Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 1992

Intercompany Operating Ties: Unlocking the Value in Channel Restructuring

by R. Shapiro and J. Byrnes

Language: English

Format: Print

Citation:

Shapiro, R., and J. Byrnes. "Intercompany Operating Ties: Unlocking the Value in Channel Restructuring." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 92–058, January 1992.

Delwarca Software provides business software to large corporate clients around the world. The firm serves customers who prefer to assemble corporate solutions using a combination of software programs from various suppliers rather than implementing a single enterprise resource planning system. Consequently, Delwarca must provide telephone support services for complex software-hardware interaction and performance problems in addition to the typical software support issues around software installation and upgrades, malware attacks, and processing failures. The manager of the remote support unit implemented a new triage program for customer calls hoping to reduce customer wait time, improve customer satisfaction, and reduce costs. After one year, customer dissatisfaction is at an all-time high and he must perform a quantitative analysis of the current process, considering wait times for customers as well as cost per call, before making a final recommendation. This case can be used in a first-year MBA course in Service Management or Operations Management or a course in industrial engineering. It can also be used to introduce simple queuing theory.

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