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)

Fighting Malthus’s Prediction in the New Millennium
Malthus
Last modified on November 15, 2017 at 10:12 pm
Fossil-fuel powered mechanized agriculture has led to rapid growth in the food supply and staved off human starvation for over 200 years. Today, climate change, caused by those very fossil fuels, is leading to undernourishment in vulnerable populations. The Food [...]
Navigating Tricky Terrain: Toyota In An Isolationist World
Ko-Lee
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 4:16 pm
In an increasingly inward-looking world, corporate CEOs need to reach out more than ever before.
Berry Risky Business, Driscoll’s…
MJ
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 4:50 pm
In the face of isolationism, how will Driscoll's continue to supply berries to anti-oxidant hungry Americans?
#MexicoStrong – Global Automotive Supply Chain Resilient on NAFTA Negotiations
Arturo Lopez
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 10:57 pm
On the evening of Sept. 19, the hashtag #FuerzaMexico (#MexicoStrong) took off across the internet after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Central Mexico. Mexicans raced to the scene of disaster and lined up to help incessantly for the next few [...]
Bigbelly whetting our appetite for smarter waste management business models
ChS
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 8:35 pm
Bigbelly challenges the slow-moving waste management sector with new business models
Is Diageo feeling blue about Johnnie Walker’s future? Declines in grain yields could threaten the world’s largest spirit producer’s supply chain
Sam
Posted on November 14, 2017 at 6:45 pm
Anticipating risk to its agricultural raw materials, Diageo has taken steps to ensure the sustainability of its supply chain. Have they done enough?
Will the New Electronic Tags Eliminate Food Waste in Japan?
Satoshi
Posted on November 14, 2017 at 6:03 pm
In April 2017, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry declared a plan to introduce electronic tags to all products sold in major convenience stores in Japan by 2025. Will the electronic tags revolutionize supply chain management in the convenience [...]
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.
Will On-Demand Food Delivery Kill the Chipotle Burrito Line?
JessicaSchiffman
Last modified on November 15, 2017 at 3:40 pm
How will the sudden rise in third-party on-demand delivery services change the way we order Chipotle?
Udacity and the evolving supply chain for highly technical labor
Chris Rudnicki
Last modified on November 15, 2017 at 6:48 pm
Udacity recognized an inefficiency in the supply chain for highly technical labor. Can it be the upstream supplier of talent that 21st-century firms need to stay competitive?
The Empire Strikes Back – Disney is mobilizing to take on the digital world order
Ninad Kulkarni
Last modified on November 14, 2017 at 3:39 pm
Digitalization has disrupted the entertainment and media supply chain, leading to unprecedented realignment and M&A activity in the industry.
The effect of digitizing one organization, on over a billion people
Kunal
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 4:59 pm
How will the Railways overcome its lagging infrastructure to help India realize its economic ambitions?
Burden of Arabia
Samson
Posted on November 14, 2017 at 3:09 pm
With low oil prices and continued technological shifts towards renewable energy on the horizon, Saudi Aramco confronts a monumental struggle to evolve into more than an Oil Company
Uniqlo: Uniquely Capable of Beating Zara?
Kiara Kaminski
Last modified on November 15, 2017 at 5:39 pm
In the face of “fast fashion” competitors, how should Uniqlo, a brand known for basics and fabric innovation, evolve its operations?
How to revolutionize a “dying” industry by attacking simultaneously top and bottom line – HP’s “instant ink” success of implementing IoT into supply chain and creating customer value
NT
Last modified on November 15, 2017 at 5:19 pm
It is no secret the printing industry is suffering from decreasing revenues and profits[1]. As a product manager Working in HP I felt every day the pressure to innovate the company’s products on the one hand and it’s TOM processes [...]
Fight or Flight? Boeing and the Intensifying Risk of a Global Trade War
Rhonda
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 5:41 pm
The United States is at extreme risk from a global trade war due to its heavy Boeing exposure. Boeing planes are front-and-center targets in a contentious debate over protectionism.
Robocabs Join the Fight Against Climate Change
DT
Posted on November 4, 2017 at 2:07 am
NuTonomy aims to launch paid self-driving car rides in Singapore
Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Contribution to – and Solutions for – Climate Change
Alex Tisdall
Last modified on November 13, 2017 at 4:58 pm
Anheuser-Busch uses a lot of water in the production of beer. From growing crops to fermenting in the brewery, creating a sustainable way to use water and electricity is a crucial part of the company's long term strategy.
Daimler Autonomous Truck – digitizing freight miles
Badar
Last modified on November 15, 2017 at 4:39 pm
What business model should Daimler's Autonomous Truck choose for its market?
Cuba Libre: Airbnb’s Approach to Diplomacy in Cuba
Open Sesame
Posted on November 14, 2017 at 9:45 pm
As United States foreign policy doubles down on a generation old and globally contentious trade embargo, Airbnb is flexing its home sharing platform to let Americans and Cubans reestablish ties through “person-to-person diplomacy”
The Tip of the Iceberg: Climate Change, Lettuce Shortages, and Tesco’s Efforts to Adapt its Supply Chain
NM
Last modified on November 14, 2017 at 5:14 pm
In the face of global warming and extreme weather, how will Tesco respond to keep Brits supplied with lettuce all year round?
“A-Tesla”, Can Elon Musk Revolutionize The Auto Industry?
Henri
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 7:54 pm
Elon Musk said, “The factory is more important than the cars it produces [1].” Tesla is transforming the auto manufacturing industry, not through electric cars, but through the digitalization of the Gigafactories production of lithium-ion batteries.
Isolationist Trade Policy Drives General Motors to Narrow its Scope
Eleonora Bershadskaya
Last modified on November 23, 2017 at 5:02 pm
Protectionist trade policy drives General Motors, one of the world's largest automakers, to localize its global supply chain.
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?
1 … 30 31 32 33 34 … 39