Gino SA was a major European-based manufacturer of burner units that are sold in China through exclusive contracts with three distributors. As a result, the three Chinese distributors have significant bargaining power with Gino. A leading boiler manufacturer, who is currently purchasing through a distributor, has approached Gino to receive OEM treatment (a further discount by purchasing the burners direct from the manufacturer, in return for a commitment .....more

The sudden resignation of the company's national sales manager has left the vice-president of sales and marketing stressed and concerned. He must decide on the successor from a pool of five candidates and is finding the decision difficult, not only because of the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate but this sudden resignation has him wondering about his authority and credibility within the organization.

The top sales person for Alchemy Training Firm has visited three potential clients, an existing customer, a "warm" call referral and a cold call, to sell a new offering from the company. While the company was well-known for providing top quality sales management training programs, the owners have decided to branch out with a new offer of supply chain management/purchasing training courses. The sales person must prepare a report of these .....more

Salco (China) is a global manufacturer of burners for hot-water boilers and industrial furnaces and ovens. The company has recently hired a new operations manager for their plant in China whose mandate is to improve the efficiency of the Beijing office, to eliminate Salco's Chinese distributors' poaching behavior and to elevate Salco's brand equity in the Chinese market. After implementation, the initiative to eliminate distributors' .....more

Jindi Enterprises is a manufacturer of heat exchanger units for residential and commercial markets in China. Recently, the company's top sales representative, who is also the sales manager for one of the company's provincial offices, quit and joined a competitor. A replacement must be found, however, a delay in choosing a strategic direction is seriously complicating the hiring decision. The chief executive officer must determine the corporate .....more

Zhongda Optical Cable Engineering Company is a small company that provides optical cable engineering services to contractors who are installing intranet applications in a province in China. As an early entrant in the market and a high quality service provider, the company had been able to charge premium prices, however, the market has changed. There are now many competitors who provide similar services. Furthermore, contractors - and sometimes end-users .....more

Worldwide Equipment Ltd. is one of the world's largest manufacturers of heating, ventilating and air conditioning equipment. The Beijing regional sales manager has just heard that the sales performance of his office ranked the lowest among the sales offices in China. The sales Beijing force will not receive their year-end bonus unless the situation can be turned around quickly. He must determine whether the sales management process or a recent .....more

Gino SA was a major European-based manufacturer of burner units that are sold in China through exclusive contracts with three distributors. As a result, the three Chinese distributors have significant bargaining power with Gino. A leading boiler manufacturer, who is currently purchasing through a distributor, has approached Gino to receive OEM treatment (a further discount by purchasing the burners direct from the manufacturer, in return for a commitment .....more

A university graduate working as a project manager for a small Chinese consulting firm is in the middle of a very important project when he receives a call from a former colleague offering him an attractive package to move to a new company. His decision would affect many stakeholders and he wonders what might happen to the project he is working on. He has only three days to decide whether to stay with the firm or accept the offer.

Nanjing Chuangqi is a small auto parts manufacturing firm. The general manager of the company is deciding whether the company should integrate its product line from existing universal joint and steering shaft to steering column and whether the major processes involved should be outsourced or made internally. Using breakeven and net present value analysis, he must consider the impact on the company and the auto industry when China joins the World Trade .....more