Case Study – Assignment – MBA / EMBA – (Marks 10)
Operations and Supply Chain Management
Title: TezRaftaar Logistics – Scaling E-Commerce in Pakistan
Objective: To assess the students' ability to synthesize foundational SCM concepts, analyze
operational bottlenecks using data frameworks, and evaluate strategic fit in a high-growth,
volatile market environment.
Part 1: The Case Study Narrative
Company Background TezRaftaar Logistics is a well-established courier company
headquartered in Islamabad, with its primary sorting hub located in Rawalpindi. Historically,
TezRaftaar built its reputation on B2B (Business-to-Business) freight, transporting bulk
shipments of textiles and auto parts between Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. Their competitive
strategy was centered on cost-efficiency: maximizing economies of scale by waiting until heavy-
duty trucks were at 100% capacity before dispatching them.
The Market Shift In 2024, seeing the boom in local online shopping, TezRaftaar's management
decided to enter the lucrative but demanding B2C (Business-to-Consumer) e-commerce delivery
market. They signed contracts with several major Pakistani fashion brands to handle their "Next-
Day Delivery" promises.
The Operational Crisis By late 2025, TezRaftaar was facing a crisis. During peak promotional
events (like Eid and Blessed Friday sales), the Rawalpindi hub became completely paralyzed.
1. Process Visibility: The Operations Manager realized they could not pinpoint where the
delays were happening. Data was being recorded manually on disparate flat Excel sheets
by different shift supervisors. Tracking a parcel from the unloading bay, through the
sorting belts, to the final dispatch rider took hours of manual reconciliation.
2. The Strategic Conflict: To maintain profitability, the CFO insists on keeping the old
model—delaying dispatch trucks until they are completely full. However, the Sales
Director is furious because e-commerce parcels are sitting at the Rawalpindi hub for 48
hours waiting for trucks to fill up, violating the "Next-Day" SLA (Service Level
Agreement) and causing clients to threaten contract cancellations.
Instructions: Based on the lectures covering SCM Introduction, Process Analysis, and Strategic
Fit, provide a comprehensive analysis of the TezRaftaar Logistics case by answering the
following questions:
Question 1: Supply Chain Elements & Process Views TezRaftaar is transitioning from bulk
B2B freight to e-commerce B2C delivery.
• A) Map out the new e-commerce supply chain for TezRaftaar. Explicitly categorize their
activities into Upstream, Internal Operations, Downstream, and Integration elements.
• B) Explain the shift in their Supply Chain Process View. How does moving from a
historically Push-based bulk model to a highly reactive Pull-based e-commerce model
fundamentally change how their Rawalpindi hub must operate?
Question 2: Process Analysis & Data Architecture The Rawalpindi hub is suffering from
severe bottlenecks and a lack of data visibility.
• A) Identify the operational bottlenecks occurring at the hub.
• B) Propose a basic relational database structure (using Tables and Queries) that
management should implement. What specific fields/columns (e.g., Scan-in Time, Sorting
Zone, Dispatch Time) must be in their primary Table to allow a Pivot Table analysis of
where exact delays are happening?
Question 3: Achieving Strategic Fit There is a fundamental conflict between the CFO (who
wants economies of scale) and the Sales Director (who needs next-day responsiveness).
• A) Evaluate TezRaftaar’s current Strategic Fit. Is their existing supply chain strategy
aligned with the competitive strategy required for e-commerce?
• B) Provide a strategic recommendation: How should they balance the need for
responsiveness with the costs of underutilized transport capacity? How can demand
forecasting help them manage peak seasons like Eid without paralyzing the hub?