Describes experiments experienced Burlington Northern (BN) sales representative after the introduction ShipSmart, a decision support system developed BN, to help their employees and customers to analyze logistical problems. After a brief description of the program logistics training sales representatives, the case describes the opportunities for new business for BN (delivery of beer from the brewery beer distributors by rail instead of truck), certain dealers. Understanding the new business will require coordination of logistics partners (brewery, distributors, and rail), as well as cross-functional coordination (between the marketing, engineering, and operations) within the railway. Sales representative weighs complexity of the problem and believes that the use ShipSmart, to demonstrate the value of switching to rail transport to distributors and brewery. "Hide
by Janice H. Hammond Source: Harvard Business School 11 pages. Publication Date: April 24, 1989. Prod. #: 689083-PDF-ENG
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