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This case relates the genesis and evolution of vision centres (VCs) for primary eye care at Aravind Eye Care System (AECS). AECS, based in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is the world's largest eye care provider. The case is based in 2014, exactly a decade after the first vision centre was opened, and evaluates the role of VCs in Aravind's outreach ecosystem. Community outreach programmes were an integral part of Aravind's model from the start and formed a central part of its vision of taking eye care to the community's doorstep. For many years, community outreach at Aravind was done through eye camps held in remote rural locations. Eye camps had worked extremely well for a long time. However, eye camps were not a perfect solution to Aravind's outreach goals for many reasons. Vision centres evolved as a way to address some of the shortcomings of eye camps, and both these outreach methods were employed in parallel. This case focuses on Aravind's vision centres and how they evolved over a decade, how they compare with the eye camps as a vehicle to attain Aravind's goals, and the opportunities and challenges ahead.

As B2B offerings become more commoditized, the subjective, sometimes quite personal considerations of business customers are increasingly important in purchases. To discover what matters most to B2B buyers, the consulting firm Bain analyzed scores of quantitative and qualitative customer studies. All told, it identified 40 discrete "elements of value," which fall into five categories: table stakes, functional, ease of doing business, individual, and inspirational. The elements range from strictly objective--those related to pricing and specifications, for example--to more subjective ones, such as reducing the buyer's anxiety and enhancing his or her reputation. Understanding this full range of rational and emotional considerations, and tailoring the value proposition to the ones customers prize most, is critical to avoiding the commodity trap.

EmQuest, Emirates Group's travel distribution company, must decide what to do with its contract with the global distribution system it uses, Sabre. Since its founding in 1988, EmQuest was servicing travel agents in the MENA region by providing a connection to over 400 airlines as well as numerous other travel suppliers. EmQuest mainly relied on Sabre to provide this service to the agents, and its contract was coming to an end. In the last ten years, since the beginning of EmQuest's Sabre contract, while EmQuest grew, a lot happened in the travel industry: the Internet transformed customer habits, low-cost carriers emerged, and the Middle East experienced a boom in tourism. The conditions under which EmQuest had first signed its contract with Sabre a decade before were much different in 2017. With change happening so rapidly and impacting the fundamentals of the travel business model so dramatically, it was a real challenge to predict where the industry would be in the next decade. Yet the management needed to make a decision regarding the Sabre contract in 2017, amidst such a whirlwind in the market.

Headquartered in Hangzhou (China), Ant Financial has grown into a fintech "Unicorn." The fintech empire that the company established spanned verticals such as mobile and online payment (Alipay), money market fund (Yu'e Bao), wealth management (Ant Fortune), digital-only banking (MYbank), credit scoring (Zhima Credit ), and consumer credit portal (Ant Credit Pay) among others. After another sales record during the 2016 11.11 Global Shopping Festival along with Alibaba, Long Chen, Chief Strategy Officer of Ant Financial was contemplating the various opportunities and challenges associated with the firm's international expansion, inclusive finance in rural regions, and regulatory uncertainties.

Headquartered in Hangzhou (China), Ant Financial has grown into a fintech "Unicorn." The fintech empire that the company established spanned verticals such as mobile and online payment (Alipay), money market fund (Yu'e Bao), wealth management (Ant Fortune), digital-only banking (MYbank), credit scoring (Zhima Credit ), and consumer credit portal (Ant Credit Pay) among others. After another sales record during the 2016 11.11 Global Shopping Festival along with Alibaba, Long Chen, Chief Strategy Officer of Ant Financial was contemplating the various opportunities and challenges associated with the firm's international expansion, inclusive finance in rural regions, and regulatory uncertainties.

On July 7, 2015, a power fault during the evening commute led to a system-wide disruption on SMRT, Singapore’s heavily used mass rapid transit lines. Train service on both lines was shut down for more than two hours, affecting more than 413,000 commuters. The public was outraged at the scale of the breakdown and how ineffectively it was handled. Detailed investigations revealed the breakdown to be a result of maintenance lapses, and SMRT was criticized for its failure to provide clear and timely information and instructions to passengers. Following the breakdown, the company embarked on a service recovery process encompassing various new initiatives. This case illustrates the tensions SMRT faced during and after the breakdown, and its journey to recover the public’s confidence in is transit services.

In the summer of 2015, one of Nestlé SA (Nestlé)'s top-selling products in the Indian market, its two-minute Maggi noodles, was embroiled in a food and safety issue when lead was discovered during a test. Media pundits called for the arrest of Nestlé officials. Others took to the street to set ablaze the famous yellow-coloured Maggi packets. Nestlé treated the matter largely as a regulatory issue, managing the crisis with scientific data at hand. The narrative was quickly set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority and its various provincial partners, which led to statewide bans and expanded tests of Maggi noodles across India and beyond. Nestlé executives wondered how a simple test had landed the organization and its prized brand in hot water. How can Nestlé take control and win back consumer confidence?

The online grocery market in the UK is one of the largest in the world. It has many players, but two of the most dynamic are Tesco and Ocado. These two companies have taken markedly different approaches to executing and fulfilling online grocery orders from customers. Tesco has an extensive network of stores and primarily uses these stores as picking locations to prepare and ship customer orders. Ocado has no retail stores, and uses highly automated distribution centers to prepare and ship customer orders. This case describes the UK online grocery market and the two companies; it invites students to consider the differences in the approaches, in which ways they offer advantages to the company and to customers, and ultimately which one is better suited to the UK online grocery market. Learning objective: The objective of this case to develop an appreciation and understanding of the different benefits, costs and constraints of supply chain distribution models. By contrasting two companies that have very different supply chain approaches to competing in the same market, the case leads students to make connections between a company's supply chain strategy and its customer value proposition.

Student spreadsheet for case W18057.

Since 2000, China's Jiuzhai Valley National Park (Jiuzhai Valley) had been experiencing a sharp increase in the volume of tourists it received. The park contributed significantly to the surrounding area's economy: in 2015 and 2016, it contributed more than 60 per cent of the total admission income received from the four major scenic parks within the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province. However, pollution and noise due to the influx of visitors presented a constant threat to Jiuzhai Valley's ecosystem and environment. Despite Jiuzhai Valley's fairly advanced and disciplined approach to park management, there was no easy solution to the problem it faced in trying to balance its economic success and sustainable environmental initiatives. Attempts to manage information using digital and smart technologies and "big data" were still in their early stages, and had yet to yield the expected benefits. How could the park balance conservation and development to attain sustainability?

Since 2000, China’s Jiuzhai Valley National Park (Jiuzhai Valley) had been experiencing a sharp increase in the volume of tourists it received. The park contributed significantly to the surrounding area’s economy: in 2015 and 2016, it contributed more than 60 per cent of the total admission income received from the four major scenic parks within the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province. However, pollution and noise due to the influx of visitors presented a constant threat to Jiuzhai Valley’s ecosystem and environment. Despite Jiuzhai Valley’s fairly advanced and disciplined approach to park management, there was no easy solution to the problem it faced in trying to balance its economic success and sustainable environmental initiatives. Attempts to manage information using digital and smart technologies and “big data” were still in their early stages, and had yet to yield the expected benefits. How could the park balance conservation and development to attain sustainability?

By 2016, the Big Apple Circus has weathered many storms in its 38 seasons as one of the most well-known New York City nonprofits. Will Weiss, the executive director, has witnessed his share of chaos during four years at Big Apple. After a slight resurgence following the precipitous drop in ticket sales during the financial crisis, the operating health and finances of the Circus are growing more tenuous each year. Big Apple Circus is on the brink and Will Weiss must determine if there is a way forward.

As a well-established Chinese garment brand, Yangtzekiang Garment Limited (YGM) and its related retail business, YGM Trading Limited, faced the challenges of a labour shortage, stagnant productivity, and the transformation of the traditional garment industry. As China was rapidly developing, Chinese companies were facing new challenges and needed to consider strategies to ensure more sustainable development. In March 2015, the executive chairman of YGM needed to transform the company and develop a sustainable strategy of innovation and transformation that would lead it forward in these new circumstances.

As a well-established Chinese garment brand, Yangtzekiang Garment Limited (YGM) and its related retail business, YGM Trading Limited, faced the challenges of a labour shortage, stagnant productivity, and the transformation of the traditional garment industry. As China was rapidly developing, Chinese companies were facing new challenges and needed to consider strategies to ensure more sustainable development. In March 2015, the executive chairman of YGM needed to transform the company and develop a sustainable strategy of innovation and transformation that would lead it forward in these new circumstances.

Innovation sourcing has become more critical across many industries. As global value chains have become more fragmented, change and opportunity comes from all sides. As a result, companies need to excel at capturing innovation opportunities with existing and potential supply chain members. This article describes a simple framework with three essential innovation sourcing capabilities needed to excel in purchasing: (1) Purchasing needs to explore unmet needs and anticipate future competitive advantages by working closely with other functions and clients; (2) it needs to explore external opportunities beyond first-tier suppliers; and (3) it needs to involve suppliers in innovation projects that consistently deliver results over time. Our framework has been developed based on a combined qualitative and quantitative research methodology that took into account practices and results at the purchasing and company levels. The framework will help C-level managers and purchasing teams benchmark their progress in innovation sourcing and understand what steps need to be taken to achieve excellence.

iD Fresh Food (India) Private Ltd., is a leading ready-to-cook and eat packaged food company serving several cities in India. The company is known for its popular product, Idly-Dosa batter that it sells through retail outlets. iD started with packaging Idly-Dosa batter and has since diversified into Malabar Parota, Wheat Parota, Chapati, and Chutneys. In 2017, iD Fresh was a 1000+ member team with seven factory locations and eight offices - two plants in Bengaluru, one each in Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Mangalore, and Dubai. They manufactured more than 50,000 kg of Idli-Dosa batter per day which is equivalent to a million idlis. The company produced and sold nearly 15 ready-to-eat packaged food products and their flagship products include Idli-Dosa batter, Mini Parota, Malabar Parota, Whole Wheat Parota, Whole Wheat Chapati, and Whole Wheat Junior Parota. iD Fresh Food was in expansion phase and adding several outlets to its distribution network. Since all the products sold by iD Fresh Foods had short shelf life, anywhere between 4 and 7 days, forecasting demand accurately is important. iD would like to be in a state where there will be a greater degree of predictability in its operations. Ideally, they would like to know how much of each SKU should be loaded into each vehicle for the following day when a salesman starts his beat journey. The forecast for each store, based on past performance of each store in each beat, should be fairly accurate. This would then enable a macro-view of the business operations over a month and consequently help in production planning and operations for the future.

Spreadsheet supplement to case IMB653.

This case introduces the concepts of information and material flow analysis, operational improvement procedure and the steps to be taken for successful change management in the context of warehouse consolidation at Manipal Hospitals Bangalore (MHB). The case describes the warehouse consolidation project which was expected to lower operational costs and improve service levels by leveraging economies of scale through aggregation of demand. It discusses the benefits of aggregation of demand and the procedure to design a supply network based on the demand pattern and criticality of products. However the desired outcomes were not achieved initially and the service levels plummeted rather than increasing. The second case then describes the steps taken to manage the change and meet the desired goals. This case goes beyond process improvement, to its implementation, the challenges faced, and related change management techniques needed for ensuring success of the process improvement initiatives. The case challenges the students to think about the various stakeholders involved when change initiatives are implemented on an organization level and to recommend solutions based on the voices of various internal customers. The case also encourages the students to think about the various aspects of organizational behavior that are involved at the time of changes in management processes. The Part B case showcases the changes that were implemented by the protagonist to improve and deliver the necessary service levels.

This case introduces the concepts of information and material flow analysis, operational improvement procedure and the steps to be taken for successful change management in the context of warehouse consolidation at Manipal Hospitals Bangalore (MHB). The case describes the warehouse consolidation project which was expected to lower operational costs and improve service levels by leveraging economies of scale through aggregation of demand. It discusses the benefits of aggregation of demand and the procedure to design a supply network based on the demand pattern and criticality of products. However the desired outcomes were not achieved initially and the service levels plummeted rather than increasing. The second case then describes the steps taken to manage the change and meet the desired goals. This case goes beyond process improvement, to its implementation, the challenges faced, and related change management techniques needed for ensuring success of the process improvement initiatives. The case challenges the students to think about the various stakeholders involved when change initiatives are implemented on an organization level and to recommend solutions based on the voices of various internal customers. The case also encourages the students to think about the various aspects of organizational behavior that are involved at the time of changes in management processes. The Part B case showcases the changes that were implemented by the protagonist to improve and deliver the necessary service levels.

In two short years, Viacom's Data Science & Advanced Analytics team built a web platform called Science Central that allowed employees from Viacom's 20+ cable networks to access television audience insights through three data science apps. In the past, employees would have approached the team to carry out these requests. Vice President of Data and Audience Development Fabio Luzzi, who oversaw the 10-person team, believed that making data science instantly available in accessible formats would allow teams to make better-informed decisions. By June 2017, the platform had 600 regular users, but Luzzi wanted to expand its reach. He considered whether the team should focus on strengthening the platform or devote more resources to custom analytics requests that would allow the team to explore new problems and develop new insights.