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• Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2017 (Revised June 2019)

  Measuring True Value at Ambuja Cement

  V. Kasturi Rangan, Suraj Srinivasan and Namrata Arora

  The case discusses the measurement of social and environmental impact at Ambuja Cements, one of India’s leading cement companies. Ambuja is a leader in CSR activities and is attempting to quantify its impact, both positive and negative, using the “True Value” framework developed by the global accounting firm KPMG. True Value is an innovation in this area and tries to measure the financial cost and benefits of social and environmental impact and provide a standardized comparison across different kinds of social and environmental activities and their impact. The case allows students to discuss the challenges in measuring social and environmental impact and the pros and cons of quantifying the same in financial terms. The case elicits discussion surrounding the following questions: How do we develop a framework to measure the financial cost and benefits of social and environmental externalities? What are the challenges of doing so? What do we need to do to improve our ability to measure social and environmental impact in financial terms? How will such measurement be useful? Who will it be useful to? The case concludes with the CEO of Ambuja deciding whether or not to publicly release the “True Value” of the company.

  Citation:

  Rangan, V. Kasturi, Suraj Srinivasan, and Namrata Arora. "Measuring True Value at Ambuja Cement." Harvard Business School Case 518-063, November 2017. (Revised June 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2019 (Revised May 2019)

  Fetchr: A New Way of Last Mile Delivery

  V.G. Narayanan and Eren Kuzucu

  By mid-2016, five years of aggressive growth had transformed Fetchr from a small logistics startup to a 1,000-employee, full-fledged last-mile delivery company operating across four countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Already beneficiaries of the largest Series A round to the Middle East from an American firm, CEO Idriss Al Rifai and the Fetchr team had ambitions of raising another $40 million in Series B and deliberated continuing international expansion. But first, Al Rifai and his team needed to address the operational efficiency and profitability issues that led their investors to threaten the discontinuation of funding and put the company’s future at stake. The case provides background information on the logistics sphere in the Middle East and the challenges companies face in the region. The case then takes the reader through Al Rifai’s journey of founding and growing Fetchr, backed with innovations like their patented GPS-based delivery technology. Finally, the case zooms in on Fetchr’s management team as they race against time to perform evaluations of their operational efficiency, weigh cost-cutting options, and explore strategies to improve profitability.

  Keywords: Startup; decision; financial strategy; UAE; KSA; MENA; Cost Accounting; Business Model; Business Startups; Transformation; Cost Management; Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Logistics; Service Delivery; Supply Chain Management; Performance Evaluation; Mathematical Methods; Mobile Technology; Transportation Networks; Middle East; United Arab Emirates; Dubai; Bahrain; Egypt; Saudi Arabia; North Africa;

  Citation:

  Narayanan, V.G., and Eren Kuzucu. "Fetchr: A New Way of Last Mile Delivery." Harvard Business School Case 119-018, March 2019. (Revised May 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2019

  Mahindra Finance

  V.G. Narayanan and Tanvi Deshpande

  Mahindra Finance is a non-banking lender operating mainly in the rural and semi-urban areas of India. Set up in 1991, the company had grown to become a market leader with assets of $8.5 billion and a presence in 3,30,000 villages across India. Since most of Mahindra's customers are occupied in farming or allied activities, they are reliant on India's erratic monsoons for their source of livelihood. In order to manage the credit risks associated with lending to such a group, Mahindra Finance has developed ways of diversifying its risks and dealing with bad debt. The case discusses Mahindra Finance's practices of how to manage credit risk, measure this risk, make appropriate provisions for this risk, and finally communicate the risk and its management to the capital markets.

  Keywords: Accounting; Business Model; Volatility; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decisions; Credit; Financing and Loans; Service Delivery; Risk and Uncertainty; Financial Services Industry; India;

  Citation:

  Narayanan, V.G., and Tanvi Deshpande. "Mahindra Finance." Harvard Business School Case 119-003, March 2019.  View Details

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