In 2016, the deputy general manager of operations at DVMS Power Electronics Private Limited (DVMS) in Gujarat, India, was faced with a problem at the company’s transformer plant. In recent years, amidst growing demand, the company had experienced low manufacturing capacity and was often unable to fill customer orders. Various stakeholders expressed their concerns about failing service levels. The deputy general manager was considering additional capacity as an option, but simply adding such capacity might negatively affect DVMS’ cost structure. He needed to consider the various short- and long-term options that would best benefit the company. He assigned the company’s summer intern the task of collecting the required data regarding the manufacturing of transformers at DVMS: the specified number of machines and workers, the processing time, and the monthly demand data for transformers. He needed to prepare a report that identified weak areas and suggested possible ways to expand capacity.
On October 13, 2015, the regional director of DHL Global Forwarding (DGF) was reviewing reports in preparation for a team meeting in Bengaluru, India. DGF provided air and ocean freight forwarding services. In September, the regional director’s team had successfully rolled out a new consolidation program in three Indian cities: Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai. While glancing through the respective consolidation teams’ reports, however, several questions occurred to the director: Was DGF paying more to airlines on specific days of the week in these three cities? Should the company continue to run the consolidation program in these locations? How could DGF consolidate its clients’ requirements across these cities? Would such consolidation benefit the company? The director had just one day to come up with a new plan for presentation at the next team meeting.