個案總覽

In December 2018, the procurement director at Bombardier Aerostructures (Bombardier) was tasked with deciding whether to support the manufacturing department's proposal to expand capacity in order to produce the front substructure for the A220 aircraft in house or to instead propose that Bombardier outsource the production of this critical assembly. Demand had been growing steadily for the A220. Engineers had determined that expanding the current production capacity at Bombardier's headquarters in Montreal, Canada, was the least capital-intensive solution. However, the front substructure was a prime candidate for outsourcing, and the procurement director wanted to be sure she had considered all options before she made a final recommendation to the senior management team in two weeks.

In December 2018, the procurement director at Bombardier Aerostructures (Bombardier) was tasked with deciding whether to support the manufacturing department’s proposal to expand capacity in order to produce the front substructure for the A220 aircraft in house or to instead propose that Bombardier outsource the production of this critical assembly. Demand had been growing steadily for the A220. Engineers had determined that expanding the current production capacity at Bombardier’s headquarters in Montreal, Canada, was the least capital-intensive solution. However, the front substructure was a prime candidate for outsourcing, and the procurement director wanted to be sure she had considered all options before she made a final recommendation to the senior management team in two weeks.

In 2016, the chair of McMaster Family Health Team faced challenges related to differences in operational culture that had emerged at its two clinic sites—Stonechurch Family Health Centre and McMaster Family Practice. The two sites, which had operated independently with relative autonomy for over 30 years, were merged in 2015, in response to a government initiative, a new funding model intended to increase access to primary health care for all Ontarians. The original goal was to operate the two sites under one model, one set of standard operating procedures, and one common governance framework. Over time, however, two distinct team operating cultures evolved organically at the two sites. The identity of both sites was consistent, but they differed in functionality. The chair's goal was to continue growing the clinics, but he needed to decide how best to proceed. Should he allow the two sites to continue operating with different functional cultures, and possibly allow other future sites to also organically develop their own identities and cultures? Or should he proactively influence a standardization plan?

In 2016, the chair of McMaster Family Health Team faced challenges related to differences in operational culture that had emerged at its two clinic sites-Stonechurch Family Health Centre and McMaster Family Practice. The two sites, which had operated independently with relative autonomy for over 30 years, were merged in 2015, in response to a government initiative, a new funding model intended to increase access to primary health care for all Ontarians. The original goal was to operate the two sites under one model, one set of standard operating procedures, and one common governance framework. Over time, however, two distinct team operating cultures evolved organically at the two sites. The identity of both sites was consistent, but they differed in functionality. The chair's goal was to continue growing the clinics, but he needed to decide how best to proceed. Should he allow the two sites to continue operating with different functional cultures, and possibly allow other future sites to also organically develop their own identities and cultures? Or should he proactively influence a standardization plan?

In mid-2018, a supply constraint analyst at General Motors (GM) was working on two electric vehicles: the Chevrolet Bolt EV for the US market and a similar Buick model to be marketed in China. GM had chosen to work with only one supplier for the vehicles' lithium-ion battery: Morningside Power Storage of South Korea. However, since making that decision, consolidation in the freight shipping industry had led to higher shipping costs, and China had introduced regulations to restrict and discourage the importation of batteries. The supply constraint analyst needed to decide where the battery cell manufacturing and battery pack assembly should be located and the production levels necessary to meet, at the lowest cost possible, the needs of both the Chevrolet Bolt EV in the United States and the Buick version in China.

Student spreadsheet supplement to case W20407

In 2019, the clinical director of the South East Grey Community Health Centre was conflicted about whether to proceed with presenting the chief executive officer with a proposal to expand the health centre's primary services to a satellite location in the neighbouring community of Port Elgin. The clinical director recalled the challenges she and her colleagues had faced in 2018, during the satellite expansion to Dundalk. As a nurse practitioner, she understood the pressing need for services and the moral imperative to put the patient's needs first. However, as a key member of the Centre's management team, she also knew what this proposal would entail operationally, and what internal pressures and risks were involved. The clinical director wondered how, in an environment of static or declining budgets, the Centre could build on its successes and challenges to date to address the emerging demand for further growth. Should she present the proposal to expand to another neighbouring community during a time of fiscal constraints?

In May 2019, the vice-president of operations at Danby Products Ltd. (Danby) was concerned that the production facility for the company's latest product, Parcel Guard, would not be able to keep up with demand. Parcel Guard was one of the most anticipated new products that Danby had produced in years, and if the sales estimates were reliable, the vice-president needed to start thinking about how she could adjust capacity to keep up with new orders. The new production facility was located just east of Toronto, as Danby had determined that making the product locally would enable the company to respond faster to changes in demand while keeping costs under control. In order to meet anticipated demand, the options included adding new equipment to increase the capacity of the two production lines, adding a third production line, or adding additional shifts.

In August 2018, many regions in the state of Kerala, India, were experiencing rising flood waters, and people were being evacuated from flood-prone areas to relief camps. Various relief camp supplies in the state were being distributed through the distribution centre at Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Kochi. XSEED, a student community-driven organization of the Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, was being coordinated by faculty member Dr. Mercia Justin. Justin, entrusted with the responsibility of managing the operations at the distribution centre, was carefully considering how to manage the throughput of the relief camp supplies and streamline operations at the distribution centre as the volume of shipments rapidly expanded and the rain and flooding situation worsened.

In August 2018, many regions in the state of Kerala, India, were experiencing rising flood waters, and people were being evacuated from flood-prone areas to relief camps. Various relief camp supplies in the state were being distributed through the distribution centre at Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Kochi. XSEED, a student community-driven organization of the Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, was being coordinated by faculty member Dr. Mercia Justin. Justin, entrusted with the responsibility of managing the operations at the distribution centre, was carefully considering how to manage the throughput of the relief camp supplies and streamline operations at the distribution centre as the volume of shipments rapidly expanded and the rain and flooding situation worsened.

One of the most promising applications of emerging blockchain technology is supply chain management. Blockchain--the digital record-keeping system developed for cryptocurrency networks--can help supply chain partners with some of their challenges by creating a complete, transparent, tamperproof history of the information flows, inventory flows, and financial flows in transactions. The authors studied seven large U.S. corporations that are exploring how blockchain might improve their supply chain operations. Their early initiatives show that the technology can enable faster and more cost-efficient product delivery, make products more traceable, streamline the financing process, and enhance coordination among buyers, suppliers, and banks. There are special requirements for using blockchain in supply chain management: restricting participation to known, trusted partners; adopting a new consensus protocol; and taking steps to keep errors and counterfeits out of the supply chain. But if implemented thoughtfully, the authors suggest, blockchain could pay big dividends for companies in a host of industries.

Shanghai Jiujia Information Technology Co., Ltd. (CaiHong) was founded in April 2015 by entrepreneur Junyuan Huang. The company has transitioned from an e-commerce platform to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to better compete in China's Legal Service Plus Internet (LSPI) industry. While exploring some key concepts about CaiHong, such as market positioning, business model innovation, SaaS, and growth strategies, several questions are raised about the company's growth in the LSPI industry and the company's application of SaaS. First, what factors facilitated CaiHong's transition from the business-to-consumer (B2C) market to the business-to-business (B2B) market? Second, what is CaiHong's approach to business model innovation based on the SaaS platform? Third, how can it build on the success of the SaaS model through continuous innovation and further disruption of the LSPI industry?

Shanghai Jiujia Information Technology Co., Ltd. (CaiHong) was founded in April 2015 by entrepreneur Junyuan Huang. The company has transitioned from an e-commerce platform to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to better compete in China’s Legal Service Plus Internet (LSPI) industry. While exploring some key concepts about CaiHong, such as market positioning, business model innovation, SaaS, and growth strategies, several questions are raised about the company’s growth in the LSPI industry and the company’s application of SaaS. First, what factors facilitated CaiHong’s transition from the business-to-consumer (B2C) market to the business-to-business (B2B) market? Second, what is CaiHong’s approach to business model innovation based on the SaaS platform? Third, how can it build on the success of the SaaS model through continuous innovation and further disruption of the LSPI industry?

The release of Tesla Inc. (Tesla)’s financial results in early 2019 made it clear that significant challenges lay ahead for the firm. While Tesla remained the market leader for electric vehicles in the global automobile industry, sales had dropped dramatically, and Tesla was once again losing money. Its recent launch of the Model 3 held great promise and added a key vehicle to its growing product portfolio, but customer complaints about late delivery were on the rise. As a leader of electric vehicles in the global automobile industry, which capabilities are most important for Tesla to further develop, and how broadly should the firm stretch its supply chain and service network? Were changes to the firm’s strategy required in order to advance its mission to accelerate the world’s transition to clean energy?

Shazi Visram graduated from Columbia Business School in May 2004 and founded Happy Family organic baby food company two years later with a mission to "change the trajectory of children's health through nutrition." The company launched in 2006 with a line of frozen organic baby foods, switching to an innovative package design --pouched packaging-- in 2009. Gaining the attention of both investors and consumers-and praised for its commitment to quality control, Happy Family experienced impressive growth. In 2018 Visram, who had been called a "rock star CEO" by then-President Obama, stepped down and appointed Anne Larraway to lead the company. By 2019, Happy Family was the largest player in the organic baby strained/wet food market and the third largest player in the total US strained/wet baby food market-and pouches, which were virtually unheard of when Happy Family began selling them, made up an estimated 25% of the baby food market.

In mid-December 2018, Peter Ma, Chairman and CEO of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. was considering whether the company should grow a fifth ecosystem of Smart City Services. Established in 1988, Ping An was one of the top 10 global financial institutions in terms of market capitalization with 342, 550 employees and nearly 1.4 million sales agents. Under Ma's leadership, Ping An was transforming from a traditional financial institution to a leading global technology-powered personal financial services group. In recent years it executed a strategy of "Finance+Ecosystem" by leveraging three frontier technologies-AI, blockchain, and cloud technology-to develop four ecosystems: Financial Services, Healthcare, Automobile Services and Real Estate Services. Smart City Services, with its business potential and social impact, had become an attractive new opportunity for Ping An to leverage its technology expertise and business experience while gaining new traffic for the other four ecosystems. Ma wondered: How important would this new ecosystem be strategically for the future of Ping An? If Ping An decided to go after this market, how should Ping An differentiate itself from competitors?

GitLab is arguably one of the world's largest "all-remote" companies. Started in 2011 and with more than 1,000 employees at present, it has no physical offices and all employees, including the entire C-Suite, work remotely from all parts of the world. The case highlights the value created for companies and employees from the adoption of the all-remote model. It also sets up a debate for how GitLab should customize organizational processes related to communication, coordination, and socialization as the firm scales up.

In late 2016, the owner of RW Citrus & Juice, a business-to-business fresh juice company in Michigan, asked a management consultant to fill in as the company’s interim general manager. The owner initially brushed aside the management consultant’s early concerns about equipment maintenance, and it soon became apparent that the company lacked a basic structure for operations. In a company lacking operational organization, how could the management consultant make sense of the changes that the company required? How should he separate the “must-haves” in operations management from the “nice-to-haves” and communicate the needed changes to a reluctant owner?

In late 2016, the owner of RW Citrus & Juice, a business-to-business fresh juice company in Michigan, asked a management consultant to fill in as the company's interim general manager. The owner initially brushed aside the management consultant's early concerns about equipment maintenance, and it soon became apparent that the company lacked a basic structure for operations. In a company lacking operational organization, how could the management consultant make sense of the changes that the company required? How should he separate the "must-haves" in operations management from the "nice-to-haves" and communicate the needed changes to a reluctant owner?