About us Shangrila Corporate Services (SCS) is a leading advisory firm in the domain of Foreign Trade Policy of India. With over 30 years of experience, it is a pioneer in the domain and is a one stop shop solution for advisory, implementation, litigation support, utilization and monetization needs. We are a team of 300+ spread across India and world, providing consultancy services to importers, exporters and over 1000+ MNCs on all matters related to the Foreign Trade Policy of India. Diversity, Inclusion & Meritocracy At SCS we pride ourselves on community and collaboration with a focus on creating positive impact and building a force for good. We value all points of view and believe in the power of doing things differently to drive innovation and catalyse change. We’re a team built on meritocracy, committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone is welcome to be their true selves and do their best work. We consider all applicants on the merit of their academic qualifications and professional experience. Arbitrage - International business case challenge SCS has collaborated with IIFT via BLASH, the international trade club to present this case in the Quo Vadis '22. We intend to engage the young minds aspiring to step into the professional realm of international trade consultancy with this stimulating business problem. At SCS we encourage divergent strategic thinking, a problem solving attitude and a solutionoriented approach. Similarly we expect all the applicants to not just present data analysis, traditional business models or the usual strategic initiatives. We expect them to utilize this opportunity to develop a scalable business solution with can be implemented in reality and across sectors. We urge the students to collaborate, brainstorm, utilize design thinking on a white canvas and develop holistic frameworks while answering why and how for every solution proposed. Guiding Principles Please share the solution in a formatted presentation with supporting sheets and databases in appendix Plagiarism is a direct disqualification. Please use citations while referring to any existing analysis or reports For us, less is more. We appreciate crisp, concise, well structured solutions It always starts with asking 'why' and then answering the 'what' and 'how' Please back all your recommendation basis either data or existing success/failure stories Executable and scalable business solutions always outshine theoretical information Arbitrage | IIFT Case Study Challenge | Page 1 THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE About the business in focus The company X in focus here is an upcoming brand in India, having presence across all Metro and Tier 1 cities via retail stores, an online website and listings on various marketplaces. It's products are diversified in the apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and personal care segments. The brand's target audience is urban upper and middle class with focus on consumers looking for high quality, unique, modern designs with high utility and sustainable living. Though the business witnessed tangential growth in India during the initial years of its launch, it is now struggling to maintain the same growth rate. The strategy team at X feels that the next logical step to scale their business is by global expansion. They strongly feel that their products will sync with the global customer of USA, UK, EU, Australia and some SEA countries. They wish to create a phased launch and expansion of their company while balancing risks and sales growth. Challenge at hand and Proposed Initiatives The team at X has drawn out the following plan to sell globally : In Phase 1, the team plans to test all the international regions for best market fitment and profitability and will opt for online route - open multiple digital channels with minimal investments and inventory holding. In Phase 2, the team plans to full-fledgely adopt omni-channel sales and start bulk B2B selling as well. They aim to start storing inventory in the international destinations and explore few offline channels as well. In Phase 3, the team wants to opt for advanced launch in all target markets with stores if financially feasible The team at X has multiple members which disagree with the sequencing of this phased launch and cannot seem to come up with a structured framework to streamline the operations and launch model. They are also debating over the most efficient strategy and investments required in setting up marketing campaigns, logistics network and other support functions like enabling international payments and trade compliances. They understand that its critical for them to be agile and move fast to not miss the opportunity to scale exponentially as the global e-commerce seems to be booming for their segments. Team X reaches out to you for expert advice ! What Next ? Help them finalize the order of doing things under this launch plan and elaborate upon the sales channels they should open with necessary data insights and reasonings Help them setup the operations for sales, marketing , logistics, international payments, customer care by developing internal capabilities or external partnerships wherever required to fast-track execution Distribute their digital marketing budget (100x) into various search engine campaigns, website customization & translations, social media, e-commerce marketplace campaigns and other international destination campaigns to create necessary traction for the brand It is important that the brand utilizes best tools and technology to optimize its operations and scale rapidly hence SAAS products/partners to boost it’s global expansion will need to be suggested Draw the roadmap of business expansion with the projected numbers and share the brand can aim to capture in short and long term across various sales channels (assume business volumes and shares) Arbitrage | IIFT Case Study Challenge | Page 2
