Barilla SpA - Harvard Business Case Analysis

Overview: Industry * Mature product by 1990. Little or no growth domestically (Italy) * Export market experiencing large growth (20-25% per yr in European countries) Expect 2/3 of new demand from Eastern European market. Demand is high because they wanted low-priced basic food products * Limited or no seasonal demand * Highly competitive domestically over 2000 pasta manufacturers in Italy. Declining margins. * Pasta market is extremely price sensitive. * Barilla is the market leader in Italy and is the industry's largest manufacturer. * Supply …

…and helps to build anticipation. Second, the plan allows Manufacturing to find ways to improve changeovers with fewer distractions. Continuous improvement participation is likely hampered in the current environment given so many schedule changes and special requests. Third, the plan can be put into place in any geographic environment, not just in a couple of segments in Italy. This fact should give Barilla the opportunity to pilot the key concepts in a less hostile environment.