Subject area:              Sustainability & Development

Region:                        Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Industry:                     Pipe Manufacturing

Company:                    Future Pipe Industries

Challenge:                   In early 2021, Fouad Makhzoumi (CEO / Chairman) of Future Pipe Industries, a manufacturer of fiber-glass pipe equipment for oil, gas, water desalination, and other applications located in Dubai, UAE, faced the challenge of maintaining their competitive advantage and sustaining global growth by deciding the most effective market entry strategy to expand their global presence into the South America/Latin American market (established as the best region to enter through market analysis). With this industry being highly competitive within the top companies holding the majority of market share, it was important for FPI to enter this new market and allow themselves to be awarded new and larger contracts. The two countries that we analyzed as possible expansion locations, in this case, were Argentina and Brazil. 

“Future Pipe Industries Sustainability and Development Decision” as a “Making Your Case” project

Investment in Personal Capital: Elucidating Professional CORE

For this case, five undergraduate students from Northeastern University chose Future Pipe Industries for their BE-EDGE consulting case, with this the team furthered their knowledge of
global industries as well as a better understanding for expanding into global markets.

• Mitchell’s CORE as a PRO: Mitchell had no personal connection to the company, but after this project and the intense research and analysis he had more interest in consulting than ever before. The idea of working on a challenge for another company and providing a more efficient and sustainable solution was intriguing to someone who finds it hard to do repetitive tasks. Mitchell was invested in making this project go smoothly and was a team player willing to offer help to any other members if they needed it. In the end, Mitchell never thought consulting would be something he would be interested in, but now he has begun to look at consulting roles after he graduates.   

• Stone’s CORE as a PRO: Even though Stone has had no personal connection to the business, he felt that working within the consulting engagement as a team utilizing the DAFI (define, analyze, formulate, and implement) process to solve a real-world challenge of a new market entry was beneficial in changing the way he approaches challenges and solves problems. Stone believes this exercise solidified his understanding of the DAFI framework and how it could be used in other applications, specifically within working in a team environment to source investment opportunities and effectively executing on them in the commercial real estate space as he enters the industry at a private equity real estate firm upon graduation. 

• Zui’s CORE as a PRO: Zui had some prior international business experience but no Pipe Manufacturing industries experience. Zui’s involvement in this project is to conduct ground research on different acquisition opportunities. Zui also came up with the action plan for Future Pipe Industries. She was able to learn even more about data collection and is excited with her new abilities and to be able to share this knowledge in the future. She thinks that international
  business would be a path she would embark on based on her personal experience. Her experience in this course and project has left her with an open mind and hunger to learn more.

• Ramsey’s Core as a PRO: Ramsey has a personal connection to the business but felt that this experience helped him gain a deeper understanding of how the third-party consultation process works when trying to help a business. The concept of being able to help advise the future plans of the expansion for a firm is an amazing opportunity full of growth and learning. Ramsey was extremely invested into this company as he has a personal wish to see the business blossom and grow due to his family connection within the business. Ramsey is hoping to further his expertise in this domain by pursuing a career in consulting to hopefully perform the same level of work as he has on this project.

• Haya’s CORE as a PRO: Haya has no personal connection to FPI but found that adding value to the company and assisting them in solving a problem as well as achieving its goals to be very interesting. By working on such a project, Haya was able to further improve both her soft and hard skills, she enjoyed working with the team to find solutions for challenging problems. To ensure the project is completed successfully, Haya has offered support and encouragement to the team and has helped them with exploring opportunities. Overall, Haya is looking forward to exploring the consulting world post-graduation.

Investments in Social Capital: Building Trust within the Company and Industry

This project helped this group grow both as individuals and as an efficient and effective team. They learned how to work as a team to complete all the research and analysis in a timely manner and use the information to determine the best course of action. Each member gained new skills
and abilities to help benefit their future; new consulting experience, public speaking skills, ability to work through disagreements within the team, and many other skills useful for their social capital. In the end, the team learned that working hard with other people can bring people
closer and learn how to work more effectively and efficiently together.

Investments in Professional Capital: Value Added

This case involved a large amount of research and analysis into global expansion and sustainable strategies for a mode of entry. The group looked through plethoras of data on countries in South America as well as possible modes of entry into a new market. They used many analysis tools to
organize and understand the data, some models include the PESTEL and SWOT analysis. After looking over all the data collected the group worked together to establish the best country to expand to and which mode of entry to implement. The group selected the most fruitful country to
enter and the most efficient mode of entry into this country, along with suggestions for strategy and implementation

Capital Utilization: What’s next? 

This project helped the members of this group better understand the ideas behind global expansion as well as all the steps that need to be taken before making a final decision. Learning how to create the best possible strategy for sustainable competitive advantage are skills that everyone in the group will carry into their future career.