RC TOM Challenge 2017

November 15, 2017

Read The Full Prompt

The TOM Challenge provides an opportunity for students to learn more about supply chain management by exploring how organizations are grappling with some megatrends: climate change, digitalization, and the growing influence of isolationist political movements on international trade policies.  These 700-800 word essays should address four questions:

  1. Why is (or should) your particular aspect of one of these megatrends be of concern to the management of the organization you have selected?
  2. What is the organization’s management doing to address this concern in the short term (the next two years) and the medium term (3–10 years out)?
  3. What other steps do you recommend the organization’s management take to address this concern in the short and medium terms?
  4. What are one or two important open questions related to this concern in the context of the organization you selected that you are unsure about, which merit comments from your classmates?

When posting your essay to Open Knowledge, be sure to enter “Climate change”, “Digitalization”, or “Isolationism” in the Topics field.

More details on research, sourcing, deadlines, and other matters are provided in the RC TOM Challenge: 2017 note.  For assistance with the Open Knowledge platform during business hours (9:00 am – 5:00 pm M-F), email openknowledge@hbs.edu. A short video with instructions on how to post an essay to this platform is available at https://goo.gl/yyXK2H.

Submitted (924)

Adidas: Supply Chain as Competitive Advantage
Pritee
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 7:12 pm
As in the case of Adidas, increasing sales may help reframe the business case for supply chain improvement. Once the fundamentals of inventory accuracy and data abundance have been established, there are many other opportunities for improvement.
Is insurance against natural catastrophes sustainable?
Henrique Oliveira
Last modified on November 15, 2017 at 9:55 pm
How to cope with unpredictability caused by climate change?
Banking across borders: Goldman Sachs in London – or Frankfurt?
Outside Borders
Posted on November 6, 2017 at 11:10 pm
Banks in London face a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) situation in the face of Brexit. How will Goldman Sachs cope with the regulatory challenges ahead?
An iPhone Made in India: Should Apple Accommodate India’s Protectionist Agenda?
aboyajian
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 5:07 pm
The "Make in India" initiative is forcing smart phone manufacturers such as Apple to consider disrupting their supply chain in order to better access the second largest smart phone market in the world. But is producing an iPhone with Indian [...]
Climate change – Will the Contrarian or the Conformist strategy survive?
Purple Unicorn
Last modified on November 14, 2017 at 9:30 pm
The essay explores steps taken by the Canadian oil sands company Suncor Energy to address climate change concerns in an environment of churn in terms of politics, oil prices and pipeline approvals. It also questions whether there are other industries [...]
Surf or Sink: Royal Caribbean’s Digital Challenge
Daniel Benzecry
Posted on November 14, 2017 at 2:04 pm
Royal Caribbean will have to reinvent itself in order to compete in the art of cruise ship supply chain and tourism operations.
Adidas Speed Factories: the quest for single-day lead times from concept to consumer
U.Bolt
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 5:27 pm
Adidas is challenging the athletic wear and fashion industries with high-tech, local Speed Factories that create small-batch, custom products with potential to reduce innovation cycles to only days
Chubb: Rethinking the Insurance Supply Chain in Response to Wildfires
John H
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 4:31 pm
Examining an insurer's use of private firefighters to protect client assets from worsening wildfires.
American Airlines: Grounded by extreme heat
Eduard Torrella Lluís
Last modified on November 15, 2017 at 11:52 pm
How will the largest air carrier in the world respond to the challenge of rising temperatures?
Let It Snow?
TP
Posted on November 13, 2017 at 12:11 am
Carving up the slopes on Alta’s pristine powder may prove to be a much more difficult pursuit toward the end of the 21st century with snowpack decreasing significantly over the past 50 years.
How digitization of pharma R&D can decrease supply chain costs
Monika
Last modified on November 15, 2017 at 4:52 pm
Sourcing comparator drugs for pharma research and development process is expensive and there is high risk of receiving a counterfeited drug from a third-party supplier. To reduce these adverse effects, TransCelerate Biopharma started Comparator Network Initiative to introduce a digital [...]
Dashing into a digital future with the Amazon Dash
avaswani
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 2:02 am
The Amazon Dash - joke or supply chain innovation?
Starbucks: Loving the Planet a Latte
Kathryn
Last modified on November 15, 2017 at 7:12 pm
Starbucks is working to help farmers grow coffee beans in a sustainable way, as climate change and unpredictable weather events threaten its supply chain.
The Emergence of Off the Grid Agriculture
MZ
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 6:13 pm
Taking Agriculture into the dessert - How could this save farmers from the impact of Climate Change?
Alaska Airlines and Climate Change: Cleaning-Up the Skies
SAV
Posted on November 14, 2017 at 6:19 pm
How Alaska Airlines Can Leverage its Supply Chain to Combat Climate Change
Walmart x Google: The Customer Intimacy Challenge for Walmart
Isabel
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 7:22 pm
Walmart recently announced a partnership with Google to enable voice-activated shopping for Walmart products via Google Assistant and Easy Re-order via Google Express. The data this partnership provides should allow Walmart to create a more customized shopping experience for its [...]
Isolationism: How to kill American solar
Alona Bozhchenko
Last modified on November 15, 2017 at 7:56 pm
How NextEra Energy, America’s largest renewable energy developer, can continue to decarbonize the U.S. grid despite looming trade tariffs
If you build it, will Tariffs come? BMW in the World of Trump
Robert Blume
Last modified on November 14, 2017 at 5:13 pm
President Trump has threatened manufacturers with a 35% import tariff if they build factories abroad. How does BMW convince the President and other politicians that protectionist trade policies hurt American workers?
Blood Donations in a Digital Age
Pratik Mehta
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 8:55 pm
How should the American Red Cross update its biomedical services in an increasingly digital age?
Getting personal: What digitization and customization mean for Nike’s supply chain
charlottemacdonald
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 5:08 pm
How is one of the world’s largest consumer organizations reacting to a new reality where they have to deliver customers customized products faster than they ever have before, without letting costs spin out of control?
Ready Logistics, Set, Go! A drive through changes in the automotive landscape
SR
Last modified on November 15, 2017 at 7:19 pm
Will traditional automotive partners rise to meet emerging connected-car technology?
Adidas Speedfactory: Impossible is Nothing with Automation
SV
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 12:37 pm
With fast fashion, consumer demand and preferences change daily. So far the sports shoe industry, an $80Bn market, has not kept up.
Does the brand with no name have the best supply chain game?
brandlesswriter
Last modified on November 15, 2017 at 3:30 pm
The consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry is concerned about digitalization, or at least it should be. Enter Brandless, a direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce start-up that has leapfrogged the traditional supply chain approach of CPGs and believes it has a strategy to [...]
Attention Hastings: Millennials are replacing “mom and pop” and machine learning will wipe you out
Cover Your Business
Last modified on November 15, 2017 at 10:47 pm
Digital players like biBerk are delivering commercial insurance coverage directly to small business owners online and threatening to turn the small commercial insurance industry on its head
1 … 34 35 36 37 38 39