Case studies

Teaching cases offers students the opportunity to explore real world challenges in the classroom environment, allowing them to test their assumptions and decision-making skills before taking their knowledge into the workplace.

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Case study
Publication date: 26 June 2020

Alexander St Leger Moss, John Luiz and Boyd Sarah

The subject area is international business and strategy. The case allows scope for the following areas: internationalisation, market strategy, emerging market multinational…

Abstract

Subject area of the teaching case

The subject area is international business and strategy. The case allows scope for the following areas: internationalisation, market strategy, emerging market multinational companies, and doing business in Africa.

Student level

The primary target audience for this teaching case is postgraduate business students such as Master of Business Administration (MBA), or postgraduate management programmes. The case is primarily designed for use in courses that cover strategy or international business.

Brief overview of the teaching case

This case centres on the international growth strategy of FMBcapital Holdings Group (FMB), the Malawian commercial banking firm. The case finds the founder and current group chairman, Hitesh Anadkat, in 2016, as he and the FMB board are about to decide on the next move in their Southern African strategy. Since opening the first FMB branch in Malawi and becoming the country's first commercial banker in 1995, Anadkat and his team have ridden a wave of financial deregulation across the region to successfully expand into neighbouring Botswana, Zambia, and Mozambique. Now, an opportunity to gain a foothold in Zimbabwe means the leaders must decide (1) whether they want to continue to grow the FMB footprint across the region, or focus on their integration and expansion efforts within existing markets; and (2) how they will realise this strategy.

Expected learning outcomes

International expansion – identifying the need to expand into new markets; identifying the combination of internal strengths and external conditions that make international expansion viable; and identifying and analysing each possible new market(s) and the decision-making process involved.

Political, social and economic factors in Africa – understanding how these external institutional factors present constraints, risks and opportunities for internationalisation and hence shape strategy; understanding that these factors may vary significantly across countries on the continent (in spite of their geographic proximity) and in some cases, within a single country; and understanding that by selecting markets with extreme socially and politically volatile contexts, the risk of a worst-case scenario transpiring (in which institutional forces trump business strategy) is appreciable.

Combination of resource- and institutional-based approaches – recognising that successful internationalisation requires capitalising upon both internal resources and institutional mastery.

Choosing expansion strategies – assessing the type of new market entry (e.g. greenfield or acquisition of existing operations) and its adequacy for penetrating a new market.

Using networks and local partners – to substitute and enhance the benefits that originally flow from a small (and sometime family-established) business, with an emphasis on acquisition of skills and networks in foreign countries.

Regional integration – optimising business operations through a sharing or pooling of resources and improved capital flow between subsidiaries, in some instances by taking advantage of economies of scale (this extends to enhancing the reputation and awareness of a brand across a wider region).

Family businesses – identifying the value that can be gained through establishing a family business with the support of many “close” stakeholders while also noting the limitation that exist as expansion and growth is required.

Details

The Case Writing Centre, University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2633-8505
Published by: The Case Writing Centre, University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 1 November 2018

Stephan M. Wagner, Viviane Heldt, Katrin Lentschig and Jennifer Meyer

The case of Bertelsmann China: Supply Chain for Books (A) focuses on one the world's leading media companies to illustrate a widespread problem in the supply chain strategy in…

Abstract

The case of Bertelsmann China: Supply Chain for Books (A) focuses on one the world's leading media companies to illustrate a widespread problem in the supply chain strategy in extremely fast growing markets. Students learn about the basic challenges of supply chain strategy in an international context. The case covers important fields of management theory. Supply chain designs well as cost and performance drivers are revised by the use of frameworks.

Details

Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2631-598X
Published by: Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 1 November 2018

Stephan M. Wagner, Viviane Heldt, Katrin Lentschig and Jennifer Meyer

The case of Bertelsmann China: Supply Chain for Books (B) is situated in China in the beginning of 2006. Bertelsmann Direct Group, the Chinese subsidiary of the worldwide…

Abstract

The case of Bertelsmann China: Supply Chain for Books (B) is situated in China in the beginning of 2006. Bertelsmann Direct Group, the Chinese subsidiary of the worldwide Bertelsmann AG, is one of the leading book retailers in the country. Supply chain management is essential for success in retailing, which is why Bertelsmann puts a lot of effort into the optimization of its supply chain design. As costs are paramount to importance in the low-margin book retailing sector, linear programming methods are applied to optimize the network

Details

Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2631-598X
Published by: Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 1 November 2018

Rodney Thomas, Stephen Rutner and Christopher Boone

This case study addresses a number of common transportation management issues. It provides an opportunity to analyse historical freight payment data in order to reduce…

Abstract

This case study addresses a number of common transportation management issues. It provides an opportunity to analyse historical freight payment data in order to reduce transportation costs and improve customer service, allowing students to utilise real freight payment data and order shipment history data to make recommendations that have strategic implications for both cost and service performance.

Details

Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2631-598X
Published by: Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 1 November 2018

Arunachalam Narayanan, Malini Natarajarathinam and Brandon Winn

BP has interest in both upstream and downstream segments in over 100 countries worldwide. The United States subsidiary of BP is the nation's largest producer of oil and gas. This…

Abstract

BP has interest in both upstream and downstream segments in over 100 countries worldwide. The United States subsidiary of BP is the nation's largest producer of oil and gas. This case focuses on the upstream procurement activities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Details

Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2631-598X
Published by: Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 1 November 2018

Dick Verbeek

This case study has been developed to facilitate discussion about current supply chain management issues and potential solutions. The scenario presented in this case is very…

Abstract

This case study has been developed to facilitate discussion about current supply chain management issues and potential solutions. The scenario presented in this case is very representative of the pressures experienced by supply chain managers. Namely, the need to reduce costs while maintaining quality and customer service. This case presents some unusual challenges and constraints that are unique to the cruise line industry. These constraints can provide an opportunity to explore new supply chain paradigms.

Details

Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2631-598X
Published by: Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 1 November 2018

Ted Farris

This case introduces offers the concept of cash-to-cash (C2C) and extension of the concept to facilitate supply chain finance improvements between trading partners by harvesting…

Abstract

This case introduces offers the concept of cash-to-cash (C2C) and extension of the concept to facilitate supply chain finance improvements between trading partners by harvesting the inherent advantages (lower WACC, lower ICC) of one trading partner to reduce cost and benefit the entire supply chain.

Details

Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2631-598X
Published by: Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 1 November 2018

Ted Farris

This case illustrates the concept of consolidation and how freight forwarders use it to reduce transportation costs. The student must compare a ship-direct model against vehicular…

Abstract

This case illustrates the concept of consolidation and how freight forwarders use it to reduce transportation costs. The student must compare a ship-direct model against vehicular consolidation, then consider temporal consolidation, investigate the differences between a freight broker and a freight forwarder, and develop a rate analysis for use in negotiation.

Details

Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2631-598X
Published by: Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 1 November 2018

John R. Macdonald and Kelvin Sakai

DSM Manufacturing has been around for 100 years. In that time, the company has grown considerably in size and is now a global enterprise. With the global expanse, DSM is now…

Abstract

DSM Manufacturing has been around for 100 years. In that time, the company has grown considerably in size and is now a global enterprise. With the global expanse, DSM is now facing new challenges, leaving executives to determine what the next steps are in running an efficient supply chain, those that a network analysis will not necessarily address. This case illustrates DSM's process

Details

Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2631-598X
Published by: Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 1 November 2018

Anthony Ross and Mark Kosfeld

Goodwill Industries warehousing operations has increased as the Used Merchandise Store Sales in the US has also increased to a total spending of $17 billion in 2013. Goodwill…

Abstract

Goodwill Industries warehousing operations has increased as the Used Merchandise Store Sales in the US has also increased to a total spending of $17 billion in 2013. Goodwill Industries faces warehousing issues as their inventory fluctuates seasonally. As people do their spring cleaning in the beginning of the year and rush to get their tax-deductible donations in by the end of the year, the warehouses are overflowed but in the off-seasons they are scarce. The following case poses the issue of an efficient warehouse operation that also supports the company sales plan.

Details

Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2631-598X
Published by: Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals

Keywords

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