On July 1, 2020, the co-head of the logistics and planning department at Marico Ltd., based in India, was reviewing reports on various issues related to stock inventory and warehousing. After studying the reports, he found that both lost opportunity and warehousing costs for the company were high. Compounding the problem was the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which had added pressure to the company’s impending cost pressures. Initially, Marico Ltd. had .....more

Founded in 1984, United Safety & Survivability Corporation (USSC) was an American company headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, that began in a garage with just a few products and a dream to develop better and safer transportation solutions. Like most firms, as COVID-19 started to spread in the United States and around the globe, USSC found itself in uncharted waters. The transportation sector, in which USSC operated, was among the most affected .....more

A former investment banking professional had her eureka moment when she noticed instances of assaults on single women travelling alone in taxi cabs at odd times of the day. The prevalence of these instances led her to begin a safe cab service run by women for women—Taxshe Services Pvt. Ltd. (Taxshe), located in Bengaluru, India. In March 2020, the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic began in India, and a lockdown was announced as a preventive measure. .....more

After the 2008–09 financial crisis, the Chinese shipping industry grew markedly and took on a more dominant role in global shipping. As a result, it was felt by some that China’s state-driven economic model had possibly created an unequal playing field. Under the political agenda of the Belt and Road Initiative, specifically the Maritime Silk Road, Chinese state-owned enterprises acquired strategic infrastructure assets, establishing a global network .....more

Blu-Smart Mobility Pvt. Ltd. (BluSmart) was India’s first company to foray into the electric mobility space. Launched in 2019, BluSmart offered ride sharing, car sharing, and shared charging services, and aimed to make India a pollution-free country by providing customers with a complete urban mobility solution. Within a year, BluSmart had garnered investors’ attention and received millions in funding to grow its fleet. It also planned to expand its .....more

In August 2021, Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) was at a critical juncture in its history. Since early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had forced commercial travel to almost a standstill, requiring SIA to idle most of its fleet. The group’s overall revenues had declined by 76 per cent in the 2020/21 financial year, resulting in a loss of S$4.27 billion. The massive cash bleed forced the group to issue new capital, thus diluting the stake of its existing .....more

Stemina Lubricants (Stemina) was an automotive lubricant manufacturer in Udupi, Karnataka, India. All Stemina products were a blend of high-class base oil and imported branded additives. Stemina competed with leading brands—one that was strong in the market and at mechanics’ locations, having leveraged its consumer brand equity and strong advertising support to win over mechanics and dealers, and another that had a strong presence in the forecourts .....more

In early 2020, Singapore Airlines Limited (Singapore Airlines) faced severe liquidity issues as the global pandemic halted its flights and uncertainty loomed. Erstwhile massive cash reserves were quickly running out, and the airline’s executives pondered how to save the company from insolvency. Singapore Airlines’ majority shareholder, Temasek Holdings Limited, agreed to subscribe to a massive capital-raising exercise of up to S$15 billion via a proposed .....more

In 2019, an investment analyst for a hedge fund firm based in the Bahamas was tasked with evaluating his firm’s exposure to the automotive industry. The hedge fund firm held various large positions in the automotive segment, most notably in two equities—Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and Ford Motor Company. The analyst decided to focus on these global industry giants as a proxy for the broader automotive segment. His manager expected an assessment .....more

Bengaluru Airport began an expansion project worth US$2 billion in 2018, but by mid-2020 COVID-19 had severely impacted the aviation industry and reduced passenger volume at the airport by half. Although the airport’s leadership team had detected the crisis early and taken swift action, with no cure for the virus in sight business continuity and staff safety were in jeopardy. The next board meeting was in August 2020, less than seven weeks away, and .....more