SCOR is a local nonprofit organization that provides advice and direction to new and/or small companies. The volunteers for the SCOR organization are all retired executives and/ or entrepreneurs. At their weekly meeting, Herb Graves and Ned Book were discussing a proposal that they had received from a local trucking company that had been founded about two years ago. The company, Bald Eagle Valley Trucking (BEV), had enjoyed some success and had been able to secure a loan enabling it to expand to 10 tractor and trailer units. Its success had been based largely upon a water bottling plant, owned by the Coca Cola Company, that had been increasing the volume it shipped. BEV felt that there was an opportunity to expand its business with Coca Cola into the Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, DC, areas, but it needed additional capital to buy more equipment. BEV had requested help from SCOR to assist it with developing a strategic plan and supporting its request for a loan from a Pittsburgh-based bank.

Herb and Ned were very experienced executives but they had no direct experience in the transportation and supply chain business. So they contacted a nearby state university with a large and well-known Supply Chain and Logistics department. The department had a program whereby its students could be assigned a business-related project for course credit, and it would be supervised by a faculty member.

QUESTIONS

1. You have been chosen to work on the BEV project, which will require you to answer the following questions:

a. What are the major opportunities and issues trucking companies face presently?

b. What insights can you provide to help BEV mitigate some or all of the issues?

2. Herb and Ned both feel that BEV can be a successful company with appropriate planning and direction. What major points do you think that they should consider in their strategic plan for the future? Indicate at least five such points of emphasis and why you think that they are important.