Case Teaching Package
A case teaching package, written by Bill Johnston and Ed Marram and compiled by Dan D'Heilly, is available for this case. It includes strategies for case presentation, key concepts, solutions to the assignment questions in the case, and suggestions for the most effective ways to work this case into your course.
Length
This case is
16 pages in length and its case teaching package is
8 pages.
Abstract
This case follows a top Dunn & Bradstreet salesman when he resigns and launches a company to fill an under-served niche: credit and collections in the fresh-seafood industry. The company rapidly grows to 35 employees before the lead entrepreneur decides to make the data available online. This requires a substantial investment in technology that will only be affordable if sales increase quickly. When sales remain flat, the company experiences a cash crisis.
The SeaFax (B) case details the cash flow and other management tactics used to survive the crisis. The management team devises a survival strategy that includes layoffs, motivational exercises, and renegotiating fixed expenses. The investment in a new computer system ultimately enables SeaFax to expand horizontally into other industries that also benefit from an online credit and collections database.
- Location of the company: Portland, Maine
- Years spanned by the case: 1985 through 1990
- Industry segment: Seafood credit and collections
- Stage of the company: Growth and maturity
- Age of the entrepreneurs: 40s
Study Questions
- Evaluate Neal's decision to bet his business on a new computer system.
- How urgent is SeaFax's cash flow crisis? How much cash does it need, and how soon is it needed?
- What must Neal do in the short term to get through this crisis?
- What do you recommend for the long-term?
Key Words
cash flow, new ventures, growth management, guerrilla marketing, leadership, product development
The downloadable file for this case is an self-extracting WinZip file. After downloading, find SeafaxA.exe in Windows® Explorer and double-click the file to decompress. The case file itself is in Microsoft® Word 7.0 for Windows®.
If you do not have Microsoft Word, you can download the free Microsoft® Word Viewer 97 right here: For Windows 3.x For Windows 95
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