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LaundryWala was an online, on-demand laundry service provider in the suburbs of Delhi, India. In 2018, three years after its inception, the firm had more than 30,000 individual and business customers. The 33-year-old owner had to make quick strategic decisions regarding the next phase of the firm's growth. She looked at the firm's operation details to assess the following: Was her service model viable and profitable? Should the customer segment focus be business-to-consumer or business-to-business sales? Was a company-owned business model the best option, or should she look at outsourcing operations? Could the young start-up move into new territories and service offerings?

Datri Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry (DATRI), a not-for-profit social venture established in 2009 with 3,000 donors, was India's largest stem cell donor registry. Since 2009, it had expanded until its donor base was over 267,000. While DATRI continued to work towards its vision to find a matching donor for every patient in need of life-saving stem cells, its dependence on voluntary donations was causing some pressing issues. Donors who voluntarily enrolled in the registry were backing out of the process when contacted for a transplant, and the organization was also facing fundraising difficulties. DATRI's co-founder and chief executive officer felt that not addressing these issues soon would undermine the organization's purpose. In May 2017, he was preparing for a meeting with his team to finalize a future plan of action that would solve these problems.

This case examines the opportunities and challenges faced by an entrepreneur behind a beauty startup, YOURFIT, as she attempts to break into the crowded Korean beauty (or "K-beauty") market. Leveraging on technology, YOURFIT uses a mobile application which allows customers to customise facial masks for their unique face size, skin type, and skincare goals. This case traces the entrepreneur's journey as she gets her startup off the ground in the cut-throat K-beauty market.

California Closets had used robust net promoter score (NPS) data, surveyed across its locations, to create a more consistent and satisfying customer experience. CEO Bill Barton wanted to further optimize the customer experience around best practices. He also wanted to attract newer customers, members of the millennial generation. How could Barton and California Closets leverage NPS to achieve these goals?

With SAR 14 billion ($3.7 billion) in 2017 revenues, Almarai was Saudi Arabia's largest dairy producer, distributor, and marketer, with a large portfolio of branded dairy products, juices, bakery goods, and infant formula and a sales presence across the Gulf region, Jordan, and Egypt. Almarai employed some 42,000 people across its operations, from its massive dairy farms to its processing plants to its vast sales and distribution operation that reached over 100,000 outlets. Notwithstanding its diverse portfolio, the core of Almarai's business was (1) sales of branded fresh/chilled dairy products, (2) in Saudi Arabia, (3) distributed through the traditional retail channel made up of thousands of small neighborhood shops called bakalas. In October 2018, all three of these focal points were under pressure. Under the economic-restructuring programs of Saudi Arabia's new crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, new taxes and subsidy cuts were squeezing household budgets. Concurrently, changes to other government policies were causing expatriates-who made up about a third of Saudi Arabia's population and were a key consumer of Almarai's dairy products-to leave the country in droves. This case finds Almarai's management team, led by soon-to-retire CEO Georges Schorderet, debating how the company can defend and grow its position in Saudi Arabia while also finding new sources of future growth (e.g., bringing its production model to new markets with fragmented dairy sectors or entering new product categories such as fish or ice cream). The decision of how to move forward will be based on an assessment of Almarai's strengths, how they can be best used to drive future growth, and how relevant they will remain in a market that is changing so dramatically.

Komatsu's Komtrax system started as a way of remotely monitoring and tracking equipment for the purpose of improving operational efficiency. This case follows its evolution towards other uses including demand forecasting for its sales, marketing, and production operations.

In 2016, the hair-loss solutions company Hair Club conducted a review of its business practices and identified issues with its sales operations. Although Hair Club had some very satisfied customers, it struggled to convert potential customers into regular, paying clients resulting in a loss of revenue. To address the issues identified in the review, Hair Club hired Marcus Wright, a sales professional in the healthcare and beauty industries, as its vice president of sales operations. He was tasked with analyzing Hair Club's sales process to determine how the company can turn more potential customers into paying clients who will also refer their friends and family. Wright and Hair Club considered how to improve the quality and number of potential clients who set up a meeting with a consultant and how to modify the consultation process and follow-up to increase Hair Club's sales.

Kamil Yazici and Izzet Ozilhan founded and built Anadolu Group Holding; a family business that grew into a multi-billion-dollar regional powerhouse. For 57 years they were equal partners in running the company. They then handed over a leadership role to a next generation family member; Izzet's son Tuncay; who became the CEO and later also chairman. Under Tuncay's leadership; the company was primarily run by professional managers; supplemented by a limited number of second- and third-generation family members in senior executive positions. However; in 2017; when the number of next-generation family members reached 85; Kamil and Tuncay began work on a governance structure they hoped would sustain the company when they left. Under their plan; family members would no longer be allowed to hold general management positions. As a result; Tuncay retired as CEO and other family members with senior executive roles resigned. A holding company was created to bring all the company's subsidiaries under a common structure. And a process was created to allow some members of the two surviving families to hold board seats. Although the stock market reacted positively to the increased transparency brought about by the changes; it remains to be seen whether the new formula will achieve its goal of successfully transitioning the company from a family-managed business to professionally-run company.

This case describes the challenge faced by Pizza Hut Hong Kong. Pizza Hut dominated the territory's pizza delivery business. It eliminated competitors by engaging digitally savvy consumers with innovative, integrated marketing and technology solutions. As independent food delivery firms like Food Panda and Deliveroo started to enter Hong Kong, Pizza Hut Hong Kong had to consider how to leverage its core competencies to tackle these disruptors and protect its market.

Cathay Pacific's announcement that it would eliminate 600 staff jobs from its head office made headlines in the territory and internationally. The mass layoffs followed the loss of HKD3bn the previous year. This case study discusses the possible causes of Cathay Pacific's plight. Cathay had been among the best airlines in the world and a source of pride to many Hong Kongers. From the service management perspective, this case study describes the situation Cathay Pacific was facing in terms of service marketing, service human resource management, and service operations.

Michael Finney, CEO of US-domiciled Deltrix Lumberjack, pitched his company's logging equipment to an Indonesian logging firm. Indonesian regulation required all quotations to be denominated in Indonesian Rupiah (IDR). Amidst intense competition, Michael improved his quotation from IDR equivalent to US$4.85 million, to that equivalent to US$4.70 million. This would result in a razor-thin margin for the company as a mere 10% depreciation of the IDR could wipe out Deltrix's US$ profits for this transaction. Michael tasked his treasurer, Dan Martin, to study the recent trend of the US$-IDR exchange rate and to recommend whether Deltrix should hedge the IDR receivables, due six months later, if Deltrix's tender was successful. And if Dan's recommendation was to hedge, whether hedging using the onshore or offshore IDR forward market would be more effective. Offshore hedging would be executed via the IDR Non-Deliverable Forward (NDF) market. A NDF, unlike the traditional forward transaction, would not involve exchange of principals in the two currencies. NDFs were settled via the payment of a Settlement Amount (similar to profit of forwards), which together with the spot transaction to be effected at maturity, would result in a (non-perfect) hedge of the amount of US$ to be converted.

The chief executive officer (CEO) of Freshii Inc., a leading Canadian-based, international franchised restaurant chain, had developed a distinctive corporate culture at the restaurant's head office. In July 2017, Freshii was expanding its healthy food, fast casual restaurants at the rate of about one store per week, and the CEO wanted to ensure a common culture in the chain's ecosystem. The task fell to the chief people officer to develop a plan that would take into consideration three developments that were relevant: the chain was on the verge of exponential growth; it was transforming from a restaurant brand to a health and wellness brand; and it was entering new lines of business by partnering with retail chains and airline companies. Given the diverse cultures at the store level, how could Freshii ensure a consistent corporate culture across the Freshii ecosystem? And how could Freshii convert its corporate culture to become both a sustainable and scalable competitive advantage?

In November 2016, the two co-founders of the Delhi-based Greenco Enterprises India Pvt. Ltd. were getting ready to launch a range of frozen snacks in the competitive Indian market. Their strategy was to penetrate the already established non-vegetarian frozen snacks market with fast-moving popular products and grow the vegetarian frozen snacks market with differentiated offerings. As the January 2017 launch date approached, they had to get their pricing and distribution strategy in place. For a new brand with a limited budget, securing shelf space was a challenge. The two founders wondered whether the company should focus all of its efforts on building a retail brand in the business-to-consumer segment, or whether it should consider institutional sales in the business-to-business space. How could the initial investment and running costs be balanced with the need to stay competitive in the market?

The purpose of this case is to look at FarmFriend's product market fit. The case examines how the FarmFriend founding team evaluated various business models through extensive market research and ultimately decided to launch a marketplace that matched farmers to pilots that offered drone spraying services. Students will also be introduced to various go to market strategies that were used to address this target market. Students will also gain an understanding of the challenges a company faces to ensure product market fit.

How can policymakers and business leaders address AI and automation's potential for widespread labor market displacement? This case examines potential policy responses, looking closely at the United States' existing social safety net and the impacts of implementing Universal Basic Income or a federal job guarantee.

In Spring of 2018, Chris Ailman, CIO of the $200 billion pension plan for California public school teachers (CalSTRS) was mandated by his board to "prioritize engagement with makers and retailers of firearms in California" following a series of gun-related tragedies in schools. While CalSTRS had a long history of engagement and even divestment, as a fiduciary for the retirement assets of current and future teachers, calls for values-motivated screening or divestment always posed an inherently complex challenge. Having spearheaded the development of Principles for a Responsible Civilian Firearm Industry released on November 14, 2018, Chris Ailman and his team had to decide what to do next.

The purpose of this case is to look at Aerobotic's product market fit. The case examines how the Aerobotics founding team determined the best way to approach the agricultural drone market in South Africa. It also highlights how the team evaluated pricing and which markets/partnerships to initially pursue. Students will also be introduced to various go to market strategies that were used to address this target market. Students will also gain an understanding of the challenges a company faces to ensure product market fit. The case also looks at the company from an investor's point of view.