Universal Print Systems Limited, located in Southern India, provides self-adhesive label printing for such end-user businesses as the passenger car and alcoholic beverages industries. Although larger markets exist in Western and Northern India, 80 per cent of its customers are located in Southern India. Because of the company’s low capacity utilization, management is contemplating its operations strategy options, including aggressively pursuing business in Southern India, expanding to Northern and/or Western India, sourcing online orders and digital printing, or exporting. Management is unsure of the best option to pursue.
Fishbay.in is an online store where Indian consumers can buy fish that is delivered to their home. Although the founder originally targeted individual consumers and households, he soon found that restaurants were also interested in buying fish online. Unlike individuals, restaurants were more concerned with quality than price and typically ordered larger quantities. The founder wonders whether he should stick to his original plan of targeting individual consumers or shift his focus to the restaurant business.
In November 2011, UltraRichMatch.com (URM) was founded as an online matrimonial portal targeted at Indian millionaires. URM was unique as it provided both wedding planning and matchmaking services. URM depended on building affiliations with providers of wedding products and services. These affiliations had not grown according to expectations. By early 2013, the founder believed that expansion was necessary for URM. He had arrived at three options for expansion: expansion online with a new portal, setting up a franchise chain of bricks and mortar marriage centres/ bureaus and expansion of URM’s affiliate program to attract more customers. His dilemma was whether to pursue all these plans simultaneously or one at a time.
<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Innovation Management category, ISB-Ivey Global Case Competition</strong></p><br>An Indian company was planning to set up a Global Design Competence Centre (GDCC) in India. The company offered scented candles and holiday and gift products primarily for the U.S. market. Through its two American subsidiaries, it made and sold its products to large American mass-merchandisers and independent retailers. In-house design capabilities also existed in the form of six teams across India and the United States. Through the GDCC, the company intended to use Indian designers in collaboration with U.S. designers to create products for the U.S. market. The case draws students into exploring possible strategies to set up the GDCC.