Case studies

The business-travel department of American Express is facing rapid growth in demand but is plagued with overstaffing in some offices because of the broad distribution of client demand. Management's challenge is to reduce costs in local offices while maintaining a high level of service. One alternative under consideration is a centralized regional business-travel center to handle reservation functions for up to 20 other Amexco offices. This case gives students the opportunity to apply queuing theory to a practical situation. Normally, in order to facilitate the numerous calculations required, it is used with the UVA “QUEUE” program.

Prudential Equity Group had downgraded Danaher to underweight status, citing concerns over its inadequate organic growth. By March 2009, its CEO wondered how to keep growing a company that faced changing worldwide economic circumstances, pressure from low-cost competitors, new competitors, flat or declining demand for company products, price increases for certain raw materials, and criticism from market analysts.

This case explores the decision of a fast-growing company to expand its distribution network. Financial information is provided in it so students can understand the basic distribution network design covering inbound transportation, outbound transportation, distribution-center operations, and inventory.

This case can be used in management of international business courses to illustrate the analysis of market attractiveness, the importance of fit between firm capabilities and market requirements, and the effects of multimarket competition. It describes the international expansion challenges facing EAC Nutrition, the infant formula division of a Danish conglomerate, in early 2002. Growth in EAC's core markets of Thailand and Malaysia has stagnated and EAC is contemplating three expansion options: entry into India, geographic expansion within China, and product line expansion in existing markets.

This case is used in Darden's Supply-Chain Operations elective. The field-based case gives supply-chain educators the ability to teach the newsvendor model with pricing under a capacity constraint using real-life decisions. By 2005, Eastman Chemical Company, based in Tennessee, had created a new specialty plastic, Tritan, which demonstrated heat resistance and durability properties that might allow Eastman to compete in the lucrative polycarbonate plastics market. Development of this product was a major breakthrough for both Eastman and the broader chemical industry. The Eastman specialty plastics team had to contend with numerous challenges, however, before producing Tritan at full scale. First, Eastman had to commercialize a completely new material that only had been produced in the lab; second, the team had to develop a supply chain to manufacture a new component (monomer) and a new product (polymer) simultaneously; and finally, it had to analyze market entrance options given capacity constraints. Thus, the specialty plastics team faced several dilemmas: who should the initial launch partners be, given Eastman's limited manufacturing capacity, and how aggressively should Eastman price Tritan, given that price would drive demand in the launch markets and in new markets?

This case examines a set of expansion options for a successful Internet luggage retailer, with a particular emphasis on the operational complexities.

The consumer-products division of a multinational company is facing a decision on the sourcing of product components: whether to stay in Taiwan or switch to Mexico. See also the supplement to this case, “Cost Analysis for Sourcing Alternatives for Emerson Electric Company ACP Division” (OM-0823).

This case concerns the troubles that Euro Disney experienced from the start. Euro Disney claimed that the major cause of its poor financial performance was the European recession and the strong French franc. The timing of the park's opening could not have been more inopportune. If the recession had been the only cause of Euro Disney's problems, the financial restructuring would only need to carry the park forward to better economic times. Only when Europeans began spending freely again would investors learn the answers to some uncomfortable questions: Was the whole idea of Euro Disney misconceived? Were there other fundamental cultural problems that could inhibit the park's success? Would Euro Disney fail to recover even though other European companies did? And, if so, why was the Disney theme-park concept successful in Japan and not in France?

This case features a prominent antidumping case in the United States against six of its major foreign shrimp suppliers. The case fits well in a discussion and analysis of the (welfare) consequences of protectionism, the basic case for free trade, and the political economy of protectionism.

The diamond industry has been subject to significant change. There is increased competition from low-wage countries such as India and China, the concern about blood diamonds, and policy issues affecting the viability of trading diamonds. In this case, we study how Antwerp's dominant position in the diamond trade is being challenged and eroded. The case offers a good opportunity to introduce and discuss comparative advantage and relate it to Heckscher-Ohlin type of trade.