Title – The rule of traffic forecasting in railway logistics: the case of the central corridor in East Africa. Subject area – This case study intends to add knowledge and understanding of supply chain management particularly with respect to international logistics. Study level/applicability – The case study can be used in both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Students pursuing Master of Science in Logistics, Supply Chain Management and those doing bachelor degrees in the same areas can have a better insight and special interest of the case. Professional boards may also use the case to empirically make students understand this area. Case overview – The railway sub-sector in East Africa – Tanzania in particular – is an important transport mode but has a declining performance. The market share is estimated at only 4 percent of the freight market. Still knowledge about traffic, particularly for freight, is scant. The main dilemma is whether traffic of the central corridor is more intra- or inter-Tanzania. The case studies techniques appropriate for meaningful traffic forecasting and through a simple regression model it resolves the freight conflicts between Kenya rail and the Central Corridor. It provides students with applied traffic forecasting tools. Expected learning outcomes – The case focuses on techniques of traffic forecasting, development of traffic scenarios and on issues related to intermodal transport especially between road, rail and ocean. At the end of using this Case students should be able to: explain the methods, techniques and models used in traffic forecasting; understand intermodal linkages in international Logistics; use different approaches to make logistics market assessment; and forecast traffic in all modes using different scenarios. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or e-mail support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Close

Title – ProdVal – production challenges! Subject area – Operations management. Study level/applicability – Management post graduate and corporate executives. Case overview – ProdVal Flow Controls Pvt Ltd was company in the SME sector in India. The company focused on quality products and timely delivery. The major challenge for ProdVal was increasing their production capacity. They had no control over their existing suppliers resulting in delay in raw materials delivery. Retention of vendors had an effect on inventory carrying cost. The company had limited production facilities and the workers were outsourced. The company operated with unskilled workers. The case presents the various issues faced by the company based on which strategies to practice and plan the company's future plans could be designed. This is a disguised case and all excerpts from interviews have been anonymized. Expected learning outcomes – This case study will give an insight to students to understand how inventory management; impacts production. It even gives an idea about how ProdVal has used the strategy of outsourcing of technology and labour and maintained a good growth rate. Social implications – •Production-related outsourcing. •Production management in small scale industry. •Organization structure of a manufacturing unit. •Concept of outsourcing HR and technology in an SME. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available, please consult your librarian to access. Close

Title – Supply issues in ACPL – an electrical manufacturing company. Subject area – Supply chain management. Study level/applicability – The case is suitable for post graduates in management, and for those managing small sector supply and manufacturing systems. Case overview – ACPL is an organisation which moved from trading to manufacturing a technology product – instrument transformers (ITs) for power utility companies for 11 years, competing with the best in industry, reducing internal costs, and modernising the supply chain. ACPL was started as a trading organisation in electrical items in Delhi by Munish Kumar, an engineer by profession in 2001. In 2004 he ventured into manufacturing, which expanded in two locations in Ghaziabad, NCR Delhi. Later his two sons, engineer and management graduate, respectively, joined the organisation. In less than a decade, by 2007, ACPL had grown to be a private limited organisation. ACPL manufactures ITs required by power boards and companies for conversion and usage of high voltage (11?kV/33?kV) transmitted power into 220?V single phase/440?V three phase power. From tender/enquiry through manufacturing to inspection and despatch takes a long supply chain cycle time holding space as well as inventory. An interview with the chairman of ACPL in the case highlights issues affecting its margins and growth. The long process to delivery time may be in vogue in this type of industry but this holds up a huge inventory. The company management has been working to resolve this crisis along with an urgent need to grow in a competitive environment. The problem is being addressed. Expected learning outcomes – This case study should help students to understand the concept of the supply chain and supply cycle, in a manufacturing company in particular. It has been found that students understand the supply chain as part of the marketing function dealing with finished stocks, warehousing and delivery to end customers as per agreements, and arranging payments from customers. The supply chain also deals with in bound materials management. Raw materials planning, purchasing, inventory management are crucial for effective business operations management in any organisation. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available; please contact your librarian for access. Close

Title – Implementing strategic stock to improve humanitarian aid response. Subject area – Humanitarian logistics, aid response. Study level/applicability – Master/advanced level; courses in: humanitarian logistics; port operations and management; supply chain management and logistics. Case overview – Recently, the humanitarian organization Global Food Aid (GFA) has received criticism for slow response to the on-going drought in East Africa. One of the reasons is the long lead times to transport and distribute food. Therefore, GFA has launched a project called “Strategic stock” where food will be pre-positioned in strategic locations around the world. Because of its importance as a gateway for East Africa, the Port of Mombasa has been selected as the pilot project. Headquarters of GFA has engaged a team of logistics and warehouse experts to plan, run and evaluate the pilot project in Mombasa. Expected learning outcomes – Through this case, the students (who take on the role of the experts) will gain knowledge in a wide range of areas. First, they will gain a thorough insight to coordinating a port operation in one of the major ports in Africa. Second, the case increases the understanding of working with logistics in a humanitarian aid context. Third, the students will learn how to work with logistics both on a strategic level (planning the implementation of strategic stock) and on an operational level (handling the different events that occur throughout the case). There is also a learning element related to risk management. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available. Close

Title – Health Pharma: managing supply chain. Subject area – The case deals with the Bullwhip phenomena that can be observed in a supply chain. Study level/applicability – This case is suitable for all levels of students, undergraduate MBA to Executive MBA classes and practitioners. Assignment questions are designed from the perspective of teaching this case to a business student audience. The case is ideally suited for a supply chain management course and can be introduced to demonstrate the bullwhip effect in an operations management course. Case overview – Set in May 2011, the case presents the discussions in the meeting summoned by Mr Srinivas, the director (technical) of Health Pharma (not the name of a real organization) in response to the huge losses faced by the organization in the last financial year. The discussions point to the inability of the organization to appropriately forecast demand across the different echelons and also absence of information transparency, leading to the loss. The catastrophe indicated the need to adopt an ERP solution, which was earlier overlooked by Health Pharma management. Expected learning outcomes – These are an introduction to the concepts of the bullwhip effect and the case presents a managerial solution to the supply chain problem demonstrated. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available for facilitating the instructor to present and discuss the case in a classroom setting. Close