to the system, creating additional value.
