個案總覽

The supply chain director of Indo-Euro Pharma summoned an urgent meeting in response to significant losses incurred by the company in the last fiscal year. This was primarily due to the return of yet another international consignment of temperature-sensitive drugs (TSDs) — this time worth millions of dollars. The meeting focused on the inability of Indo-Euro Pharma to appropriately distribute and monitor TSDs cost effectively across the various stages and locations of the supply chain — especially at the pharmacist level. Deviations from drugs’ required temperature ranges could happen during packaging, storage, transport, loading and unloading in aircraft, sea containers, trucks, etc. It was extremely difficult to monitor whether pharmacists were following proper procedures for storing TSDs. Most medical stores in India had domestic refrigerators that required frequent calibration. The problems indicated the need for Indo-Euro Pharma to adopt an alternative distribution system that was specifically tailored for TSDs.

The supply chain director of Indo-Euro Pharma summoned an urgent meeting in response to significant losses incurred by the company in the last fiscal year. This was primarily due to the return of yet another international consignment of temperature-sensitive drugs (TSDs) - this time worth millions of dollars. The meeting focused on the inability of Indo-Euro Pharma to appropriately distribute and monitor TSDs cost effectively across the various stages and locations of the supply chain - especially at the pharmacist level. Deviations from drugs' required temperature ranges could happen during packaging, storage, transport, loading and unloading in aircraft, sea containers, trucks, etc. It was extremely difficult to monitor whether pharmacists were following proper procedures for storing TSDs. Most medical stores in India had domestic refrigerators that required frequent calibration. The problems indicated the need for Indo-Euro Pharma to adopt an alternative distribution system that was specifically tailored for TSDs.

Infosys BPO, a 350-million USD BPO firm, is preparing a bid for a new customer engagement. In the process, it has to consider various issues such as resource planning, productivity improvement, pricing model, quality management, and human resource management. The case provides scope for carving a strategic growth path for the firm.

Founded in 1997, Subhiksha had grown from one store in 1997 to more than 1000 retail outlets in 2008. It sold FMCG, grocery, pharmacy, mobile products, and fruits and vegetables (F & V). It was the largest supermarket and mobile retail chain in India with presence in 90 cities. In 2008, organized retail accounted for about 4% industry share. Although organized retail was identified as high-growth area by the middle of 2008, players who had entered the Indian retail had realized that organized retail in India was going to be tough business. Various players (Reliance, Bharti, Birla, and the Future Group) were experimenting with different formats and models. Subhiksha decided to come up with its own model which in its view was suitable to the Indian context. Subhiksha targeted the middle and lower classes and not the high-end customers. To do so, it operated with an everyday low pricing model and located several smaller stores to move closer to the customer. At the operational level, it constantly planned to increase the supply chain process efficiency to deliver goods at low prices. The Subhiksha business model is explained through a detailed description of operations of a store (Indiranagar) located in Bangalore. It also describes operations of the distribution center which served the Indiranagar store apart from serving 58 other stores. The case discusses the challenges of organized retail in general and specific challenges of inventory and cost management for a discount retailer. It also provides detailed data which can be used for the diagnosis of the supply chain system at Subhiksha.