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Captain Michael Davidson of the container ship SS El Faro was determined to make his planned shipping trip on time-but a hurricane was approaching his intended path. To succeed, Davidson and his fellow officers must plot a course to avoid the storm in the face of conflicting weather reports from multiple sources and differing opinions among the officers on what to do. Over the 36-hour voyage, tensions rise as the ships gets closer and closer to the storm. Compounding the challenge, the El Faro was an old ship about to be scrapped. Its owner, TOTE Marine, was in the process of selecting officers to crew its new ships. Davidson and some of his officers were worried that they would soon lose their jobs.

The case describes the organizational, operational, and financial challenges faced by BeefChain, a blockchain implementation in the cattle industry, following the successful completion of pilot projects and certification by the US Dept of Agriculture. Among them are need for an efficient revenue model that can scale up in a seamless fashion and a viable business model to ensure the financial success of all the stakeholders.

In 2010, Ken Talbot, a self-made Australian billionaire, was traveling throughout Africa to bring his innovative coal technology to the continent when he perished in a plane crash. His will was originally created years prior when his estate worth was estimated to be AU $130 million. At the time of his passing, however, his estate had grown over ten times to AU $1.3 billion and he hadn't yet finalized an updated will. His beneficiaries were unaware of both the existence of his will and his intentions, which led to significant legal battles and the devaluation of a number of his assets. What could have been done differently to prevent the legal nightmare and emotional distress that plagued his family and ensure his loved ones carried out his intentions?

After almost a year of rebranding and renovations, the Bitter Sisters Brewery opened to rave reviews on February 14, 2020, in Calgary, Alberta. Just 29 days later, the COVID-19 pandemic would force the brewery’s doors shut for over three months. Two further closures would come in 2020, and times remained uncertain as of December of that year. The owners had to pivot—and quickly—to ensure the viability of their business in volatile times.

Spreadsheet to accompany product W25167.

Set in April 2017, this case centers around the digital technology dilemma facing the protagonist Dr. Vimohan, the chief intensivist of Prashant Hospital. The case describes the critical challenges afflicting the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital. It then follows Dr. Vimohan as he visits the Bengaluru headquarters of Cloudphysician Healthcare, a Tele-ICU provider. The visit leaves Dr. Vimohan wondering whether he can leverage the Tele-ICU solution to overcome the challenges at Prashant Hospital. He instinctively knew that he would need to use a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis to resolve this dilemma.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a multinational IT services company headquartered in Mumbai, is a subsidiary of one of India's most reputed conglomerates, the Tata Group. In 2020, TCS was valued at $144.7 billion, the highest for any company in the IT sector, globally. In the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis, like many companies around the world, TCS moved to remote working. The leadership of the company saw the myriad benefits of remote work. As the company planned for the future roadmap in the post-COVID world, it decided on a blended model. By 2025, only 25% of TCS employees would need to work in company facilities and no employee would need to spend more than 25% of their work hours in a physical office for the company to be productive. For this work model to be successful, the TCS management team had to brainstorm four key areas: What should the norms be for 25% in-person and who should determine them-senior managers, associates, clients, government regulators? How should the company convince veterans that virtual mentoring was as effective-if not more so-in preserving and further enriching the culture of mentorship? How should TCS deal with labor regulations around the world, if 'Talent on the Cloud' led to workers relocating and living in different geographies? Finally, how should TCS pitch this new model of work to clients once the pandemic eased?

COVID-19 has disrupted the global economy, and its impact shows the critical relationship between strong supply chain operations and a business's success. Supply chain planning contributes to a company's financial status, but resources are often directed toward activities and processes with few tangible results and outcomes. Supply chain executives require knowledge to effectively direct their planning activities so that results lead to better business decisions. This book offers proven, practical management frameworks to support supply chain operations management and planning in private industry. The frameworks give methodologies for organizing and managing essential activities, including supply chain strategic planning and project selection, performance measurement, and customer logistics. Written for supply chain managers, executives, and students, this book provides valuable insights, examples, and methods for managing supply chain functions and organizations. Chapter 1 discusses supply chain frameworks and why they are essential to a company's success. Using these frameworks helps businesses have a real competitive advantage. Two "linked" frameworks are given and explained: a business and supply chain planning framework and a supply chain function planning framework. When addressing supply chain function, strategic planning, tactical planning, and operational planning should all be considered, which can help align decision making. A general framework for supply chain planning and management - taking into account the previous frameworks discussed - is also provided. It shows how the planning activities of a supply chain function can be linked to the business and supply chain strategic planning process. Examples and diagrams are provided. Decision support systems and performance measurement systems are introduced. These are two important tools in planning and control processes. An outline of the rest of the book is also offered.

COVID-19 has disrupted the global economy, and its impact shows the critical relationship between strong supply chain operations and a business's success. Supply chain planning contributes to a company's financial status, but resources are often directed toward activities and processes with few tangible results and outcomes. Supply chain executives require knowledge to effectively direct their planning activities so that results lead to better business decisions. This book offers proven, practical management frameworks to support supply chain operations management and planning in private industry. The frameworks give methodologies for organizing and managing essential activities, including supply chain strategic planning and project selection, performance measurement, and customer logistics. Written for supply chain managers, executives, and students, this book provides valuable insights, examples, and methods for managing supply chain functions and organizations. This chapter explores the supply chain strategic planning process, which provides direction for the business's supply chain activities for the next few years. A framework using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is explained in detail to support the strategic planning process and can help distribute resources to projects that will support the achievement of its strategy. The AHP facilitates linkages between the supply chain's MOS and the projects necessary to execute the chosen strategies. This requires a planning team to make decisions about various factors that comprise the planning framework. These decisions then affect objectives and strategies of the mission. Proposed projects are assessed by how well they meet criteria linked to specific supply chain strategies. Project scores represent the sum total of the project's benefits in completing the mission successfully. Software packages that can process this planning framework are mentioned.

COVID-19 has disrupted the global economy, and its impact shows the critical relationship between strong supply chain operations and a business's success. Supply chain planning contributes to a company's financial status, but resources are often directed toward activities and processes with few tangible results and outcomes. Supply chain executives require knowledge to effectively direct their planning activities so that results lead to better business decisions. This book offers proven, practical management frameworks to support supply chain operations management and planning in private industry. The frameworks give methodologies for organizing and managing essential activities, including supply chain strategic planning and project selection, performance measurement, and customer logistics. Written for supply chain managers, executives, and students, this book provides valuable insights, examples, and methods for managing supply chain functions and organizations. This chapter introduces hierarchical planning and provides a rationale for using this type of planning framework. A general framework for a hierarchical supply chain planning (HSCP) system is given, outlining the operational, tactical, and strategic planning levels. A case study is reviewed, showing the benefits of integrated operations planning and scheduling over multiple functions. Individual functions of the supply chain - such as transportation, manufacturing, and distribution - can utilize a hierarchical planning framework. Examples with warehouse operations and inventory management are offered. Feedback loops from lower to higher planning levels are necessary for a successful HSCP system. The chapter concludes by addressing other benefits of the hierarchical framework approach.

COVID-19 has disrupted the global economy, and its impact shows the critical relationship between strong supply chain operations and a business's success. Supply chain planning contributes to a company's financial status, but resources are often directed toward activities and processes with few tangible results and outcomes. Supply chain executives require knowledge to effectively direct their planning activities so that results lead to better business decisions. This book offers proven, practical management frameworks to support supply chain operations management and planning in private industry. The frameworks give methodologies for organizing and managing essential activities, including supply chain strategic planning and project selection, performance measurement, and customer logistics. Written for supply chain managers, executives, and students, this book provides valuable insights, examples, and methods for managing supply chain functions and organizations. Chapter 4 offers guidance for supply chain professionals implementing appropriate supply chain risk management (SCRM) practices. Techniques to identify, classify, and evaluate risks are given. Common constructs for SCRM are reviewed, and practical frameworks and analyses are provided to facilitate decision making and management. To better address risk management, general categories of risk should be considered before focusing on particular issues, actions, and strategies. This approach requires a broad perspective of a company's SCRM process. Types of risk and three main areas from which sources of risk stem are discussed. Understanding where these risk sources are for a specific company clarifies the level of control a company has over each source. This understanding then shapes the strategies and control measures a company can implement.

COVID-19 has disrupted the global economy, and its impact shows the critical relationship between strong supply chain operations and a business's success. Supply chain planning contributes to a company's financial status, but resources are often directed toward activities and processes with few tangible results and outcomes. Supply chain executives require knowledge to effectively direct their planning activities so that results lead to better business decisions. This book offers proven, practical management frameworks to support supply chain operations management and planning in private industry. The frameworks give methodologies for organizing and managing essential activities, including supply chain strategic planning and project selection, performance measurement, and customer logistics. Written for supply chain managers, executives, and students, this book provides valuable insights, examples, and methods for managing supply chain functions and organizations. Chapter 5 discusses the importance and value of decision support systems (DSS) in facilitating planning and management actions. DSS is necessary at every level of supply chain planning - the strategic, tactical, and operational levels. The significance and power of DSS is demonstrated through three case study examples. The first examines a DSS developed to support all planning activities from short-run operational to long-run strategic. The second looks at a strategic and tactical manufacturing optimization planning DSS. The last case study explores an operational daily inventory deployment DSS and shows how a supply chain DSS is linked to the enterprise resource planning system. These three cases show how strong DSS contributes to improved customer service levels and cost savings.

COVID-19 has disrupted the global economy, and its impact shows the critical relationship between strong supply chain operations and a business's success. Supply chain planning contributes to a company's financial status, but resources are often directed toward activities and processes with few tangible results and outcomes. Supply chain executives require knowledge to effectively direct their planning activities so that results lead to better business decisions. This book offers proven, practical management frameworks to support supply chain operations management and planning in private industry. The frameworks give methodologies for organizing and managing essential activities, including supply chain strategic planning and project selection, performance measurement, and customer logistics. Written for supply chain managers, executives, and students, this book provides valuable insights, examples, and methods for managing supply chain functions and organizations. Chapter 6 explores the importance of monitoring supply chain performance. Several frameworks are provided to help companies synchronize their supply chain management plans and decisions with performance measures. One of these frameworks is a hierarchical performance measurement system. This framework houses a company's strategic, tactical, and operational supply chain performance measures, and it aligns with supply chain management activities on these three planning levels. The supply chain operations reference model (SCOR) is then offered, which aids in identifying supply chain metrics and KPIs and is based on five level one supply chain processes. By using both of these frameworks, KPIs can be linked to supply chain strategies. An approach that changes individual KPIs into a supply chain performance index is also given. This then monitors the impact of supply chain management plans and decisions over time.

COVID-19 has disrupted the global economy, and its impact shows the critical relationship between strong supply chain operations and a business's success. Supply chain planning contributes to a company's financial status, but resources are often directed toward activities and processes with few tangible results and outcomes. Supply chain executives require knowledge to effectively direct their planning activities so that results lead to better business decisions. This book offers proven, practical management frameworks to support supply chain operations management and planning in private industry. The frameworks give methodologies for organizing and managing essential activities, including supply chain strategic planning and project selection, performance measurement, and customer logistics. Written for supply chain managers, executives, and students, this book provides valuable insights, examples, and methods for managing supply chain functions and organizations. This chapter examines outbound logistics of a supply chain and the impact of various outbound logistics strategies on profitability. Outbound logistics deals with moving and storing products from the end of the production line to the end user and is essential to a supplier's customer relationship management process. If a supplier fails to provide reliable service to its retail customers, it can result in financial penalties and potentially the elimination of that supplier's products from the retailer's active product portfolio. Outbound logistics performance plays a major role in a retailer's decision whether or not to stock a supplier's products and represents a determinant of a supplier's successful supply chain and business.

COVID-19 has disrupted the global economy, and its impact shows the critical relationship between strong supply chain operations and a business's success. Supply chain planning contributes to a company's financial status, but resources are often directed toward activities and processes with few tangible results and outcomes. Supply chain executives require knowledge to effectively direct their planning activities so that results lead to better business decisions. This book offers proven, practical management frameworks to support supply chain operations management and planning in private industry. The frameworks give methodologies for organizing and managing essential activities, including supply chain strategic planning and project selection, performance measurement, and customer logistics. Written for supply chain managers, executives, and students, this book provides valuable insights, examples, and methods for managing supply chain functions and organizations. Chapter 8 starts by reviewing the main points of every chapter in the book and then offers ideas on how to implement these frameworks and tools into supply chain planning and management processes. Three questions to direct a business to next steps and to prioritize initiatives are offered for practitioners and executives to ask: where the greatest gaps are, what initiatives will have the greatest immediate impact, and what projects will have the most beneficial long-run multiplier effects. An example of framework and DSS implementation is also given. Supply chain planning frameworks, DSS tools, and performance metric systems are critical to supply chain operations excellence and represent essential management tools for a business to invest in.

Dr. Arthur Pierre was responsible for developing a course schedule for the Business Analytics Department at Siena College. He needed to determine which professor would teach a particular class section in a particular time slot for the Spring 2020 semester. Pierre barely survived the last round of course scheduling due to the compressed delivery time from five weeks to three weeks in the previous cycle. This was one of his most sensitive and challenging responsibilities as he had to consider student demand, administrative requirements and faculty preferences in the process of developing a schedule. The importance of the decision and the stressful problems that he had encountered in adjusting to the new timeline necessitated a more systematic approach to scheduling since the shortened timeframe would be implemented for the foreseeable future. His ad hoc approach was too time consuming because he had to incorporate multiple factors into his course schedule and that often required reworking the entire schedule each time he encountered a conflict. In collaboration with a colleague, they identified a potential solution. They needed to prioritize constraints and build an integer linear optimization model.

The automobile industry is going through a dramatic change as electric vehicles (EVs) rapidly gain in popularity. Two companies in particular have dominated the EV market over the last decade: Tesla and Nissan. However, Nissan, despite its global presence and production capability, has lost significant market share to Tesla. Going forward, the company's operational and strategic decisions are vital to its success in the EV market. Tesla, on the other hand, has aggressively gained market share over the past decade, becoming the most dominant player in the EV market. The company has taken unique approaches for its supply and operations. Will Tesla be able to scale its operations to meet the rapidly increasing demand for EVs? With other large global automakers now turning their attention toward the EV market, will Tesla and Nissan be able to retain their market shares? This case discusses the approaches taken by Nissan and Tesla with their operational, supply chain, and marketing strategies to become leading EV manufacturers. It also sets the stage for the discussion on whether or not their current approaches will be optimal going forward.

This interactive exercise emulates a process wherein a virtual Card is created in a series of steps. It can be used to expose students to ideas and concepts in process analysis, management, and improvement. It may be used in classes focusing on operations management, project management, and software development. The simulation is run on the project-management web application Trello. It allows for simultaneous, real-time observation and collaboration between players. Students can observe other students working at the same time they are performing specific tasks. This exercise is suitable for students in either full-time or executive MBA programs, as well as executive education programs.

After discovering that their cancer diagnostic tool, designed to leverage the cloud computing power of IBM Watson, needed greater integration into the clinical processes at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, the development team had difficult choices to make. The Oncology Expert Advisor tool used a combination of machine learning and the latest cancer care research to make recommendations to clinicians in the field. Was automated cancer diagnosis the future of cancer care? The development team, comprised of clinicians and data scientists, reviewed the results of their experiment to augment their implementation plan and better evaluate the efficacy of the analytics tool.

Located in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, RLS Logistics offered temperature-controlled logistics solutions. On a Tuesday morning in October 2019, RLS Logistics' business development manager learned that a large baked goods manufacturer was seeking a logistics provider who could lower the bakery's transport costs and alleviate problems with delivery delays. The delays, in particular, were blocking the bakery's attempts to improve its relationship and scale up operations with big-box retailers such as Walmart Inc.. RLS Logistics' business manager secured a meeting with the bakery for the following Monday. In the meantime, he and his team needed to analyze delivery data from the bakery and prepare a delivery model that would showcase RLS Logistics' value and appeal to the bakery.