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Kaffee Kostuum is a short case that introduces inventory and supply chain management and its financial impact. The case provides a simple context for examining basic inventory performance measures to improve operational, as well as financial, performance. The case has three parts: (1) analyzing reordering decisions, leading to the economic order quantity (EOQ) model and corresponding cycle stock levels; (2) investigating the effect of demand uncertainty, leading to the concept of safety stock; (3) and analyzing the impact of various supply-chain redesign initiatives, such as product rationalization, reshoring, and physical centralization, to reduce inventories. The case shows how the EOQ model can be applied in a multiproduct environment, and it relates safety stocks to forecast accuracy. Indeed, although the classic formula for safety stock setting uses standard deviation in demand, it is, in essence, the forecast error that drives the need for safety stocks. The case also facilitates the understanding of the trade-offs inherent in defining an operations and supply chain strategy. It shows that it is difficult to compete in all dimensions simultaneously (here: variety, price, and responsiveness) while making a profit. One might have to choose which dimension to give up in favor of more focus and improved financial performance.

Ken Edwards, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Tristar Hotel Group (Tristar), was reviewing the financial performance for his bustling hotel portfolio. In the spirit of the risk-taking and experimental mindset that Edwards brought to Tristar, adopting automated robotic service delivery was top of his mind. Earlier in the year, he had authorized a pilot project to evaluate the costs and benefits of using a robot named ARCHIE; now he needed to determine whether to proceed and implement ARCHIE for room service delivery on a full-scale basis at one of Tristar's hotel properties.

Ken Edwards, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Tristar Hotel Group (Tristar), was reviewing the financial performance for his bustling hotel portfolio. In the spirit of the risk-taking and experimental mindset that Edwards brought to Tristar, adopting automated robotic service delivery was top of his mind. Earlier in the year, he had authorized a pilot project to evaluate the costs and benefits of using a robot named ARCHIE; now he needed to determine whether to proceed and implement ARCHIE for room service delivery on a full-scale basis at one of Tristar’s hotel properties.

A formerly state-owned Dutch energy utility transforms itself to compete in a dergulated environment.

In 2015, Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG), helmed by famous restauranteur Danny Meyer, sent shockwaves through the restaurant industry by announcing the end of tipping in its restaurants. Under its new policy, Hospitality Included (HI), USHG would charge higher menu prices and pay higher base wages to its employees, replacing tipping with a system of revenue sharing. The change sought to reduce inequality between front and back-of-house staff and to provide more stability and fairness for servers, whose tip-based compensation depended heavily on the whims of sometimes-biased patrons. However, five years later, the organization was still struggling to implement HI, and evidence was suggesting that employees, customers, and owners were losing out under the policy in unanticipated ways. Chip Wade, the President of USHG and Patti Simpson, Chief People officer of USHG, had to determine a better path forward.

The City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (COE), recognizing that its once world-class waste management system needed major transformation, published an ambitious and progressive waste management strategic plan (“The Future of Waste”) on October 4, 2019. Among numerous initiatives, policies, and frameworks, the plan made reference to the concept of extended producer responsibility (EPR), a public policy mechanism for increasing the responsibility of producers for post-consumer (i.e., end-of-life) product and packaging waste. Although such policies were typically enacted at a provincial level, it seemed inevitable that, if EPR came into reality in Alberta, the COE would have some involvement in promotion and/or physical post-consumer collection logistics (a critical enabler of any successful EPR system). There was, thus, an opportunity for the COE to consider how its new direction for waste management should incorporate logistical support for EPR, from a coordination/leadership and/or a physical perspective.<br><br>The issue at hand was whether and how the COE should be involved (logistically) in any potential EPR manifestation, which would include an analysis of what made a good post-consumer collection system; what existed in the COE at the time from current industry players, such as retailers, third-party logistics (3PL) providers, and providers of last-mile delivery services; and what specific role the COE could play (e.g., through waste and recycling collection).

The City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (COE), recognizing that its once world-class waste management system needed major transformation, published an ambitious and progressive waste management strategic plan ("The Future of Waste") on October 4, 2019. Among numerous initiatives, policies, and frameworks, the plan made reference to the concept of extended producer responsibility (EPR), a public policy mechanism for increasing the responsibility of producers for post-consumer (i.e., end-of-life) product and packaging waste. Although such policies were typically enacted at a provincial level, it seemed inevitable that, if EPR came into reality in Alberta, the COE would have some involvement in promotion and/or physical post-consumer collection logistics (a critical enabler of any successful EPR system). There was, thus, an opportunity for the COE to consider how its new direction for waste management should incorporate logistical support for EPR, from a coordination/leadership and/or a physical perspective. The issue at hand was whether and how the COE should be involved (logistically) in any potential EPR manifestation, which would include an analysis of what made a good post-consumer collection system; what existed in the COE at the time from current industry players, such as retailers, third-party logistics (3PL) providers, and providers of last-mile delivery services; and what specific role the COE could play (e.g., through waste and recycling collection).

The case opens in August 2020 as Ozgur Tort and Mustafa Bartin, CEO and chief large-format and online retail officer of Migros Ticaret A.S. (Migros), Turkey's oldest and one of its largest supermarket chains, are navigating Migros through COVID-19 and the unprecedented surge in demand in online groceries. Between the first official case in Turkey in March and August, customers have flocked to online shopping and Migros' teams have been busy trying to solve the picking, fulfillment, and logistics bottlenecks. In the six months, the company recruited and trained new pickers, expanded its delivery fleet, and converted less busy stores into dark stores. Quick to react, Migros was able to add new customers to its base and was proud of its accomplishments. Now, unable to forecast how much of the surge in demand for online was here to stay, how should Migros plan for the future of Sanal Market and Hemen? Was there anything the company could do to sustain the number of hybrid shoppers it acquired during the past few months?

Iloof Technology Co. Ltd. was a Chinese start-up high-technology company at the forefront of the smart water bottle market, one of the newest sectors in the reusable water bottle industry. Smart bottles or cups, also known as interactive water bottles, were technologically advanced devices that had wireless communication capabilities to connect with electronic devices, such as smart phones. They also helped record and optimize the user’s water intake and develop healthy drinking habits. In 2016, after two years of research and development, Iloof Technology Co. Ltd. released its first smart water cup, the HeyDo S1, to great success. However, after three quarters of growth, sales slowed and the company’s founder considered expanding to traditional or offline channels to sustain growth. Could the company operate in both online and offline markets? What potential challenges would the company face in its sales channel expansion?

Comviva, a mobile solutions provider active in India and 94 other countries, has had a rich history and been successful across many emerging and complex markets: Latin America, South-East Asia, Africa. What are the lessons learnt from expansion, cultural fits, and technological business model changes? With a global decline in telecommunication revenue per user, operators are looking for new revenue sources. Now, in 2019, how and where should Comviva India grow?

After articulating its ambitious growth plans, mobile services provider Mahindra Comviva, active in over 90 countries, is thinking about how to titrate and re-plan its growth strategy given the coronavirus pandemic. Its India headquarters considers its people costs, financial investments in acquisitions, and its uncertain future as India continues to remain under lockdown and more people are working from home at Comviva than ever previously in its history.

These cases follow Emilia Nguyen-newly-appointed CEO of her family's third-generation real estate business in the historic district of Scott's Addition in Richmond, Virginia-as she prepares her proposal to renovate her family's 8,000 sq. ft., three-story Art Deco building. She plans to convert the building from traditional annual-lease office suites into a coworking space with five separate options, each with its own price point. Four of these options are available as a month-to-month rental, and one option will be offered to walk-in customers in a café. In the A case, Nguyen examines survey data from 50 respondents that captures willingness-to-pay (WTP) price points for each of the four monthly rental options. She must set prices and allocate the available space between these options to optimize revenue. Students are provided with a spreadsheet of survey results and asked to calculate the optimal price point for one of the four monthly rental options, ignoring capacity constraints. Then students must recalculate their answers while considering all four options and capacity constraints. Thus students must solve a problem that incorporates both pricing and capacity allocation decisions.

These cases follow Emilia Nguyen-newly-appointed CEO of her family's third-generation real estate business in the historic district of Scott's Addition in Richmond, Virginia-as she prepares her proposal to renovate her family's 8,000 sq. ft., three-story Art Deco building. She plans to convert the building from traditional annual-lease office suites into a coworking space with five separate options, each with its own price point. Four of these options are available as a month-to-month rental, and one option will be offered to walk-in customers in a café. In the B case, Nguyen must develop a pricing scheme for walk-in customers who want to rent office space in the café, which occupies half of the first floor. She is deciding between establishing a fixed price-per-day and hourly pricing. This requires calculating the optimal price for each pricing scheme and comparing the respective revenues. She examines survey data from 20 respondents that captures WTP price points for spending up to eight hours working in the café (in increments of one hour). Students are again provided with a spreadsheet of survey results which allows them to calculate the optimal pricing scheme (and price) without considering capacity constraints, then again repeating the calculation after considering capacity constraints.

Spreadsheet supplement for case UV8155.

This case examines efforts to foster teamwork within and across work units in the Cleveland Clinic, a large, distributed healthcare delivery organization. With a long history of valuing teamwork since its founding in 1921, the Clinic had taken dramatic steps to further enable collaboration back in 2008 after the growing complexity of medical care had led to problematic divisions across specialties. The Clinic restructured from departments organized by specialty to "institutes" organized by disease and organ systems. A decade later, when this case takes place, the world has continued to change-with the Clinic substantially expanding its scale and scope-posing new teamwork challenges. The case asks students to understand the Clinic's efforts to enable teamwork with the Institute Model and to evaluate whether the Model should be continued, abandoned or changed to address new teamwork needs for 2020 and beyond. It reveals the complexities of enabling teamwork in large, distributed organizations in which fluid, cross-boundary "teams of teams" are operating.

Amidst the onset of COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Marcus Obsborne, Vice President for Health and Wellness Transformation at Walmart was planning to scale its new health care clinic business, Walmart Health, to additional locations in Georgia and beyond. Walmart Health aimed to differentiate its offerings from those of competing retail clinics, most notably by offering a wider range of services including visits with primary care physicians, dentists, and behavioral health specialists. Osborne wondered how the pandemic might affect the growth of Walmart Health. How quickly and where should the clinics scale across the country? What services should Walmart Health offer to address broader gaps in public health exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic? Finally, how could Osborne and his team prove the value proposition of Walmart Health to both customers and the leadership of Walmart?

Since early 2015, Uber had been investing heavily in research and development for its autonomous vehicles to revolutionize the ride-hailing industry and provide better ways of competing and fulfilling its promise of profitability to investors. Constant innovation was crucial to stay ahead of its competitors. While this strategy was groundbreaking for the ride-hailing industry, concerns were sparked when one of Uber’s autonomous vehicles was involved in a fatal accident involving a pedestrian in 2018. This accident brought safety lapses in autonomous vehicles into the public eye and was deeply controversial. Consequently, Uber was forced to examine its corporate strategy pertaining to its innovation portfolio. Should Uber continue its current investment in autonomous vehicles? If so, what business models and strategies could Uber adopt with autonomous vehicles to move the company towards profitability?

Since early 2015, Uber had been investing heavily in research and development for its autonomous vehicles to revolutionize the ride-hailing industry and provide better ways of competing and fulfilling its promise of profitability to investors. Constant innovation was crucial to stay ahead of its competitors. While this strategy was groundbreaking for the ride-hailing industry, concerns were sparked when one of Uber's autonomous vehicles was involved in a fatal accident involving a pedestrian in 2018. This accident brought safety lapses in autonomous vehicles into the public eye and was deeply controversial. Consequently, Uber was forced to examine its corporate strategy pertaining to its innovation portfolio. Should Uber continue its current investment in autonomous vehicles? If so, what business models and strategies could Uber adopt with autonomous vehicles to move the company towards profitability?

In 2020, augmented reality (AR) was still a nascent technology with blockbuster potential, one which Apple was actively developing as its iPhone franchise waned. But the emergence of AR was uneven, including the disappointing Google Glass and the unexpected viral success of Pokémon Go. AR technology was complex-involving integration of numerous advances in hardware and software-and expensive, dominated by Big Tech incumbents such as Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, whose AR applications thus far belied the breadth of vision articulated by their leaders. This left the door open for Apple, whose work on AR headsets had generated both internal conflict and continuing questions about where in the value chain the company should play, and how to win amid competing industry visions of the future of AR.