With the best of intentions, companies experiment with isolated efforts to improve sustainability—only to encounter a long string of unanticipated consequences, often in the form of financial, social, or environmental costs. That's partly because most firms respond in a piecemeal way to pressure from customers, shareholders, boards, employees, governments, and NGOs. In this groundbreaking research published in Harvard Business Review, Professor Hau Lee shows that it's much more effective to take a holistic approach to sustainability and make broader structural changes. The article examines the specific strategy adopted by Hong Kong–based Esquel, one of the world’s leading producers of premium cotton shirts, in reinventing its supply chain and manufacturing processes to tackle the challenges of scale. Details

As business networks have became exponentially more extensive and complex, managing B2B information exchange solutions internally has become increasingly burdensome. This study quantifies the magnitude of the technical and business benefits of working with an external B2B service provider based on an in-depth survey of 25 companies. Research partner: GSX. Details

Published by The Manufacturing Institute, this paper presents a comprehensive study of the business value of supply chain security investments by identifying collateral benefits security initiatives can bring to companies. Research partners: The Manufacturing Institute, IBM. Details

This case study, currently in process, explores the close farmer collaborations established by McCain India, the primary supplier of french fries to McDonald’s India. The study examines how developing strong relationships with hundreds of small farmers has put McCain and McDonald’s in a good position to address the current challenge of food price inflation and other threats to the supply chain. Research partner: McDonald’s India.