Kiessling-Spedition: Distribution Planning for In-Night Express 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 Kiessling-Spedition: Distribution Planning for In-Night Express case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Kiessling-Spedition: Distribution Planning for In-Night Express case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Christian Brabander. The Kiessling-Spedition: Distribution Planning for In-Night Express (referred as “Kiessling Night” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Technology & Operations. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Organizational culture, 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 Kiessling-Spedition: Distribution Planning for In-Night Express Case Study

Kiessling Spedition (Kiessling) was an international operating forwarder in Regenstauf (Eastern Bavaria), Germany, and a member of a large in-night express network. In April 2017, the company faced the problem of losing one of its major consigners. The consigner was a large wholesaler of automotive parts for the utility sector and had been feeding high volumes into Kiessling's in-night system. This cancellation caused the volume and use of most of Kiessling's in-night tours to drop significantly, by as much as 40 per cent in volume and 26 per cent in stops. Since the distribution costs were almost fully fixed, the contribution margin of all affected tours decreased. In order to adapt the Kiessling in-night operations to overcome this turmoil, the operations manager and his team needed to choose among several alternatives, and then make a plan to implement the solution quickly. Christian Brabander is affiliated with Universitat Regensburg.

Case Authors : Christian Brabander

Topic : Technology & Operations

Related Areas : Organizational culture, Supply chain

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Kiessling-Spedition: Distribution Planning for In-Night Express Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10004359)	-10004359	-	-
Year 1	3450464	-6553895	3450464	0.9434	3255155
Year 2	3979013	-2574882	7429477	0.89	3541307
Year 3	3962980	1388098	11392457	0.8396	3327394
Year 4	3244498	4632596	14636955	0.7921	2569946
TOTAL			14636955		12693803

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2689444

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

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

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Kiessling-Spedition: Distribution Planning for In-Night Express

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 Kiessling Night 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 Kiessling Night 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	(10004359)	-10004359	-	-
Year 1	3450464	-6553895	3450464	0.8696	3000403
Year 2	3979013	-2574882	7429477	0.7561	3008705
Year 3	3962980	1388098	11392457	0.6575	2605724
Year 4	3244498	4632596	14636955	0.5718	1855052
TOTAL					10469885

The Net NPV after 4 years is 465526

(10469885 - 10004359 )

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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	(10004359)	-10004359	-	-
Year 1	3450464	-6553895	3450464	0.8333	2875387
Year 2	3979013	-2574882	7429477	0.6944	2763203
Year 3	3962980	1388098	11392457	0.5787	2293391
Year 4	3244498	4632596	14636955	0.4823	1564669
TOTAL					9496651

The Net NPV after 4 years is -507708

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9496651 - 10004359 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Kiessling Night 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 Kiessling Night has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Kiessling Night 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 Kiessling Night, then the stock price of the Kiessling Night 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 Kiessling Night 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 –

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

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

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

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.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

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 Kiessling-Spedition: Distribution Planning for In-Night Express

References & Further Readings

Christian Brabander (2018), "Kiessling-Spedition: Distribution Planning for In-Night Express Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.