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The customer relationship manager at JSW Steel Ltd., a large steel manufacturer in India, needed to analyze his available transportation and logistics options to meet an urgent order for a long-time and valued client. The manager needed to decide whether to send the shipment through the customary rail route or, instead, to use the new sea route that his company had recently developed. His dual objective was to meet the customer's requirements in time, while also delivering some financial benefit to boost his company’s quarterly results.

In May 2016, a business student from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was considering expanding his print advertising business, which he had been operating out of his home for the past five years. He was about to graduate from the School of Commerce at Addis Ababa University, and he needed to put together an action plan for his company’s potential expansion. His options were: (1) continue operating his business as is; (2) invest in an office location and move the business out of his home; and (3) invest in new machines that would allow him to bring banner printing operations in-house. Now it was time to consider the pros and cons of these options and prepare an action plan, including how to obtain the financing for fixed asset investments.

Instructor spreadsheet to accompany product 8B17E008.

Spreadsheet to accompany product 9B17A033.

In January 2016, the chief executive officer of Harley’s Corner, an India-based online retailer of gourmet dog food, faced a decision dilemma. He needed to decide on the most suitable positioning strategy for the business, which competed against several well-known brands, including other fresh, gourmet, home-cooked food for pets. Harley’s Corner needed to convey a proposition that ran deeper than simply representing an “all-natural, home-cooked” fresh pet food. How could he differentiate the offerings in a relevant way to retain his loyal customers, attract new customers, and thereby grow the business? What was the best way to position his brand, Harley’s Corner, which catered to a niche segment?

In October 2013, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Canada’s largest bank, hired a new head of Enterprise Fraud Strategy, a department tasked with protecting RBC’s global customers from fraud. The department head’s immediate priority was to prevent fraudulent transactions by RBC’s own customers—a phenomenon called first-party fraud—by implementing a bourgeoning technology called social network analysis (SNA). The technology used predictive analytics and big data to forecast the occurrence of first-party fraud. The head of Enterprise Fraud Strategy had three primary questions: First, how should SNA be used to bring down the ratio of fraud alerts to actual fraud at RBC? Second, how should the cost of maintaining SNA protocols be reduced? Finally, how should the issues around systemic performance of SNA be resolved?

Indian start-up firm ColoredCow achieved impressive growth in its first three years. In 2016, the company earned ₹725 million in net revenue, an increase of 140 per cent over the previous year. In early 2017, the company’s target for 2020 was very ambitious: its founder hoped to reach ₹2.5 billion in total revenues, which would be challenging for a company with only 16 employees and a multi-directional focus. ColoredCow's founder wanted to build a direct sales channel to help achieve this target. With rapid changes taking place across the information technology industry, the firm faced some serious questions: What technical and digital capabilities would ColoredCow need to implement to achieve success in the future? What scalability issues would the company likely face? What should ColoredCow’s strategic plan for growth be?

Late in 2016, the owner of a lingerie business in Düsseldorf, Germany, faced a series of questions regarding the health of her business in a changing environment. The German retail environment had traditionally consisted of many specialized (often family-owned) small- to medium-sized retailers, and many of these stores had not kept pace with globalization and the digital revolution; market changes and increasing competition forced them to close. Other main street retailers managed to grow in these challenging environments, overcoming and moving in front of their previous competitors. HKS Wäsche & Dessous was one of those independent retailers. How could the owner of such a business continue to cope with the changing business environment? How could she deal with the digital revolution or even turn it to her advantage? What can entrepreneurs do to maintain and even develop their businesses?

In August 2015, the managing director of the Tamil Nadu Handloom Weavers’ Co-operative Society Ltd. (Co-optex), an Indian state handloom co-operative, was preparing to receive an award for one of the organization’s products during the first National Handloom Day celebrations in India. While the award was a validation of the managing director’s efforts to revive Co-optex, which had accumulated significant losses for 13 years, his worries were far from over. Co-optex faced a host of challenges, both on the demand and supply sides. The public-sector organization had experienced a 77 per cent decline in profits over the past year. The director wondered what constituted failure for a public-sector organization. How should Co-optex reinvent itself in a changing competitive landscape to stay ahead of competition and remain relevant in the context of the changing profile of Indian customers?

In January 2017, the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of StarTech.com was meeting with the chief operating officer to discuss the London, Ontario, company’s supply chain strategy. With sales of $190 million in 2016, StarTech.com, a manufacturer and distributor of hard-to-find technology products, had grown by almost $70 million in the previous four years and was expected to grow at 20 per cent a year for the next three years. The CEO wanted to ensure that the firm’s supply chain strategy simultaneously supported its aggressive growth targets and optimized its inventory investments. What initiatives should the company consider to ensure high levels of product availability for end-users? How could the company enhance its value proposition to customers while also improving operating margins and inventory productivity?

1-800-Flowers.com was a market leader in the floral gift industry, offering solutions for everyday gift needs as well as for special occasions. The U.S. company’s mission was to “deliver smiles” to its customers by designing and delivering innovative and valuable gifts. 1-800-Flowers.com had a very good brand in terms of floral distribution. However, the online market for flower and gift sales was changing rapidly, presenting new opportunities for efficiencies and market expansion. In March 2012, the company's chief executive officer was faced with a pressing decision. How could 1-800-Flowers.com gain competitive advantage through collaborations with the extended supply chain?

In 2016, Canadian Arrow Mines Limited (CRO) had a promising nickel property, the Kenbridge deposit, located 70 kilometres southeast of Kenora, Ontario. The spot had been the site of significant exploration in the past. Further exploration by CRO had indicated that it could be profitable. CRO had spent close to CA$10 million on redevelopment, and needed a further $3 million for the final feasibility study before going into full operation. In 2007, nickel hit a high of $27 per pound, but by 2009, prices had dipped to under $8 per pound, which severely curtailed the firm’s ability to raise the final $3 million. CRO turned its attention to other projects to raise money in the hope of a recovery, but the trend had been negative until mid-2016. To save the property, CRO had laid off all of its employees and reduced expenses to the minimum required. With a small recovery evident, CRO management wondered if CRO should hang on further and wait for nickel prices to rise enough to support the final feasibility study. The team wanted to know what nickel price was required to run a profitable operation. Were there any indicators about which direction this price would take in the future?

Instructor Spreadsheet for product 8B17M037. FY 2016 financial statement A.

Instructor Spreadsheet for product 8B17M037. FY 2016 financial statement B.

Instructor Spreadsheet to accompany product 8B17M037. FY 2016 financial statement C.

Spreadsheet for product 9B17M037.

NeoGenius Co., Ltd. (NeoGenius) was an early-stage entrepreneurial venture based in South Korea. Founded in February 2000, NeoGenius provided a wide range of business-to-business (B2B) e-business software and related services. In June 2001, the company was up and running, but it faced competition from larger firms, and the effects of a global economic downturn; as a result, its financial performance was falling short of expectations. NeoGenius had received significant offers from three different entities: a business partner, a competitor, and a venture capitalist. The chief executive officer had only a short time to choose from several options, including growth and exit.

This two-case series focuses on leadership succession and strategic transformation in a Chinese private business, Qingdao Red Collar Group Co., Ltd. (Red Collar Group).<br><br>Case A describes the strategic transformation put forward by the founder and chief executive officer, who firmly believed that the personalized customization model (i.e., the model based on made-to-order products) was the future of the traditional mass-production model. As a result of a decade of efforts and millions of dollars in investment, Red Collar Group successfully launched a global suit-customization supplier platform, Red Collar Made to Measure. In 2013, Red Collar Group upgraded its strategy, aiming to provide thorough solutions for the garment industry. Behind the strategic transformation in this case is the story of the chief executive officer, who was willing to hold on to his dream despite the lack of support from his employees. He was looking for a professional manager to succeed him as the leader of the company.<br><br>See 9B17M004 for Case B.

This two-case series focuses on leadership succession and strategic transformation in a Chinese private business, Qingdao Red Collar Group Co., Ltd. (Red Collar Group).<br><br>Case B illustrates the succession story from the perspective of the chief executive officer’s daughter. When most of the professional managers did not meet the chief executive officer’s requirements, he reached out to his children. His daughter joined Red Collar Group in 2005, and succeeded her father as president in 2009 after he had observed her good performance and strong capabilities. Although she has performed remarkably as a leader, she understood that the succession was still a work in progress and that various challenges needed to be overcome while implementing the strategy.<br><br>This case is a supplement to 9B17M003.

Earls Restaurants, Ltd., a Canadian restaurant chain headquartered in Vancouver, was facing a communications crisis in April 2016, when it changed its sourcing policy with regard to beef. In a bid to appeal to millennial consumers, who were conscious of animal welfare standards, it decided to source beef from a U.S. farm that had its beef independently certified as humane. This cut out the restaurant’s traditional supply sources among Canadian ranchers, most specifically in Alberta, where the restaurant chain had been founded. The backlash was immediate. After discussing the situation with his core management team and asking a consultant for help formulating a communication strategy, the company’s president had to decide how to proceed to restore the company’s reputation. Should Earls do nothing and wait for the attention to die down, go back to sourcing its beef through Canadian suppliers, or continue to serve humane beef in its restaurants?