Global Logistics For Dummies

Chapter 22

Ten Examples of Global Logistics Gone Wrong

IN THIS CHAPTER

Looking at examples of what went wrong in global logistics

Taking away lessons of what not to do in your global logistics efforts

According to multiple industry analysts, as many as 70 percent of companies fail in their first attempt at expanding successful domestic operations into the global marketplace. While the reasons for failure are many and varied, most are built upon an ignorance of cultural and societal differences between markets.

In this chapter, we take a look at ten examples of disastrous initial attempts to go global (in no particular order). We’ve focused on larger corporations because their errors were more publicly visible and newsworthy. But many small and mid-sized companies have also made the same or similar errors by not benefitting from the lessons learned by industry leaders — an oversight that has brought about the death of many a company not large enough to withstand the impact of global miscalculation.

Best Buy Europe: Underestimating Cultural Differences in Technology Purchasing

Best Buy Europe was a 2008 retail joint venture created when the US-based electronics retailer Best Buy, Inc. purchased a 50 percent ownership (a £1.1 billion investment) of the UK-based mobile phone retailer ...