In January 2020, Ashwani Gupta took over as COO at Nissan Motor Corporation, and several weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic began. Nissan's Business Continuity Plan (BCP) had been key to the resilience of Nissan's supply chain. It had enabled Nissan to recover from past supply chain disruptions, mainly natural disasters, sooner than its competitors. This case describes the BCP, within the context of Nissan's production methods, organizational principles and current financial position. It relates how Gupta managed the rapidly-evolving restrictions that the coronavirus pandemic required as it spread from China to other countries where Nissan's assembly plants and suppliers were located. Based on his experience with the COVID-19 pandemic, Gupta considers how to improve the BCP. This case also covers a specific situation in India, where Nissan had to quickly find an alternate supplier for a unit of dashboard gauges. The team in India developed four options that can be evaluated by students.
Pradeep Gupta founded Axis My India (AMI) as a printing and publishing company in 1998. In 2013, AMI expanded into consumer research and election forecasting. Although a relatively unknown entity, AMI predicted several election results accurately. Gupta describes AMI's rigorous process of research, primary data collection from each constituency, quality checking of data by auditors and data analysis. AMI partnered with India Today Group to broadcast its forecasts for post-poll studies. For pre-poll studies and market research, its clients now included political parties and corporates. In 2019, as the Haryana state elections were drawing to a close, Gupta found that his team's prediction for the election result was distinctly different from all other pollsters. Puzzled by this, he had asked for one more day to verify his data. As Gupta reviewed his team's analysis (which had been confirmed by another round of interviews during the last 24 hours), he considered whether he should publish these numbers or revise them just enough to avoid controversy.
Patrick Lammers, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) for the Dutch energy company Essent NV, once a state-owned company, was pleased with the progress Essent's consumer ("B2C") business had made: Earnings Before Income Tax (EBIT) for B2C had gone from a loss of €18 million in 2010 to a profit of €149 million in 2014; churn rates had decreased, and customer satisfaction had increased. The B2C brand had become a leader in the fully liberalized Dutch market. Behind B2C's performance there had been a strong focus on marketing, an optimization of the channel mix, and also changes in the company's operations by adopting lean management tools. Despite the strong performance of Essent's B2C business, Essent's B2B business had instead seen its profits drastically decrease from €47 million in 2011, to minus €15 million in 2015. For 2016, B2B expected to report €15 million losses. While pondering the reasons behind the difference in performance between B2B and B2C, Lammers wondered what Essent should do to improve its B2B business.
Celebrated as one of the world's premiere luxury hotel brands, Oberoi Hotels attracts and serves some of the most quality sensitive guests in the world. The case considers the challenge of how an organization, with a standardized service model, can repeatedly delight customers whose expectations grow with every interaction. To explore this question, the case details the design elements of Oberoi's complex service operation, including its approaches to employee management and continuous improvement, as well as the dynamics of service competition in a rapidly growing market.
Retail inventory is a statistic that is closely watched by retailers as well as their investors, lenders, and suppliers. Retailers not only benefit from inventory, but also bear the cost of excess inventory. Investors, lenders, and suppliers interpret this statistic for signs of the retailer's health, future sales prospects, and impending costs. This article synthesizes the perspectives of investors, lenders, and suppliers on inventory. Moreover, the article shows that inventory turns, a commonly used metric to identify excess inventory, has important limitations that reduce its utility for all these stakeholders. It then presents a new metric, adjusted inventory turns, which can be effectively utilized by all stakeholders to assess whether a retailer is carrying too much or too little inventory.
The Cleveland Clinic has long had a reputation for medical excellence. But in 2009 the CEO acknowledged that patients did not think much of their experience there and decided to act. Since then the Clinic has leaped to the top tier of patient-satisfaction surveys, and it now draws hospital executives from around the world who want to study its practices. The Clinic's journey also holds lessons for organizations outside health care that must suddenly compete by creating a superior customer experience. The authors, one of whom was critical to steering the hospital's transformation, detail the processes that allowed the Clinic to excel at patient satisfaction without jeopardizing its traditional strengths. Hospital leaders: (1) Publicized the problem internally. Seeing the hospital's dismal service scores shocked employees into recognizing that serious flaws existed. (2) Worked to understand patients' needs. Management commissioned studies to get at the root causes of dissatisfaction. (3) Made everyone a caregiver. An enterprisewide program trained everyone, from physicians to janitors, to put the patient first. (4) Increased employee engagement. The Clinic instituted a "caregiver celebration" program and redoubled other motivational efforts. (5) Established new processes. For example, any patient, for any reason, can now make a same-day appointment with a single call. (6) Set patients' expectations. Printed and online materials educate patients about their stays--before they're admitted. Operating a truly patient-centered organization, the authors conclude, isn't a program; it's a way of life.
In 2005, USAID and the U.S. President´s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), created the Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) to procure and distribute essential medicines and supplies; provide technical assistance to transform existing supply chains; and collaborated with in-country and global partners to coordinate efforts. The new US Global Health Initiative (GHI) initialized in 2010 sought to build on these efforts through strengthened platforms and systems. PEPFAR's five-year strategy, as contribution to the GHI, focused on transitioning the program from an emergency response to a sustainable, country-owned effort. The case describes the general approach designed by SCMS, the intricacies of its successful implementation in Ethiopia, and the challenges moving forward in that country.
Merck is known for its commitment to investing in basic R&D. Are Merck's long-term investments justifiable when the firm faces extreme earnings pressure?
Inventory-based lending is a form of asset-based lending used by retailers and wholesalers. This note describes the development and the current state of the inventory-based lending industry.
Healthcare has traditionally focused on medical outcomes and financial performance. The big question is always, "How much is it going to cost?" What would happen, though, if healthcare also considered the question of "How does the patient feel?" This case looks at the Cleveland Clinic's attempt to answer the latter question by attempting to institutionalize empathy as part of its delivery of care.
Healthcare has traditionally focused on medical outcomes and financial performance. The big question is always, "How much is it going to cost?" What would happen though if healthcare also considered the question of "How does the patient feel?" This case looks at the Cleveland Clinic's attempt to answer the latter question by attempting to institutionalize empathy as part of its delivery of care.
Ray Gilmartin faces a dilemma. His company's credibility has been damaged by the recent withdrawal of Vioxx, a multi-billion dollar drug. Moreover, the withdrawal of Vioxx would imply that Merck would fail to meet analysts' earnings expectations for 2005 unless Gilmartin cuts the R&D budget. Cutting the budget might hurt morale and productivity in Merck labs.
We evaluate the impact of a supply chain pilot implemented at Hugo Boss. This pilot entailed altering the way in which Hugo Boss orders from its suppliers. We explore the challenge of assessing the impact of supply chain change, the link between operational performance and firm performance, and the relationship between sales, inventory, and product availability.
We evaluate the impact of a supply chain pilot implemented at Hugo Boss. This pilot entailed altering the way in which Hugo Boss orders from its suppliers. We explore the challenge of assessing the impact of supply chain change, the link between operational performance and firm performance, and the relationship between sales, inventory, and product availability.
Multiple delays of the Airbus A380 have shocked analysts and investors alike. What are the causes of these delays and how should investors respond to the signals they may be sending about the company's outlook?
The case explores the rapid and highly effective turnaround at AREVA's transmission and distribution (T&D) business by focusing on the division's operations. The division was struggling in 2004 when newly-appointed CEO Philippe Guillemot and his team improved performance substantially by focusing on four levers - industrial footprint realignment, competitive sourcing, process efficiency, and a competitive product offering. In 2008, the case challenges students to identify the best path forward. How can the progress achieved from 2004-2007 be sustained? AREVA T&D hopes to surpass ABB and Siemens in sales and profitability by focusing on superior product offerings, through "customer intimacy" (e.g., involving customers in new product development), and developing a reputation for environmentally-friendly behavior. What is the role of operations management in this context?