One of India’s leading stainless steel conglomerates, Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL) specialized in manufacturing flat sheets and coils, specific sections, pipes, and tubes. Abhyudaya Jindal, the managing director of JSL, was recently informed about the growing number of counterfeit products on the market that were adversely impacting JSL’s brand reputation and sales, as well as goodwill towards the company.<br><br>This case explores the challenges faced by Abhyudaya Jindal as he tried to address the issue of counterfeiting in the stainless steel pipes and tubes market. The case discusses various ways a company can battle counterfeit goods and how co-branding can be used as a market strategy. The case also examines how strengthening relationships with channel members can help a brand fight counterfeiting.
One of India's leading stainless steel conglomerates, Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL) specialized in manufacturing flat sheets and coils, specific sections, pipes, and tubes. Abhyudaya Jindal, the managing director of JSL, was recently informed about the growing number of counterfeit products on the market that were adversely impacting JSL's brand reputation and sales, as well as goodwill towards the company. This case explores the challenges faced by Abhyudaya Jindal as he tried to address the issue of counterfeiting in the stainless steel pipes and tubes market. The case discusses various ways a company can battle counterfeit goods and how co-branding can be used as a market strategy. The case also examines how strengthening relationships with channel members can help a brand fight counterfeiting.
Jay Bharat Spices Pvt. Ltd., a company located in Cuttack, India, was involved in the manufacturing and distribution of spices across India under the brand name Bharat Masala. The company specialized in producing basic spices such as turmeric powder, cumin powder, and chili powder. The senior management team had recently noticed a rise in demand for the spice garam masala in the East India market and asked the company's vice-president of East India operations to oversee the launch of this new product over the next six months. The vice-president was now struggling with multiple constraints related to the launch, including storage capacity in the warehouse and various financial constraints that were forcing him to look for a more economical and efficient solution.
In 2017, the general manager of Rajarambapu Patil Co-operative Sugar Factory, a 50-year-old sugar plant in India, needed to recommend a strategy for the factory's upcoming production cycle. For the aggregate production plan, he was considering three options: a chase strategy, a level strategy, and a subcontracting strategy. The company faced multiple challenges, including a limited pool of skilled labourers, employee poaching by competitors and allied manufacturers, the wide availability of job options in metro cities, and pressure from the labour union. Company management wanted to optimize profits, while reducing risks and incurring no extra costs. How should the general manager decide which strategy would best meet all the criteria?
In April 2018, the owner of Express Bike Works (EBW), an Indian start-up that provided automated motorcycle washing, among other services, was planning to expand his business to various locations in South India, such as Udupi, Chennai, and Bangalore. He needed to decide whether to expand through self-owned stores or franchise stores and wondered how to select appropriate store locations. His objective was to come up with an expansion strategy that would maximize his payoff.
DailyFish was an emerging e-commerce enterprise that was started in 2016 by Baby Marine Ventures, one of the largest exporters of frozen seafood from India. Subramanian Sankaran, Head of Loyalties and customer service management (CSM) was facing challenges related to increased missed calls in the call center that eventually led to a loss of sales opportunities. The chief executive officer of the company instructed Sankaran to reduce the waiting time per call by one third, thereby minimizing the missed calls. Sankaran had to find out how to minimize the waiting time without compromising the call quality. He was looking forward to hiring a couple of executives to tackle the issue. He planned to find the best fit using fractional factorial experiment using Taguchi orthogonal arrays.
The owner of Manipal Power Laundry asked his nephew, an MBA student, for advice on the business. The company's operational inefficiencies had led to high operating costs over time. Coupled with regulatory price caps, the situation made the business unsustainable. The owner asked his nephew to provide a solution that would benefit the company both in the short term and over the long term. After observing the various processes, collecting data, and interviewing employees, the nephew decided to use process flow analysis to help the company optimize its operations.
In March 2017, the director of operations at Namratha Oil Refineries Pvt. Ltd., a leading manufacturer and distributor of high-quality packaged coconut oil in southwest India, faced a challenge. Because of inefficiencies in the company's packaging division, pouches, jars, and bottles were being overfilled with coconut oil, leading to an "oil giveaway" that had weakened the company's bottom line. The director analyzed the current processes and discovered improper data recording, frequent breakdowns, poor allocation of the maintenance crew, and an improper inventory management system. His experience told him that the existing production facilities were sufficient to meet the company's requirements, and therefore, the existing processes needed to be streamlined to ensure minimal or no loss of oil. What strategy should he recommend to reduce losses and restore the company's profitability?
Supplement to case W17363. In 2015, the assistant general manager at JSW Steel Ltd. (JSW), one of India's largest steelmakers, faced a dilemma. Should JSW continue to transport the company's end products to clients, or should JSW instead outsource the transportation to a third-party provider? Outsourcing would ensure timely delivery but would increase the cost. Another option was to pay an agency a premium for sharing information on the availability of Class I and Class II barge vendors. Class I barges were more reliable in terms of on-time and damage-free delivery, whereas Class II barges had a smaller capacity, were less reliable, and had a greater risk of goods being damaged, for which JSW could face both monetary and non-monetary losses. Although the Class I barges led to higher payoffs, the outsourcing option offered a fixed and relatively lower payoff. The assistant general manager's objective was twofold: to meet the customer requirements in time and to benefit JSW financially. How should he decide which option to pursue?
Kamaths Ourtimes Ice Creams Pvt. Ltd., a company located in Mumbai, India, manufactured and distributed ice cream under the brand Natural Ice Cream. The company specialized in using natural flavours in its products, a fact that helped it carve a niche for itself among health-conscious customers. In April 2017, after witnessing great demand for its ice cream across the country, the company's board of directors asked the director of operations to draft a plan to expand manufacturing capacity. As his first step towards this expansion, the director wanted to study the current operations and address any inefficiencies. One aspect that caught his attention was the recent delay in product delivery. Based on his experience, he did not see the company's capacity to fulfill current orders as the reason for delays. Therefore, he decided that the problem was related to the process flow. He would have to find ways to streamline the process to reduce or eliminate all delays in delivery.
On June 25, 2014, the director of marketing and development at Allied Founders Pvt. Ltd., a company that operated out of Belgaum in India, was analyzing various problems associated with his company's management approach. The director was considering a change from the company's system of breakdown maintenance to a new information system of preventive maintenance. While executing its first international export order, the company faced several challenges related to production delays, mainly due to poor equipment maintenance. To plan for his company's future in the international market, the director proposed adopting preventive maintenance as a solution, but he was unsure whether to use traditional means (i.e., manual record keeping) or implement a new information system. He was concerned about the issues that could arise from the change, including resistance from employees worried about job loss, providing the necessary training, and exposing the company to other risks.
In April 2016, the owner of Apoorva Mess (Apoorva) in Manipal, India, wwanted to open a full-service economical restaurant to reach out to customers, beat the competition, improve his sales, and fulfill his dream of serving quality food at affordable rates to the lower middle class. He was facing a dilemma over selecting the best location for establishing his new restaurant, knowing that the wrong choice would spell disaster for his business in the long run. A number of conflicting constraints were making it difficult for him to come to a decision. He wanted to follow a systematic approach to pinpoint the final location.
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.