MUNICH, GERMANY, JANUARY 2019. Bastian Nominacher pondered how much Celonis had changed from its start in 2011, when he and his two co-founders were coding in a crammed 15-square-meter room in his flat. Reaching unicorn valuation felt "like driving a car at 250 kilometers per hour while changing the wheels," he liked to say. It had been quite a ride. The journey had entailed sending a thousand hand-written letters to leads, dropping in (uninvited) to a fancy golf club to pitch Celonis to an enterprise resource planning (ERP) tycoon, bootstrapping without external funding for seven years, despite the prevailing view that technology startups should aim to scale as fast as possible ... and a few even less glamorous activities that sounded quite surreal today. Graduating into the unicorn club had attracted the attention of prospects, current clients and competitors alike. The surge in leads required not only growing the sales team but also tightening the ties with SAP's sales team. Current clients were asking for increasingly complex projects requiring tighter integration with their information systems; hence, Celonis' younger management team had to pitch to more senior executives. Finally, the focus on scaling prompted Celonis to undergo a technological shift towards a cloud-based platform model and Celonis launched the Intelligent Business Cloud in October 2018. Was that not too much for the client base? Would the company culture survive the fast growth? And would the founders' leadership team survive the transformation?
Food safety and fraud were long-standing issues in China. For some imported products, such as Australian beef steak, food fraud could be a massive issue: consumers could purchase the wrong or even harmful products, and legitimate brands subsequently lost sales and reputation. BeefLedger Ltd. (BeefLedger) was an Australian blockchain start-up company that aimed to solve these issues by using blockchain technology to supply authentic beef products to customers in China and elsewhere. The technology also significantly improved transparency in the beef supply chain. Since 2017, BeefLedger had gained important experience in this area and achieved a certain level of success.<br><br>The concept of blockchain, proposed in late 2008 and used successfully used in finance since then, was still in its infancy in other areas. The next promising field to adopt blockchain was supply chain management, where the technology had the potential to revolutionize the supply chain with its unique functions, including immutability and decentralization. However, many challenges emerged for BeefLedger during blockchain implementation—especially in early 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic and Australia–China tensions. BeefLedger now had to determine how to handle these recent challenges.
Rodey Wing, a partner at global management consulting firm Kearney, had to decide what to recommend to a struggling retailer client with over 200,000 employees. With the client’s optometry division suffering from an excess of employees partly due to a pandemic downturn, Wing had initially planned to cut 1,500 employees from the division---laying off those with the lowest performance review ratings. However, a disproportionate impact assessment of the plan showed that employees from protected classes would make up a much larger share of terminated employees than expected. Wing had to determine how this information should impact his recommendations to the important client.
To prosper in dynamic times, businesses need to change their approach to rule-making and adherence. To transition to creating dynamic rules "rules that are built to change through collaboration, experimentation, and learning" leaders must help spread the correct mindset throughout their organizations. There are three specific steps that leaders should take to facilitate that shift: Increase employee involvement in rule-making, embrace rapid experimentation, and enact rule audits.
In April 2020, Yuno Learning Global Private Limited, an entrepreneurial venture that offered online training for International English Language Testing System examinations, wanted to optimize its digital marketing and increase the number of prospects who subscribed to the company's program. The founder and chief executive officer had to decide among multiple marketing channels and funnels to choose the option that maximized value for the marketing effort, and he had to make that decision in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when all businesses were being affected by the move to online interaction.
SATS Ltd., an airline service provider headquartered in Singapore, was the largest air cargo terminal operator at Singapore's Changi Airport. As a key player in the Asia-Pacific region, it had built its reputation as one of the top air cargo terminal operators in the world. With meticulous strategic planning, it had developed technological capabilities to navigate through many challenges and stay ahead of its competitors. In 2019, multiple challenges were arising from the external factors that had transformed the nature of the global air cargo value chain. An impending labour crisis, coupled with changing customer expectations and the threat of substitutes, meant that the company faced a fresh set of challenges. To fight these challenges, it had to decide whether to further develop its automation capabilities or to focus on driving digitalization within its operations to improve its operational efficiency.
In May 2019, a Vietnam-based entrepreneur was wondering which strategy would work best to sell nipa honey, the first product launched by his nipa palm products company, Viet Nam Nipa Development Company Limited (Viet Nipa). The product was launched in February 2019 and the entrepreneur had been selling the nipa honey at trade fairs, through partnerships with three popular resorts in his home district, and on a sales platform on Viet Nipa's Facebook page. He was reaching out to grocery retailers in Vietnam with sale propositions, but to no avail. Should the entrepreneur continue to pursue business-to-consumer (B2C) distribution or leverage his company's operational and manufacturing capabilities to shift to a business-to-business (B2B) operation? What was his target market and how should he tailor Viet Nipa's marketing strategy and tactics to these consumers? Should he also consider taking nipa honey to the international market?
This case examines the 2018 decision by the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) to introduce a futures contract on a type of crude oil widely used in Asia, in the hope that it would not only facilitate price discovery but also become an Asian benchmark for crude oil prices and encourage the use of the renminbi or Chinese yuan in international commerce. Accordingly, the futures contract was denominated in renminbi; specified market participants could make or take delivery of crude oil in various ports in mainland China; and the INE crude oil futures market was open to foreign traders from the outset. The almost-immediate success of the INE crude oil futures contract was the first significant challenge to the dominance of Brent North Sea Crude and West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures contracts as benchmarks. Yet, five years later, the Shanghai crude oil futures contract price was still not the benchmark price for crude oil in Asia. What might be done to help achieve that objective? This case provides a vehicle for discussing spot and derivative energy markets, benchmarks, and government policy objectives. It also highlights the role of market microstructure in creating successful financial innovations. The case is designed for use at McIntire in an upper-level undergraduate course, "Financial Trading." It would also be suitable in an introductory finance course or a specialized financial markets and institutions course.
In 2019, Nike and other brands were accused by the media, human rights advocates and organizations, and members of the U.S. government of potentially having supply chain ties to human rights violations of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang, China. Nike had spent decades investing in improving its supply chain reputation, building trusted partner relationships with suppliers, and taking bold steps to publicly act as a leader in corporate responsibility. But now the company was again being forced to respond to an accusation of failing to uphold human rights due to alleged forced labor. Were any of Nike's long-standing manufacturing partners willingly or unwillingly employing slave labor or using raw materials obtained through slave labor? Nike had oversight of its suppliers to adhere to the International Labor Organization standards, but how much influence did the company have over the Chinese government to follow them? If the accusations were true, should Nike leave China as a supply base and market?
Quarterly earnings calls present an opportunity for businesses to share how their long-term financial performance is tied to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. They can overcome obstacles to discussing ESG in these calls by laying the groundwork for interest in ESG, adapting the call schedule, explaining and reporting on the return on ESG investment, developing cross-functional collaborations, and staging the call as theater.
A family health crisis, difficulties making urgent medical appointments, and inefficient doctor-patient communications had convinced two tech entrepreneurs that Saudi Arabia's health care system was ripe for a digital intervention. Digital health technologies had focused primarily on health care providers, leaving patients in Saudi Arabia largely on the sidelines-was telehealth, and real-time patient communication tools, the next big digital revolution for the 33 million people in the Kingdom? And could this model expand to other Middle East countries and beyond? This case study describes the founding of Cura in 2016 and the cofounders' exploration of various telemedicine models and problem-solving efforts as challenges arose. The case concludes with a discussion of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company.
Founded in 1885, Crayola has since established itself as US-based iconic brand with a wide array of quality products and deep connections with consumers, retailers, and licensing and business partners. By March 2020, Crayola had achieved category leadership and was outselling the majority of its competitors. It was on trend with new products and online content for educators, parents, and children-all with the goal of inspiring creativity among children. Crayola had also created strong relationships with and earned the respect of retailers, who had come to value the role Crayola played in their business, especially during the two most important retail seasons: back-to-school and Christmas. At the beginning of the second quarter of 2020, Crayola had to make some critical decisions. The rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus across the United States had led to business and school closures across the country (and the world), as well as personal physical restrictions. Crayola needed to immediately focus on three key areas: maintaining company culture, collaborating with partners to preserve the volume of back-to-school revenue, and ensuring a strong supply chain to meet consumers' needs. These three actions would ensure that Crayola could take advantage of key opportunities and continue creating strong and sustainable relationships with educators, parents, and children.
In recent years, India had experienced a digital revolution, emerging as a forerunner in cashless payments and, in the process, dramatically raising the level of financial inclusion in the country. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), established in 2008 with the mandate to improve national payment systems, became a global gold standard for facilitating innovative financial technology (fintech) solutions. NPCI was created as a not-for-profit "coopetitive" organization, initiated by India's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, but owned by a consortium of India's leading banks and largely run independently. While NPCI's success in devising an open innovation platform had led to a new competitive playing field, it had also raised the question of whether or not its original coopetitive organizational design was still suitable for sustaining the flow of fintech innovations.
In 2017, the chief executive officer (CEO) and chief financial officer (CFO) of Swiss-based BauZentral, a privately owned family business, faced a restructuring challenge. BauZentral produced and sold electrical systems, plumbing systems, and smart security and energy solutions. In 2014, when the current CEO took over from his father, the company needed to address the growth associated with its successful international acquisition strategy. However, the firm's historical structure maintained tight family control, which needed to change to address the realities of the international expansion. The CEO and CFO recognized that the firm had too many different regions with different market conditions, products, and competitive environments to be effectively run from the head office. The CEO and CFO planned to use the family constitution and the firm's financial targets as criteria to devise a governance system to align the interests of management with the interests of the family owners. Their aim was to restructure the organization to achieve the firm's goal of becoming a global supplier while also respecting the family's values. What type of new governance and compensation structure should they design for the firm?
The Sunshine Foundation of Canada (Sunshine) was a national, Canadian-focused, self-funded charity established in 1987 and headquartered in London, Ontario. In the second half of 2020, the chief executive officer (CEO) and president was deciding how to create an effective email template that would serve the larger organization as the first point of contact for potential donors. Sunshine's relationships and donor pipeline were the organization's lifeline, and with strong competition in the non-profit milieu, the CEO knew securing funds in the individual-giving category would be difficult. How could she outline Sunshine's differences and highlight why the prospective client would be interested in becoming a donor? How could she convert these prospects into new Sunshine donors?
Following the 2008 China milk scandal, Chinese infant milk formula products were regarded as unsafe, and Chinese consumers were preferring to pay high prices for the products of foreign brands. As one of the few companies not involved in the milk scandal, China Feihe Limited (Feihe) was able to maintain steady growth in product sales in the medium- and low-end market, but it did not have a differentiation advantage over foreign brands; therefore, its sales results in the high-end market were poor. In 2015, Feihe carried out a strategic transformation and repositioned its brand proposition, which led to increased customer value. The company also launched a new product series, which allowed it to create a competitive advantage. In 2019, Feihe was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. However, other brands started to imitate Feihe in developing products that were suitable for Chinese babies, which made investors doubt whether or not Feihe could maintain its competitive advantage. What action should Feihe take to maintain its competitive advantage and its position in the market?
Blockchain is a digital, distributed, immutable ledger designed to build trust among parties without requiring an independent, third-party arbitrator or intermediary. The technology has potential to improve a variety of industries, including the complex, fragmented, analog food supply chain. In this case study, the fictional director of food safety at Walmart, Frederick Durmot, seeks to leverage blockchain for supply chain safety and transparency. The key dilemma is how to make Walmart's blockchain implementation successful. While food safety improvements may alone represent a win for the company, blockchain could also have major impacts on supply chain efficiency, product design, and social and environmental issues. The major risk to consider is unwanted scrutiny due to heightened transparency in the supply chain.
This case is used to explore the strategic concept of "look forward, reason back." Roku in 2021 is trying to figure out the future of television and streaming media. Students are asked to provide a vision for television and streaming media (that is, Look Forward) by the middle of the decade, and then reason back to the strategic choices it should take in 2021. Roku is well positioned, but industry and consumer habits are changing quickly, and Roku must decide whether to focus on creating its own exclusive content, focus on licensing its OS to TV manufacturers, and/or remain the "Switzerland" of the streaming media world, without competing with content players or TV OEMs.
This case follows the development of Daddy Lab, a Chinese social enterprise founded in 2015 by Wenfeng Wei. With extensive experience in product safety testing, Wei started Daddy Lab to tackle the social problem of poor-quality and hazardous consumer products used by children and their families in China. By identifying, testing, and reporting such products to the public via social media, Wei became an internet celebrity. Nicknamed "Daddy Wei," he racked up millions of followers on China's most popular social media platform, WeChat. In 2018, Daddy Lab received China Gold Social Enterprise certification from the China Charity Fair. That same year, Daddy Lab generated average monthly revenue of approximately ¥5 million by selling high-quality, non-hazardous products online. As Daddy Lab continued to grow and tackle its social mission, it faced numerous challenges. Social entrepreneur Wei realized that he faced the dilemma of trying to make the world a safer place for children and their families while making a profit to sustain this purpose. Wei had established a model to make profits through Daddy Lab's dual roles as a "reviewer" and a "seller" but wondered whether it was appropriate for this social enterprise. As Wei considered Daddy Lab's future, the following questions kept him awake at night: Was Daddy Lab's current business model effective in achieving its social and financial goals? How could Daddy Lab better manage its dual roles as a "reviewer" and a "seller"? How could Daddy Lab become more sustainable in the future?