Infra Travel Agency (ITA), a well-established player in Europe’s travel industry, faced declining revenues and sought to diversify into the electric vehicle sector to boost revenue and lead in reducing its carbon footprint. ITA aimed for a revenue increase of 20 per cent and required route optimization software to support this new vertical. To achieve this goal, ITA required advanced route optimization software and selected Tech Consulting Ltd. (TCL) for its development. The project began in February 2023, following a final statement of work signed in March. Despite initial optimism, the project faced significant issues, including disappointing demo results and delays in reaching the minimum viable product by May 2023. By that time, only 12 per cent of the planned work had been completed, while 30 per cent of the budget had already been spent. In response to escalating concerns, TCL replaced its initial delivery manager with Frank Raju. As the year progressed, Raju faced the challenges of addressing stakeholder trust issues, managing project scope, and ensuring alignment to secure a successful outcome by the end of the fiscal year.
Amid rising online content, modern consumers want a personalized online shopping experience and to be presented with products, services, and deals that are relevant and specific to them. Anil Bains launched Attryb to create a hyper-personalization stack to deliver a meaningful experience to each website user. Using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and statistical models, Attryb’s predictive intelligence model could assess thousands of customer signals to create meaningful segments that increased acquisition, engagement, and sales for online sellers. However, small and medium companies establishing direct-to-consumer websites often lacked strong technological capabilities and were preoccupied with starting their businesses. How could Attryb convince these prospective clients about the economic benefits of its solution and communicate the value without being overly technical?
This case study focuses on the digital transformation strategy of Tsingtao Brewery in the Chinese beer market. Tsingtao Brewery is one of the oldest and most famous beer brands in China. However, this legacy brewery company also faces challenges, such as fierce competition, slow market growth, and consumption upgrading. To respond to the changes of consumer demand and industry competition, Tsingtao Brewery accelerates its digital end-to-end supply chain in various aspects, such as procurement, production, logistics, and marketing. During its digital transformation, did Tsingtao Brewery choose outsourcing digital technologies, applying the Blue Ocean Strategy, or centralizing its organization? These dilemmas were awaiting answers.
On a day in early June 2017, Fadi Kanaan, a member of the organizing committee of the Beirut International Model United Nations (BEYMUN) conference at the American University of Beirut (AUB), sat in front of college hall feeling very excited yet worried. He had just received an email informing him that he would be the secretary-general of the annual Model United Nations conference at AUB in the spring of 2018. BEYMUN invited students from universities worldwide who were interested in addressing global concerns and prevailing world topics in a real-life simulation of the United Nations committee sessions. This conference was the perfect opportunity for participants to tackle such topics as regional conflicts, women and children, human rights, peacemaking, disarmament, economic and social development, and the environment while working in committees for Disarmament and International Security, Economic and Financial, Social Humanitarian and Cultural, and Special Political and Decolonization. But Kanaan was worried how BEYMUN would manage the overwhelming application process. Previously, the BEYMUN team had experienced issues with organizing large events, and Kanaan realized the existing system that received applications was inadequate for processing the hundreds of applications he expected the conference to receive. He knew that within two weeks of announcing the conference dates, applications would start to pour in. Kanaan and the team had to respond to each application before a deadline. Now was the time for BEYMUN to develop a system that would efficiently manage and process the applications to help organize a successful conference.
In late 2019, the Mississauga, Ontario–based NetDynamic Consulting Inc. (NetDynamic) faced intricate challenges related to aligning and standardizing enterprise resource planning (ERP) processes on a global scale in a large multinational enterprise while simultaneously safeguarding the distinctive operational nuances specific to each of the company’s local subsidiaries. <br><br>NetDynamic had undertaken the challenge of integrating the operations of its client, SodaStream Canada, into a unified ERP system. SodaStream Canada was a subsidiary of SodaStream International Ltd. (SodaStream), headquartered in Israel. While SodaStream was part of the food and beverage multinational PepsiCo Inc. (PepsiCo), it was also a multinational in its own right, with 10 global subsidiaries under its purview. NetDynamic’s leaders needed to make crucial decisions regarding how to roll out the new ERP system, how to efficiently address end-user concerns, and how to learn from the ongoing integration to serve future clients better.
In the era of artificial intelligence (AI), data and algorithms have been increasingly incorporated into organizations’ talent management in general and recruitment processes in particular. The case discusses the experience of the China-based technology giant Baidu Inc. (Baidu) during its implementation and incorporation of AI in its recruitment process. It introduces the new trend of intelligent recruitment, addressing the transformation toward it, its technical functions, and the operational model and value creation it enables. It also explores the challenges and future opportunities in the use of AI for talent management.
In 2022, the SEEMA Center for Training and Protection of Women and Children’s Rights, a non-profit organization in Khartoum, Sudan, was focused on eradicating the practice of female genital mutilation. The organization was facing cultural, educational, and political challenges in Sudan, as well as tensions from decades of civil unrest, which created barriers for the founder’s fight to eradicate FGM. Her work was also greatly challenged by the deep cultural roots of the practice that existed within the country and in the surrounding regions. Female genital mutilation was a traditional ritual that generated a culture of illegal procedures and groups of extremists. These groups countered the work of the organization and made the founder’s job all the more difficult. She had to find effective strategies and partnerships to help her achieve her organization’s goal of eradicating female genital mutilation.
The case discusses collaboration between a technology-based company and a fashion eyewear company. The need for collaboration arose after Google LLC (Google) launched smart eyewear that failed to attract the attention of fashion-conscious users due to poor aesthetics and ergonomics. Google then partnered with fashion eyewear company, Luxottica Group S.p.A. (EssilorLuxottica) to design smart eyewear named Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2. However, this product did not take off due to high pricing and technology issues. EssilorLuxottica then collaborated with Meta Platforms Inc. to produce fashion smart eyewear, Ray-Ban Stories. The case discusses the potential for success of this tie-up and the future in the segment.
This case study explores the various digital interventions (DIs) used by the Asude Foundation (Asude) in delivering education to students from low socio-economic sections in Aurangabad, India, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact on students’ learning outcomes. Asude used an approach of recombining resources and leveraging the available digital and human capabilities, thus it provided a holistic and practical solution to the challenges created by the pandemic coupled with various institutional voids. The case study considers how Asude should plan in 2022 for growth and sustainability.
In June 2023, the director of corporate communication and digital services for Khalil Fattal et Fils SAL (a subsidiary of Fattal Group) was tasked with presenting a strategy for the company’s online activities. The family business was a fourth-generation diversified distributor of a large variety of products and many other items by well-known brands headquartered near Beirut, Lebanon. The director had started to explore online sales platforms after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, which was soon followed by a major political and economic crisis in Lebanon. The director was wondering which of two potential strategies she should present to the board of directors. She could recommend a B2C strategy to strengthen the company’s retail business or a B2B strategy to avoid potential conflicts among the company’s various independent retailers. The director had to make a decision before the next board meeting.
A year had passed since implementing digitalization of the direct lending process at Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), and the committee gathered on January 2, 2023, to reflect on its success and identify any issues. During the meeting, the team discovered that some businesses faced issues with loan sanctioning due to the need for relaxation of certain policies. Because the system-driven processes were based on standard procedures, the committee faced a dilemma in how to handle these relaxations. Although the system was automated, there were still certain areas that required manual interventions. As a result, the team deliberated whether SIDBI should move toward hyperautomation.
<div style="font-size: 0.94em; line-height: 1.4;"><p align="justify">The December 2022 holiday season was anticipated to mark the first “post-COVID” holiday. However, an unusually severe storm hit at the end of December, causing widespread flight cancellations. Most airlines recovered within a day or two, but Southwest Airlines Co. was disproportionately affected. By December 28, 2022, the airline had cancelled 59 per cent of its flights, compared to an average of 1–2 per cent for other airlines. This led to a total of 16,700 cancellations between December 21 and December 31. The crisis was exacerbated by Southwest Airlines Co.’s outdated crew management software, insufficient ground crews, and its unique point-to-point route network. Unlike hub-and-spoke networks, which concentrated resources at major hubs. Southwest’s point-to-point system offered more non-stop flights but lacked flexibility in crisis response. In the aftermath of the crisis, Southwest was grappling with various critical questions. Would investments in new technology suffice? Which technological advances would make the best investments? With obvious structural deficiencies in place, should the airline consider restructuring? How should Southwest navigate the aftermath of the December 2022 crisis to ensure resilience and sustainability?
Based on their extensive consulting and advisory experience in large-scale consulting transformations for various large enterprises, Ramesh Srinivas and his colleagues at Worxogo Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (Worxogo) in Bengaluru, India, had launched an artificial intelligence (AI)–based nudge platform called Nudge Coach in 2017 to change employees’ behaviour positively and voluntarily so as to bolster team performance. The platform’s self-learning AI engine had been designed based on insights from behavioural sciences and popular motivation theories. It featured deep-learning algorithms that understood individual motivations and provided personalized coaching tips, appropriate challenges, and rewards. The platform was presented as a coach that could help employees manage their performance.<br><br>By 2023, Worxogo had garnered numerous clients and accolades for its platform’s novelty and efficacy in improving employee performance and organizational outcomes. However, Worxogo had implemented its platform predominantly for a limited set of functions, such as sales and data-centre operations, characterized by well-defined lead and lag performance metrics. Clients, buoyed by the platform’s success, began encouraging the Worxogo team to extend the nudge-based performance-improvement system to other functions and domains.<br><br>Thus, Srinivas, Worxogo’s chief executive officer, faced a dilemma in August 2023of whether to continue to focus on Nudge Coach’s limited existing functions or to explore appropriate nudge-based outcomes for tasks without clear lead and lag performance indicators. His other challenge was to determine how organizations and individuals could measure the effectiveness of nudges in improving performance without clear short-term outcomes. Which approach would Srinivas take to respond to these challenges?
BC Cancer was a provincial government–funded treatment and research organization that provided cancer care in British Columbia (BC), Canada. During 2021–2022, BC Cancer developed a connected chatbot to improve patient access to information and reduce demands on the telephone nursing lines. A project manager oversaw the chatbot’s development and ran a proof of concept in Victoria, BC, from March to June 2022. While this allowed her working group to obtain feedback from nurses, other user data regarding the value of the connected chatbot was limited and inconclusive. Following the completion of the proof of concept, the project manager had to decide whether BC Cancer should continue to roll out the connected chatbot, and if so, how.
Shein, a rapidly growing international e-commerce giant based in China, strategically positioned itself as a dominant player in the fast fashion industry by catering to Gen Z customers with stylish and affordable offerings. The brand benefitted from a forward-thinking digital business model that harnessed big data analysis and social media marketing, ensuring deep consumer insights and accurate market demand predictions. Moreover, its seamless integration with supplier networks bolstered its supply chain agility and enabled it to enhance customer experiences through tailored product recommendations. Despite its success, Shein faced scrutiny for labour exploitation, design infringement, and broader environmental, social, and governance (ESG) challenges inherent to the fast-fashion industry. Under pressure from investors and targeting a potential public listing, Shein embarked on an ethical transformation, aligning with international labour conventions and local regulations to improve its ESG standing. This case underscored Shein’s complex challenge as it strived to harmonize sustainability with commercial profitability. It also introduced the ESG strategies Shein had adopted until then. The crucial question remained: How could Shein leverage its digital innovations to transform into a sustainable and ethical global operator? Particularly within the context of Sino-US tensions, what strategies should the company employ to secure a higher valuation and establish itself as a responsible industry player while pursuing a successful initial public offering?
<p align="justify">In 2022, Emtec Inc., an information technology and digital services firm located in Florida, was at a critical juncture. The company had seen immense success as a hardware reseller and managed services provider to government agencies and midmarket companies in the US. But Dinesh Desai, the founder and former chief executive officer, was concerned about decreasing profit margins and intensifying competition in the current reseller and managed services business. Low barriers to entry were adding new entrants and competition on pricing as well as affecting the ability to acquire and keep talent. Furthermore, the pace of technological change influencing newer offerings such as cloud and custom development was creating significant uncertainty. For Desai, the question came down to the following: Stay the course and build upon established services or pivot to a different mix of offerings? The pressure to chart a new path was very important, given the uncertainty about the future and the cutthroat price-based competition in the market.
In late 2020, Harman Singh Arora, the chief executive officer of Gtropy Pvt. Ltd. (Gtropy), a logistics technology provider in the logistics and transportation space, was considering the company’s future. Gtropy had disrupted the market with its GPS based fleet management solutions complemented by exhaustive data analytics since it was formed in 2019. The company’s quarterly growth was 40 per cent and they had a network of 350+ partners. However, Arora found in customer satisfaction surveys and feedback, that their clients were looking for centralized platforms for making all payments digitally and seamlessly. Arora sets his eye on big-ticket financial technology segment. However, his senior leadership team were not in the favour of moving so fast on Arora’s risky and difficult plan. But in this digital world of up or out, it was time to focus on the elephant in the room: Where should they invest its time and resources?
In the throes of a global pandemic, on May 3, 2021, Exide Industries Limited (EIL) faced a critical juncture. The managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) convened the executive committee in Kolkata, India, to grapple with the choice between human capital and robotic process automation, specifically in the realm of accounts payable (AP) processes. Balancing tangible benefits and intangible costs, the executives debated the impact on employee morale and company culture. Amidst the complexities, the MD and CEO aimed to chart a course that harmonized innovation with tradition, ensuring automation fortified rather than undermined EIL’s core strengths. Focused on the vital AP processes, the senior vice president (SVP) of corporate accounts and the IT team initiated an exploration, recognizing the need to navigate a delicate equilibrium between human insight and technological advancement. The narrative unfolds in a bustling city, against the backdrop of a pandemic-altered economic landscape, as EIL seeks a path forward that preserves its unique human capital while embracing the transformative potential of automation.