MIS 3537

 Internet & Supply Chains

Spring 2014

Due Date: February 6, 2013

Refer to the case “Zappos.com: Developing a Supply Chain to Deliver WOW!”. Answer the following questions briefly.

1. Is Zappos mainly a pull or a push supply chain? With illustration of Zappos’ current supply chain, show the push-pull boundary of Zappos? Also show the push-pull boundary of Zappos’ Drop Ship model.

2. Show the evolution of Zappos’ supply chain in a diagram. What changes did Zappos make in its supply chain? Do you think that these changes are justified?

3. What are Zappos’ core competencies and sources of competitive advantage? How sustainable are they?

4. How would you expand the business? Would you add more products, more geographies, or by selling private labels?

5. How would you expect the environment of a more cost conscious customers to affect Zappos’ business? What can Zappos’ do to maintain sales in such an environment?

All groups (expect the group making the presentation) are required to submit a printout of their answers to the instructor at the beginning of the class. Also, be prepared to discuss the case in the class.

MIS 3537 Internet & Supply Chains

Spring 2014

Due Date: Jan 30, 2014

Refer to the case “Crocs: Revolutionizing an Industry’s Supply Chain Model for Competitive Advantage” from the Harvard Business Publishing website

Answer the following questions briefly:

1.  What are Croc’s core competencies?

2.  How should they exploit these competencies in the future? Consider the following alternatives and comment how each alternative matches / does not match with Crocs core competencies.

• Further vertical acquisition into materials
• Growth by acquisitions
• Growth by product expansion

3.  What are the drawbacks of having too little or too much inventory?

4.  Is Crocs a high margin or a low margin company (compared to competitors)? How does a company’s margin impact its inventory decisions?  In other words, should a high margin company carry more or less inventory?

One group will present this case in the class, and another group will post the correct answers to these case questions on the blog after the class discussion. Rest of the groups are required to submit a printout of their answers to the instructor at the beginning of the class. Also, be prepared to discuss the case in the class.

Here are some tips for writing the case answers:

1. Answers should be brief and to the point (10 lines max)

2. Answers should be substantiated by proper reasoning from the case or other sources.

3. Avoid general statements such as “make customers happy”, “increase profits” etc without proper explanations