Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Frances X. Frei, Corey Hajim. The Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines (referred as “Southwest Flier” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Technology & Operations. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Supply chain.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines Case Study

Used as part of the first module of a course on Managing Service Operations, which addresses managing the operating role of customers (606-032).Southwest Airlines is well known as the low-fare airline that has achieved ongoing financial success in one of the most financially troubled industries in the United States. Told from the perspectives of two Southwest customers--a frequent flier and a more typical customer--the case revolves around two customer service requests from the frequent flier, both of which provide a compelling temptation to cater to the satisfaction of the airline's highest revenue customers. The requests are intriguing because they would neither add cost nor increase the turnaround time of Southwest's service.

Case Authors : Frances X. Frei, Corey Hajim

Topic : Technology & Operations

Related Areas : Supply chain

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10025498)	-10025498	-	-
Year 1	3464195	-6561303	3464195	0.9434	3268108
Year 2	3976664	-2584639	7440859	0.89	3539217
Year 3	3974744	1390105	11415603	0.8396	3337272
Year 4	3236881	4626986	14652484	0.7921	2563913
TOTAL			14652484		12708510

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2683012

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Payback Period
2. Net Present Value
3. Internal Rate of Return
4. Profitability Index

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Southwest Flier shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.
2. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Southwest Flier have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Technology & Operations Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Southwest Flier often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Southwest Flier needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10025498)	-10025498	-	-
Year 1	3464195	-6561303	3464195	0.8696	3012343
Year 2	3976664	-2584639	7440859	0.7561	3006929
Year 3	3974744	1390105	11415603	0.6575	2613459
Year 4	3236881	4626986	14652484	0.5718	1850697
TOTAL					10483429

The Net NPV after 4 years is 457931

(10483429 - 10025498 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10025498)	-10025498	-	-
Year 1	3464195	-6561303	3464195	0.8333	2886829
Year 2	3976664	-2584639	7440859	0.6944	2761572
Year 3	3974744	1390105	11415603	0.5787	2300199
Year 4	3236881	4626986	14652484	0.4823	1560996
TOTAL					9509596

The Net NPV after 4 years is -515902

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9509596 - 10025498 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Southwest Flier to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Southwest Flier has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Southwest Flier can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Southwest Flier, then the stock price of the Southwest Flier should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Southwest Flier should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines

References & Further Readings

Frances X. Frei, Corey Hajim (2018), "Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.