This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. In the perennial tug of war between manufacturers and retailers, retailers seem to be winning. Today's retail industry is more concentrated than ever -in many industries and markets, a handful of retailers account for a majority of the sales. Their ability to control market access and influence consumer buying behavior means that manufacturers need retailers more than ever. And just imperatively, the authors argue, they need to understand what makes retailers tick. As retailer influence has grown, they note, power has moved downstream. For example, Wal-Mart's sale are approximately 4.5 times greater than those of its largest supplier, Procter & Gamble. Consolidation and the global scale of retailers have reduced the number of "buying points"that manufacturers can develop. Yet neither side is satisfied with the current system. Many retailers have difficulty converting trade promotion into profits. Rather than building longer-term partnerships with suppliers and nurturing store and shopper loyalty, retailers tend to compete on price and fritter away the trade support they extract from manufacturers. What can be done to improve the situation? While manufacturers are locked into large fixed investments and wedded to products and brands with long payback cycles, retailers have a variety of ways of making money. The particular approach, or the mixture of approaches, that a retailer selects defines the retailer's business model and how it differs from competitors. The article highlights four different retail business models, as exemplified by Tesco, which connects with consumers through its loyalty program; Loblaw, which relies heavily on private labels; Costco, which gets its suppliers to finance its inventory; and Wal-Mart, which focuses closely on margins.

The customer care team lead at Hospital Software Solutions was becoming increasingly distressed in her workplace. Her supervisors were not managing her or the department effectively; her responsibilities did not align with her job description; she was being blamed for computer system failures; and she felt she was being viewed as the office slacker. The case provides for the application of theoretical concepts surrounding leadership, power/influence, motivation, corporate culture and conflict. The supplement case, Hospital Software Solutions (B), product # 907C19, follows the events after the customer care team lead attends a town hall meeting to air her concerns about computer systems problems.

The customer care team lead (team lead) decides to attend a town hall meeting with the company's president and publicly air her concerns about computer system problems. This action appears to help resolve the system's problems but her supervisor rates her poorly on a performance review, possibly motivated by the team leader's actions at the town hall meeting. She must find a way to resolve her issues at Hospital Software Solutions without ruining her career. This is a supplement case to Hospital Software Solutions (A), product # 907C18.

The spring of 2002 had been grueling for the owner of Pet Care Veterinary Services, a small-animal veterinary practice with two clinics in Southwestern Ontario. Everything seemed to be going wrong at Pet Care's Avery, Ontario location. Profitability was disappointing, medication had disappeared, and the owner had serious concerns about her associate veterinarian's quality of animal care. The owner wondered what would be her best course of action. She could afford to keep the clinic open for another year and try to either fix the operational issues or leave things as they were and see if the problems resolved themselves. The owner wondered whether it would be best to sell and avoid future problems. What price would she ask for the clinic if she chose to sell? Whatever her choice, she knew she had to make a decision quickly, because the uncertainty and stress of running two clinics were beginning to take their toll.

The customer care team lead at Hospital Software Solutions was becoming increasingly distressed in her workplace. Her supervisors were not managing her or the department effectively; her responsibilities did not align with her job description; she was being blamed for computer system failures; and she felt she was being viewed as the office slacker. The case provides for the application of theoretical concepts surrounding leadership, power/influence, motivation, corporate culture and conflict. The supplement case, Hospital Software Solutions (B), product # 9B07C019, follows the events after the customer care team lead attends a town hall meeting to air her concerns about computer systems problems.

The customer care team lead (team lead) decides to attend a town hall meeting with the company's president and publicly air her concerns about computer system problems. This action appears to help resolve the system's problems but her supervisor rates her poorly on a performance review, possibly motivated by the team lead's actions at the town hall meeting. She must find a way to resolve her issues at Hospital Software Solutions without ruining her career. This is a supplement case to Hospital Software Solutions (A), product # 9B07C018.

The spring of 2002 had been grueling for the owner of Pet Care Veterinary Services, a small-animal veterinary practice with two clinics in Southwestern Ontario. Everything seemed to be going wrong at Pet Care's Avery, Ontario location. Profitability was disappointing, medication had disappeared, and the owner had serious concerns about her associate veterinarian's quality of animal care. The owner wondered what would be her best course of action. She could afford to keep the clinic open for another year and try to either fix the operational issues or leave things as they were and see if the problems resolved themselves. The owner wondered whether it would be best to sell and avoid future problems. What price would she ask for the clinic if she chose to sell? Whatever her choice, she knew she had to make a decision quickly, because the uncertainty and stress of running two clinics were beginning to take their toll.