Abstract

In December 2022, Fleury Group, a leading player in Brazil’s supplementary health sector, reached a pivotal moment under the leadership of Dr. Jeane Tsutsui. Despite achieving record revenue and a successful merger with Hermes Pardini, Fleury faced growing competition in an industry rapidly consolidating through vertical integration. The merger positioned Fleury as a major force in diagnostic medicine, but it also brought challenges. With the supplementary health sector increasingly dominated by health plan operators and hospitals leveraging alternative payment models, Fleury needed to redefine its role in the value chain while maintaining its diagnostic excellence. The case presents students with the complexities of navigating an inflationary environment with a high cost of capital and increased regulatory scrutiny, all while pursuing value capture strategies. Fleury’s strategic roadmap involves balancing its core diagnostic business, expanding new services (from primary care to low-complexity surgeries), and scaling its digital health platform, Health iD. However, with rising costs and shifting market dynamics, the case challenges students to evaluate Fleury’s options: should the company continue to pursue an ambitious growth strategy, or focus on consolidating its core business to protect margins? Students are asked to assess Fleury’s future in a rapidly changing ecosystem, considering how the company can sustain its growth while enhancing operational synergies. This case explores strategic decision-making in the face of external pressures, providing insights into value capture in a highly competitive health sector.

Abstract

In June 2021, the founding partners of Method Advanced Logistics (henceforth Method) met with Maria Bonvehí, their IT director, to discuss some issues they were having with their customers; a series information system problems risked causing an operational collapse. Method was using a SaaS solution that, while specifically designed for the goods transportation sector, wasn’t meeting its customers’ needs. They had to decide whether to change their SaaS, create an in-house application, or develop a hybrid solution by pairing their current SaaS with a customer web portal. A decision was needed urgently; Maria urged the partners not to delay. They were aware that this was a strategic decision that would shape the coming years. If they made the wrong decision, it could affect their ability to grow and compete. This had to be a strategy for the future, not a temporary fix for the current issues.

Abstract

The Challenge of Administering 75,000 Vaccinations is a case that explores the decision-making process around how to manage a time-constrained mass vaccination program. The example used is a mass vaccination program that took place in Bogota, Colombia between June and December 2021, and had to administer 75,000 vaccinations in three months to vulnerable populations in three localities. The process would be managed by one of Colombia’s leading private universities, Universidad de los Andes (Uniandes). Ángela Rodríguez and Natalia Vega had two days to make an operational decision on whether Uniandes should directly execute the process using its own resources, whether to outsource the process to Médicos de Emergencia, a strategic partner that did not have process experience, or whether to outsource the process to a company with mass vaccination experience that the university had not worked with before, and that demanded autonomy. A decision had to be made quickly; each minute of inaction was making it harder to achieve the target.

Abstract

The case focuses on Faan van der Walt (as protagonist), his brother Dirk, and WeBuyCars, a large second-hand car dealership in South Africa, which has become a dominant player in the market through the exploitation of blue ocean principles. WBC is a secondhand car dealership in South Africa that was established by two brothers in 2001. The company managed to thrive in an otherwise unattractive industry by firstly focusing on the space between two markets (na- mely private sellers of vehicles and dealerships), and, later on, expanding into complimentary activities and markets. By introducing activities that added value for customers and by removing transaction costs for customers, WBC created a blue ocean market for three different customer segments: sellers of cars, private buyers of cars, and dealerships that buy cars. WBC has been tremendously successful in the South African used car market; it has an extremely powerful and trusted brand and commands an 8% share. Since its establishment in 2001, WBC has grown on average by 50 to 60% per annum for the last 19 years.

Abstract

James Reid, the newly appointed GM of Troubled Spain, has been given a mandate by the CEO of Troubled Inc. to turn the subsidiary around within six months. Troubled Spain has experienced several years of poor performance that cannot be explained by either sluggish demand or lagging technology. The case provides information about interviews that James had with several employees, describing the role of the employee and giving insights into the issues that they see the company facing. These interviews are complemented by three charts prepared by consultants that James hired to conduct an internal audit of collaboration, communication and informal leadership in the organization. James needs to transform the organization within six months; however, this implies changing relationships that have been developed over decades and clarifying roles and boundaries that have been blurred over many years. The case challenges students to take James’ position and identify the issues of Troubled Spain to develop an action plan in order to address the challenges facing the company. James needs to address: 1) issues concerning Troubled Spain’s formal structure, 2) issues regarding its informal structure, including leadership issues, and 3) issues stemming from the combination of both formal and informal features. Case B provides information about what happened next and may be distributed at the end of the session.

Abstract

The case describes a capital budgeting dilema for a new the finance of a new product in a technology firm: Swimmer’s headphones. By reviewing a series of emails and attachments, we learn that the protagonist, the recently hired Financial Manager responsible for presenting the decision to the board of directors must construct a capital budgeting valuation model that explicitly incorporates the project risk factors and then make a recommendation to the board.