Rain Industries Limited: Responding to Global Supply Chain Shifts

Rain Industries Limited (Rain), through its wholly owned subsidiary Rain Carbon Inc., produced upcycled carbon products from the by-products of steel and petroleum and other industries. The demand- and supply-driven shifts and various sustainability initiatives by industries both downstream and upstream in Rain’s existing supply chain could prove to be disruptive, requiring strategizing and future-proofing. When the Government of India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry banned the import of green petroleum coke, also called petcoke, in 2018, Rain’s chief financial officer had to decide whether it was the right time to identify and implement different supply chain risk mitigation measures.

This case can be used in logistics or supply chain management courses for second-year MBA or executive MBA students. It can also be used in introductory supply chain management courses for first-year students and in advanced and specialized elective courses such as supply networks, supply chain modelling, and supply chain analytics.<br><br/>This case, which presents the situation of an upcycled carbon products company navigating changes in global supply and demand and environmental regulations, is set at the intersection of three large-scale industries: petroleum, steel, and aluminum. Each of these industries has techno-economic legacies and continues to undergo global changes due to internal changes in technology and external factors such as economics, politics, and regulatory changes. The case provides a rich ground for engaging students in discussions of the strategic evolution of a firm’s global value chain in light of upstream and downstream changes. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:<ul><li>Identify the unique characteristics of industrial supply chains.</li><li>Perform strategic assessments of global supply chains.</li><li>Describe the increasing role of sustainability in supply chain decisions.</li><li>Explain the role of flexibility and global supply networks in mitigating supply chain risks.</li><li>Evaluate the logistical requirements for an industrial producer adapting to changes in an existing supply chain.</li></ul>

• industrial supply chain
• supply chain
• process industry
• global logistics
• strategy
• operations management