Case studies

Mahindra Trucks and Buses forayed into India's commercial vehicles sector in 2005. However, they had to battle numerous supply chain challenges associated with introducing a new product (a new truck brand) in the market and to gain a noticeable foothold in the market. In this case, we attempt to align customer brand stickiness with the supply chain expectations from a new product. In particular, we deliberate how the needs of all actors in the supply chain must be met and their interactions must be accounted in developing a robust supply chain. Finally, a supply chain is successful when demand can be matched with supply and the customer's service level can be achieved.

The case describes the predicament of Aditya Kumar, Vice President of Marketing at Green Living India Technologies Private Limited (GLIT), an organisation working in arena of sustainable products and technology. Aditya Kumar, who has had an excellent academic background and a fast track promotion after seven months of joining the company, is harshly criticized by his boss Rajiv Nanda, Chief Marketing Officer. Aditya Kumar and Rajiv Nanda have different personalities and work styles. Aditya has a different opinion for some of Rajiv's initiatives and he does not agree to Rajiv's revenue projections which he finds to be over-estimated. Aditya has succeeded in his previous role but he has failed to adapt his work style and establish an effective relationship with his new boss that may lead to his position being removed from the organisation.

Razorpay is a four-year-old Indian B2B fintech startup in digital payments which is venturing into digital lending. It aims to simplify digital payment flows involved in acceptance, processing, and disbursement of payments through superior technology and automation. This case details how Razorpay creates value for businesses by offering service convenience in B2B space. Razorpay started as a payment solutions provider, primarily known for their payment gateway. Over time the market for digital payment in India has matured, with multiple providers offering similar products making it difficult for Razorpay to sustain its growth by using technological leadership and service differentiation. To maintain its growth trajectory, Razorpay has launched multiple new products in the digital payment space as well as announced a foray into creating a marketplace for digital lending through launch of Razorpay Capital. The case provides details of the growth of Razorpay and its move from its core strength of payment gateway

Sai Coating, a small entrepreneurial firm, was one of the three firms that had received the license from ARCI for marketing the Detonation Spray Coating (DSC). Sai Coating made and sold the detonation gun (D-Gun) to three sectors, namely: Wire Drawing, Textiles and Aero components. The coating enhanced the life of the coated wire or surface and its functionality in some ways. The firm had a turnover of INR 4,500,000 and was looking to generate scale and maximize its revenues. The case revolves around the pricing strategy to be adopted by Sai coating to extract value from different set of customers. What should be the price levels given the nature of the product?

The founding principle of contracts is the freedom of the parties. The parties are free to choose their terms and follow any modality of communication, oral or written. As they can freely make a contract, they can freely modify or unmake it. Written contracts have a clause, No Oral Modification Clause (NOM Clause), precluding oral modifications of the contract. Irrespective of it, business persons make oral agreements modifying the contract, and later, dispute its validity. If the parties are free to contract, why should the oral agreement not be binding? In a NOM Clause then, ineffective? The United Kingdom Supreme Court, in MWB Business Exchange Centres Ltd v Rock Advertising Ltd, explores this fundamental question on contract law.

The first company under the Amara Raja Group was established in 1984, i.e. Amara Raja Electronics Limited (AREL) followed by Amara Raja Batteries Limited (ARBL). Its founder leveraged the presence of his family in Renigunta, a rural village in South India, and chose to start the industry there to create employment opportunities. Preference is given to local population in all ARG enterprises. Despite its strong people orientation, the HR department/function at ARG got strengthened only after Jaikrishna strived to make it central to business. The department's evolution has been demarcated in three phases. The first and second phase saw few initiatives, and during the third phase the HR department was structured according to the Dave Ulrich Strategic HR Model. While this structure had been successful until now, certain sections in ARG still doubted its sustainability.

The case is based on heated e-mail conversations connected to the delivery of clean bottled water in the campus of a reputed research institute in southern India. The exchange between Tara Sharma (Programme Manager) and Shreejith Nair (Group Head-Engineering Service and Estate) relate to the quality of services provided. The case highlights the viewpoints of various stakeholders involved in the open conversation. This case focusses on the behaviour of a set of underperforming employees associated with a contractor, the reasons, among others, being lack of training and quality awareness. However, training alone cannot be assumed as the only correct solution for handling underperformance. The stakeholders involved need to ascertain the cause of underperformance by analysing whether it is a “Can't Do” –“Won't Do” problem, and identify the ways of dealing with it.

Customers often sign lengthy offer documents, running in several pages, without reading them or understanding their contents. Later, they discover the contract has exclusion clauses or unfavourable terms. Are the terms binding on the person? The case explores the UK High Court judgement in Coys of Kensington Automobiles Limited v Tiziana Pugliese, which is on the theme of the signing of an offer form. The case explores themes frequently encountered in forms, including the following: The font size is small and terms not conspicuous. The form refers to more terms without enclosing them. The applicant is not fully familiar with the language.

The case captures the origin and initial years of two restaurants Mirchi & Mime and Madeira & Mime, which exclusively employed Speech and Hearing Impaired persons (SHI) as servers (often called “waiters” in India). It documents how the restaurants were set up, captures significant incidents during this initial period and the impact of these incidents on the working of the restaurants. Further, it describes the challenge of opening a fine dining restaurant and a gastropub staffed exclusively by SHI persons as servers. The case narrates the reactions and impact on the SHIs and their families, co-workers within the outlets and the customers visiting these outlets. Finally, the case lists the recognition received by the organisation and outlines plans for the immediate future.

The digital medium has created new ways of contracting through web pages and smartphone apps. The websites and apps put numerous terms of contract. In some cases, the user is required to click on them, and other times, the user may or may not even notice the terms. Are the terms put by the sites and apps binding? The case explores the theme with the Uber Case, a judgement of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, on the application of the terms in the Uber app.