Case studies
I provide details below of 30 case studies that can be used in conjunction with the book Customer Relationship Management: Concepts and Technologies ( 2nd edition).
The table below cross-references the cases to chapters of the book. This will give you a good idea of the fit between the case study and the book’s content. Many of the cases range over wide variety of topics and can be used in association with many chapters. I encourage you to experiment with cases.
The detailed list of cases that follows the table provides titles, abstracts and reference numbers. The case reference numbers are the same as those found at the European Case Clearing House ( from where all cases can be obtained.
Chapter / Title / Case studies1 / Introduction to CRM / 2,3,5,6,8,14,15,16,17,18,20,21,22,24,26,27,28,29,30
2 / Understanding relationships / 10,13,17,19,24
3 / Planning and implementing CRM projects / 1,4,6,7,8,9,16,17,18,20,25,28,29,30
4 /
Developing, managing and using customer-related databases
/1,6,8,11,13,17,20,23,24,27
5 / Customer portfolio management / 2,5,6,8,10,13,15,17,18,20,23,24,256 / CRM and customer experience / 2,8,10,11,12,13,15,17,18,20,23,27,30
7 / Creating value for customers / 1,2,5,8,9,10,11,12,13,15,17,20,23,24,25,26
8 / Managing the customer life cycle: customer acquisition / 1,6,11,13,23,24,27,30
9 / Managing the customer life cycle: customer retention and development / 2,6,8,10,11,12,13,20,23,24,25,27,30
10 / Managing networks for CRM performance / 2,5,9,19
11 / Managing supplier and partner relationships / 2,5,11,12
12 / Managing investor and employee relationships / 4,5,7,9,13,14,16,17,24,26,27
13 /
Information technology for CRM
/1,3,4,5,6,8,10,13,14,15,16,17,18,20,21,22,23, 24,25,27,28,29,30
14 / Sales force automation / 3,14,15,16,17,18,23,24,25,26,29,3015 / Marketing automation / 6,8,11,13,14,17,18,20,23,24,26,27,29,30
16 / Service automation / 6,7,8,10,13,14,15,17,20,23,24,26,27,29,30
17 / Organizational issues and CRM / 4,6,9,10,17,18,21,24,25,26
1.
Title: / BANCAJA: DEVELOPING CUSTOMER INTELLIGENCE (A)Reference: / 9-107-055
In 1996, Chief Executive Officer Fernando Garcia Checa wanted to make customer analytics a part of Bancaja's new strategy. Bancaja, a savings bank based in Valencia, Spain, was expanding and wanted to exploit customer information to increase commercial effectiveness. At the same time, it was pushing for innovation in the nascent Spanish credit card market. To avoid the considerable investments of time and money that a large-scale customer relationship management (CRM) project would require, the bank decided to explore its benefits with a smaller pilot project. It appointed a CRM project team to design and implement a project focused on credit cards. Describes the challenges of the Spanish credit card market at the time, the methods for profiling credit card customers, and the variables involved in designing an optimal credit card. Concludes with a consideration of the decisions the CRM team had to make in designing the project, including whether to use conjoint analysis or implement a mini campaign.
2.
Title: / FROM A(PPLES) TO Z(OOM LENSES): EXTENDING THE BOUNDARIES OF MULTICHANNEL RETAILING AT TESCO.COMReference: / 307-348-1
The case reflects the past decade of on-line groceries at Tesco.com and the development and launch of the non-food operation 'Tesco Direct'. Tesco implemented a unique fulfilment by using its vast network of bricks-and-mortar supermarkets across the UK to pick the items ordered by on-line customers. The teaching objectives are to: (1) draw an analytically reflected balance of the first decade of on-line retailing at Tesco; (2) assess future chances and threats of on-line retailing; (3) understand the concept of multi-channel retailing and think about possible extensions; and (4) develop an understanding of sophisticated use of CRM (customer relationship management) methods as employed by Tesco.
3.
Title: / SALESFORCE.COM's MILLION SUBSCRIBER DREAMReference: / 307-242-1
The case study is about a US-based on-demand customer relationship management (CRM) solution provider company - Salesforce.com. The company's flagship offering is Salesforce Automation Suite (SFA) which enables customers to manage their sales function. The case study is about the competitive strategy of Salesforce.com, which is based on the concept of SaaS (software as a service). SaaS meant offering software as a service on a subscription basis and not as a product like a software package. The case study discusses the enterprise resource planning (ERP) industry to which Salesforce.com's competitors originally belonged and who have also entered the CRM arena. The case analyses Salesforce.com vis-a-vis its competitors and discusses the initiatives launched by the company to grow beyond CRM to enter other business domains and achieve its million subscriber dream and achieve revenues of $1billion by 2008. The case also discusses the future potential of CRM and ERP industries.
4.
Title: / A TALE OF TWO CIOsReference: / 906-007-1
This case study and teaching note address the problem of finding class discussion material that will not only develop students' analytical powers, but provide an opportunity to build synthesis capability. The case compares the success of the chief information officer at retail giant Walmart, with the less successful outcome for her counterpart at Sainsbury's in the same timeframe. The case does not hand student answers on a plate, they have to apply analytical thinking ( if necessary guided by some academic frameworks) before they can progress to synthesising their solutions. A comprehensive teaching note provides three suggested questions, and all the supporting material necessary to conduct an interesting class debate for masters level students or ambitious first degree groups.
5.
Title: / AMD: THE CUSTOMER-CENTRIC INNOVATION STRATEGIESReference: / 306-368-1
Jerry Sanders and seven of his friends founded Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) on 1 May 1969. Based in Sunnyvale, California, AMD ranks number two in the design and manufacture of PC (personal computer) microprocessors, flash memory chips and embedded processors, and generated sales revenue of $5,847.6 million in 2005. As customers sought higher performance, lower cost solutions to help revitalise their business, AMD transformed itself from a perennial also-ran into a formidable threat to the dominance of the industry giant, Intel. AMD made advances against Intel and gained popularity with the success of its Athlon and Opteron chips. AMD employs the path of 'customer-centric innovation' to deliver innovative solutions that its customers seek to succeed. The teaching objectives are: (1) to understand the evolution of AMD into one of the biggest competitors to industry giant Intel; (2) to discuss the strategies to outwit an aggressive rival; (3) to highlight the importance of customer-centric initiatives in technology companies; (4) to discuss customer-centric innovative strategies initiated by AMD; and (5) to debate whether customer-centric innovative strategies would enable AMD to become stronger, more efficient, more responsive and intensely focused on delivering innovative solutions that its customers seek to succeed.
6.
Title: / CRM AT CHRISTIANCAREReference: / 506-214-1
Christiancare is a not-for-profit welfare organisation operating in Sydney, Australia. The case is largely concerned with the decision to implement customer relationship management (CRM). Senior management are divided about the necessity and scope of the implementation. Some feel that the organisation should not spend at all on CRM if that means that welfare services are curtailed. Others want to apply CRM to donor management; yet others want to apply CRM to all stakeholder relationships. The case shows how important it is to define the user groups and scope of a CRM project before commissioning work. It also illustrates the types of functionality that CRM systems can provide in the not-for-profit environment. The case provides details of a number of vendors' offerings, and describes the charity's donor management processes for different categories of donor. Issues of donor acquisition and donor retention are also explored. The case has a number of applications. It can be used to illustrate: (1) CRM implementations; (2) donor management; (3) management in not-for-profit organisations; (4) management of divergent stakeholder groups; and (5) information technology (IT) project implementation. The case can be used on marketing, service management, CRM, relationship marketing and not-for-profit management courses.
7.
Title: / CRM IMPLEMENTATION FAILURE AT CIGNA CORPORATIONReference: / 906-014-1
The case gives a detailed account of the information technology (IT) and customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives implemented by the HealthCare division of Cigna Corporation, the third largest healthcare services provider in the US. The case details the circumstances that led Andrea Anania, the Chief Information Officer of Cigna's HealthCare division, to take up IT systems migration projects and how the hasty and poor CRM systems implementation affected the organisation's business operations and customer service. The case then focuses on the steps taken by Cigna to solve the problems and the steps taken by the company to achieve effective migration to new systems. The case is designed to help students to: (1) understand the rationale behind companies going for IT overhaul and CRM initiatives; (2) study and analyse the problems faced during migration to a new system; (3) examine the reasons for failure of such projects; (4) analyse the role of chief information officers in such implementations; and (5) critically examine the strategic impact of IT and CRM failures. The case is intended for MBA / PGDBM level students as part of the knowledge, information and communication systems management curriculum. The teaching note includes the abstract, teaching objectives, teaching methodology, assignment questions, feedback of case discussion and additional readings and references.
8.
Title: / CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT AT BBSNReference: / 906-047-1
Ronke Dawodu is the owner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BBSN, a grocery retailer located in Lagos, Nigeria. From her travels and life experiences, Ronke has witnessed customer loyalty solutions and is desirous of such solutions for their customers. BBSN have implemented and currently use an automated retail management system (RMS) for their day to day operations. In addition, they have launched some customer loyalty initiatives. In this case, we see a typical small and medium enterprise (SME) owner challenged with a need to increase the customer base of their existing customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives. In order to do this effectively, Ronke must turn to technology. This case is intended to introduce small business managers to various approaches to enhancing CRM in their organisations using information technology (IT) solutions. The purpose of this case is to: (1) enlighten students on the need for effective customer relationship management; (2) look at the technological approaches to CRM; and (3) look at the decision making process in choosing an IT solution. The key learning from this case is that CRM does not really lie in the choice of software, but in the organisational systems and methods put in place.
9.
Title: / ETHERYL SAS (A): GROWTH PATHS FOR A LIFESTYLE VENTUREReference: / 806-022-1
This case describes the growth challenges faced by a Paris-based entrepreneur who created a software venture in the student relationship management space after his INSEAD MBA. Despite a very compelling service and a scalable business model, the venture's potential has been constrained by the lifestyle orientation of the entrepreneur. The case focus is the challenge of transitioning from a lifestyle venture to a growth venture. The case discusses possible growth paths and outlines several financing and organisational alternatives to grow the venture. The case emphasises the key trade-off between resource leverage and control, and suggests how it can be resolved.
10.
Title: / FEDEX IN 2006: CONTINUING CRM INNOVATIONSReference: / 506-159-1
FedEx Corporation is the leader in the intensely competitive overnight package delivery business. Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Fredrick Smith depends on innovative customer relationship management (CRM) practices to gain a competitive advantage over FedEx's rivals. He stresses that knowledge about cargo's origin, present whereabouts, destination, estimated time of arrival, price, and cost of shipment are as important as its safe delivery. He insists that a network of state-of-the-art information systems - a sophisticated mélange of laser scanners, bar codes, software, and electronic connections - be erected alongside the air and vehicle networks. As FedEx struggles to deal with the slowing economy and depressed demand for its services in late 2002, Smith realises that the company needs to do more to retain its customers, without increasing its information technology (IT) budget. It deploys new CRM software - 6X6 Transformation. By almost every account, FedEx's use of IT has been successful. So why risk that and go through this transformation?
11.
Title: / FROM CATEGORY MANAGEMENT TO CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT: THE CASE OF HENKELReference: / 506-032-1
Manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) are struggling to identify how CRM (customer relationship management) practices should be applied to their industry. What makes their situation different from other firms and more difficult to manage is the fact that this industry is characterised by a detachment from the end consumer (retailers are intermediaries) and average per consumer expense in the individual categories is relatively low. However, manufacturers sense that existing category management practices are for the most part exhausted, in terms of providing competitive advantage. Therefore, manufacturers like Henkel explore how to make the shift from category management to CRM and more specifically how to make CRM work to their advantage. The goal of the case study is to explore substantive questions such as: (1) how a manufacturer of FMCG should approach CRM; (2) how to arrive at a customer segmentation that enables the best targeting strategy; (3) the role of individual level or segment level communication; (4) to investigate the economics of the proposed approach; and (5) to explore whether a partnering strategy with the retailer is critical or not.
12.
Title: / GRASIM INDUSTRIES LTD AND VSF: EXPANDING A COMMODITY MARKET THROUGH BRANDING AND CRMReference: / 306-324-1
Grasim Industries Ltd is a dominant player in the Indian viscose staple fibre (VSF) market and one of the leading players globally. The case begins with a profile of the Indian VSF market. It then outlines the impact of fluctuations in the prices of alternate fibres, mainly cotton and polyester, on the demand for Grasim's VSF. The case describes in detail the unique business strategy, 'service beyond VSF', adopted by Grasim with the intention of promoting the usage of its VSF and reducing the impact of price fluctuations in substitute fibres. It then describes the value added services, branding and product development initiatives, that the company has carried out to realise its objectives. The case ends with a discussion on the future prospects of Grasim. The teaching objectives of this case are: (1) to provide insights into the nature of commodity markets, and the market for man-made and other fibres in India; (2) to understand the impact of price fluctuations of substitute products, on the demand for a commodity product; (3) to appreciate the various problems faced by manufacturers of commodity products, and more specifically, VSF manufacturers; (4) to provide insights into the means by which a commodity product can be transformed into a branded product, with more stable demand and less likelihood of substitution; and (5) to understand the contribution of new product development to the growth of an industry. This case is meant for MBA/PGDBM students and is designed to be part of the business strategy curriculum.
13.
Title: / INFINITY BANK (A): RETAIL BRANCHES AND CUSTOMER PROFITABILITYReference: / 106-016-1
A retail bank is considering a strategy to improve branch performance. Central to the strategy is a recent study of profitability of three retail products: (1) current accounts; (2) credit cards; and (3) mortgages. The strategy involves giving branch managers incentives to sell profitable products. A senior bank manager evaluates the product-profitability-based strategy in light of recent statistics on major variations in profitability of customers (these statistics are included in the database provided with the case). The case aims to: (1) illustrate the dangers of product-focused strategies that ignore customer value; (2) demonstrate the need for customer-profitability analysis; (3) consider the difference between average customers and marginal customers; (4) illustrate the sources of variations in customer profitability; (5) discuss the actions to manage customer portfolios; and (6) show that customer-profitability analysis can serve as an excellent communication tool. An Excel spreadsheet '106-016-0' is available to accompany this case
14.
Title: / ORACLE ACQUIRES SIEBELReference: / 306-112-1
In September 2005, Oracle Corporation acquired Siebel Systems for $5.85 billion. This was the second big acquisition by Oracle within a year, after PeopleSoft in January 2005. The acquisition would help Oracle to become the number one customer relationship management (CRM) applications company in the world. The move would also help it to gain access to Siebel's superior product features and a rich customer base. The case discusses the strategic rationale that inspired Oracle to move towards acquiring Siebel Systems. It also discusses the possible problems that Oracle might face, while integrating Siebel's businesses with its own. While the supporters of the acquisition were depending on the expected synergies, others were sceptical about its success.
15.
Title: / UPS IN 2006: CUSTOMER SERVICE AND CRM INITIATIVESReference: / 506-163-1
The $42.58 billion United Parcel Service (UPS) is the world's largest package delivery company. To maintain its market leadership, UPS depends on state of the art technology and innovative customer relationship management (CRM) practices. UPS' CRM strategy focuses on developing one-to-one customer relationships, while maintaining an information technology (IT) infrastructure with 'dial-tone reliability'. UPS uses a sophisticated data warehouse to capture all of the transactions and customer requirements throughout its system across the globe. Using business intelligence and customer-focused analytical techniques it continues to exceed most customers' expectations and also provide services before its competitors. UPS has reaped numerous payoffs from the millions of dollars it has spent on operations research to build the proprietary ground and air supply-chain-optimisation technology, including saving hundreds of millions of dollars on its air deliveries. Over the next two years (2006-2008), it expects more benefits, by giving the drivers access to data from the supply-chain-optimisation models in real time via wireless handheld devices.