Yamato Transport Co. Ltd.: TA-Q-BIN 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 Yamato Transport Co. Ltd.: TA-Q-BIN case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Yamato Transport Co. Ltd.: TA-Q-BIN case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by H. Brian Hwarng, Motoka Mouri. The Yamato Transport Co. Ltd.: TA-Q-BIN (referred as “Yamato Bin” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Leadership & Managing People. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, .

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 Yamato Transport Co. Ltd.: TA-Q-BIN Case Study

Since 1976, Yamato had enjoyed steady growth in the Japanese domestic parcel delivery market. Yamato had maintained its leading position in Japan through its highly acclaimed TA-Q-BIN service. However, with changing demographics and market conditions, the business landscape had been changing. Overdependence on the domestic delivery business limited the overall growth of Yamato. Furthermore, the growth of the TA-Q-BIN business in Japan was limited by the stagnant growth of Japan's economy. Makoto Kigawa, president and then chairman of Yamato Transport, had been relentlessly pursuing business restructuring as well as promoting productivity improvements. His goal was to increase the share of the delivery business related to overseas markets from four to twenty per cent of total revenue by the time of Yamato's centennial celebrations in 2019. How could he successfully implement the TA-Q-BIN service system in overseas markets such as Taiwan, Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Malaysia? Author H. Brian is affiliated with NUS Business School.

Case Authors : H. Brian Hwarng, Motoka Mouri

Topic : Leadership & Managing People

Related Areas :

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Yamato Transport Co. Ltd.: TA-Q-BIN Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10026434)	-10026434	-	-
Year 1	3455601	-6570833	3455601	0.9434	3260001
Year 2	3961856	-2608977	7417457	0.89	3526038
Year 3	3975871	1366894	11393328	0.8396	3338218
Year 4	3238090	4604984	14631418	0.7921	2564871
TOTAL			14631418		12689127

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2662693

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. Net Present Value
2. Profitability Index
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. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Yamato Bin 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 Yamato Bin 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 Yamato Transport Co. Ltd.: TA-Q-BIN

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 Leadership & Managing People 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 Yamato Bin 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 Yamato Bin 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	(10026434)	-10026434	-	-
Year 1	3455601	-6570833	3455601	0.8696	3004870
Year 2	3961856	-2608977	7417457	0.7561	2995732
Year 3	3975871	1366894	11393328	0.6575	2614200
Year 4	3238090	4604984	14631418	0.5718	1851388
TOTAL					10466191

The Net NPV after 4 years is 439757

(10466191 - 10026434 )

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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	(10026434)	-10026434	-	-
Year 1	3455601	-6570833	3455601	0.8333	2879668
Year 2	3961856	-2608977	7417457	0.6944	2751289
Year 3	3975871	1366894	11393328	0.5787	2300851
Year 4	3238090	4604984	14631418	0.4823	1561579
TOTAL					9493387

The Net NPV after 4 years is -533047

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9493387 - 10026434 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Yamato Bin 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 Yamato Bin has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Yamato Bin 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 Yamato Bin, then the stock price of the Yamato Bin 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 Yamato Bin 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 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.

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.

What can impact the cash flow of 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 Yamato Transport Co. Ltd.: TA-Q-BIN

References & Further Readings

H. Brian Hwarng, Motoka Mouri (2018), "Yamato Transport Co. Ltd.: TA-Q-BIN Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.