TGC Project Examples

The Tuck Global Consultancy's program of international consulting services is offered to the business community at an affordable cost. The program is organized and managed by the Center for International Business. To date, consulting projects have been completed for a wide range of clients in more than 45 countries. See below for details on some of these projects.

"Tuck's work was comparable to top consulting firms because the students were former consultants, financial managers, and brand managers. The cost was much lower than that of consulting firms but the quality of the work was not. Timberland was better informed than ever to make decisions on market entry as a result of the Tuck projects." —Greg Goddard, Business Development Manager for Asia Pacific, Timberland

Cargill

A Tuck team conducted field research in five Vietnam provinces to determine the optimal market entry strategy for Cargill in the fertilizer industry. The team collected information and data on the fertilizer value chain, including interviews at ports (Ho Chi Minh and Phu My) and transportation companies (3) and with importers and distributors (6), wholesalers and retailers (28), and farmers (52).

Citibank

Tuck teams have carried out five projects for Citibank. In one, Citibank commissioned a team to assess the market for, and viability of, a new financial product in India. Citibank (with the International Finance Corporation) believed student loans could be a highly profitable product, as in the U.S., but needed an in-depth analysis. The team was also asked to structure the product. Its recommendations were accepted and acted upon. Citibank arranged for another Tuck team's analysis of capital markets issues confronting Vietnam and other developing countries to be presented in a seminar for 75 senior Vietnamese government policymakers. The Citibank client for this project described it as "stunningly professional work" and sent copies of the report to key government offices and financial institutions in Vietnam.

Disney

In one of several projects for Disney, a Tuck team carried out a re-engineering analysis of the inventory and retailing processes of Disney's consumer goods distributor in Vietnam, the country's largest retailer. The Disney executive client's evaluation: "On a business level, the output from the Tuck project is going to assist greatly as I try to bring Vietnamese retailing into the 21st century."

Hewlett-Packard

Tuck teams working for Hewlett-Packard analyzed the distribution systems for high-end medical equipment in Vietnam and Indonesia. They were asked to determine why the systems were not producing and to propose a restructuring. Results led to major changes by H-P.

Johnson & Johnson

Tuck consulting teams conducted market surveys for surgical sutures and catheters in southern Vietnam and for orthopedic prosthetics in Taiwan. In Vietnam, the team interviewed representatives of 13 general and specialized hospitals that accounted for 73 percent of the hospital beds in Ho Chi Minh City. In Taiwan, the team interviewed more than 40 surgeons and hospital administrators in three main urban areas.

Intel

In Poland, a Tuck team assessed the major players and their capabilities in the delivery of Internet services and made recommendations on a strategy for Intel's entry into the market for related support services.

McGraw-Hill

McGraw-Hill had a significant presence in the Brazilian publishing market some years ago. It asked a Tuck team to assess whether and, if so, how a foreign publishing house with McGraw-Hill's capabilities could develop profitable businesses in various segments of the Brazilian market. The team examined government purchasing and other major segments and made strategic recommendations on where the company had competitive advantages, where it lacked them, and how to proceed.

Nike

The most recent of five assignments was to assess Nike's internal and external (PricewaterhouseCoopers) monitoring systems in Turkey. These systems are designed to ensure contract factories producing for Nike meet standards for pay, overtime, working conditions, safety, and health in the Nike code of conduct. The team's assignment was to find the gaps, if any, and to recommend needed changes in the monitoring process.