This case describes the efforts of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to lower the cost of production of vaccines to prevent polio infections. It is an abridged version of Case No. 620-021 with less emphasis on comparison between traditional and the new compact modular process developed with the Foundation''s funding. It focuses more on the lowering of entry barriers to vaccine manufacture and some of the perceived risks associated with .....more

Indigo Agriculture used a digital-enabled research and development (R&D) process to launch its initial product, microbial coatings for agricultural seeds, which increase crop yields while reducing the need for fertilizers. In doing so, the company developed direct relationships with farmers, in contrast to typical agricultural supply chains that use intermediaries. The company then launched a marketplace platform to link growers directly to crop .....more

It''s never been easier for workers to collaborate--or so it seems. Open offices, messaging, and virtual-meeting software in theory make people more visible and available. But as the physical and technological structures for omnichannel collaboration have spread, evidence suggests they are producing less interaction--or less meaningful interaction--not more. This happens because individuals, not companies, decide when and how to engage with .....more

In September 2014, the national logistics manager at Lajpal Tea Pvt. Limited (Lajpal Tea), a leading tea brand in Pakistan, received notice that one of his key logistics service providers would soon terminate his service contract for transportation services. This contractor had been associated with Lajpal Tea since the company originated; however, due to payment delays and non-responsive behaviour from the logistics team, he decided to terminate his .....more

Founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneur, Colin Huang, Pinduoduo Inc. (PDD) had become China''s fastest-growing e-commerce platform in history. PDD pioneered a new approach to online shopping that allowed shoppers to share products, invite friends to form shopping teams, and purchase together at discounted prices. The company''s rapid development helped it debut on the Nasdaq in July 2018, only three years after its inception. The fast .....more

Vaccines for children has been a long-standing focus for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and their critical role in public health made their production an important economic and political issue. This case describes the Foundation''s investment in a breakthrough vaccine manufacturing platform for the Sabin inactivated polio virus. While the new technology promised a much lower cost per dose, it also raised questions about the consequences .....more

On Monday, July 23, 2018, the operations manager at Sorel Life Insurance Company in Montreal, Quebec was preparing for a meeting scheduled for Friday. The meeting was called by her boss, the vice-president of operations, to discuss Sorel''s second quarter financial results. Performance of Sorel''s underwriting department was continuing to decline; market share had dropped, policy completion time had increased, and fewer applications .....more

Regulus Solar Power Inc., headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, had continued to experience financial growth over the past decade, thanks in large measure to the environmental movement and declining solar panel prices. The expansion of renewable resources was one of the lynchpins of the environmental movement sweeping the United States. Since its founding in 2010, Regulus Solar Power Inc. had focused on installing solar powered systems throughout the .....more

The general manager at Gati, a well-known logistics services company in India, was worried about the number of complaints the company had received. The popular supply chain solutions and logistics service provider had introduced a premium express service scheme five months ago and, since then, had 231 complaints concerning the late delivery of goods. This new scheme charged a considerable markup and guaranteed shipment of goods within 72 hours. Being .....more

In 2018, Henri Seydoux, CEO and Founder of Parrot, believed that his company was at an inflection point in its history. Parrot had been a European leader in consumer electronics since the 1990s, first developing Bluetooth kits for cars before moving on to electronic toys and, significantly, the AR Drone in 2010 - a remote-controlled quadcopter that was way ahead of its time. In the years that followed, Parrot''s sales volumes and popularity .....more