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    Case Study

    Aluminium Cyclo Enterprises Malaysia: How to manage a supply chain disruption?

    By Dominique Turpin, Anamaya Narain Singh, Cyril Darlong Diengdoh and Sandeep Puri
    10 pages
    April 2025
    Order this case study
    Reference: IMD-2665

    In 2024, the management of Aluminium Cyclo Enterprises (ACE), was concerned that the European Union (EU) export rules for ferrous and non-ferrous scrap were becoming more restrictive. Not just the EU, but close to 43 countries had restricted the export of ferrous scrap. The overall secondary aluminum industry in Malaysia was very dependent on imports and ACE relied heavily on imported scrap. The supply and pricing of raw materials could be volatile due to factors beyond the company’s control, such as global demand and supply, economic and political conditions, tariff disputes, competition, import duties, tariffs and currency exchange rates. These factors exposed the company to major price and currency fluctuation risks. ACE was heavily reliant on the automotive sector for its business. In such circumstances, should ACE consider opening plants in international markets where scrap was readily available? What should the company’s business continuity and growth strategy be in Malaysia?

    Learning Objective
    • International Strategy.
    • Business-to-Business Marketing.
    • Supply Chain Management.
    Keywords
    Marketing, Pricing, Supply Chain Management, International Trade
    Settings
    South-Eastern Asia, Malaysia
    Manufacturing, Metal Products
    2024
    Type
    Published Sources
    Copyright
    © 2025
    Available Languages
    English
    Related material
    Teaching note
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    Aluminium Cyclo Enterprises Malaysia: How to manage a supply chain disruption?
    By Dominique Turpin Anamaya Narain Singh Cyril Darlong Diengdoh and Sandeep Puri
    Case reference: IMD-2665 ©2025
    Summary
    In 2024, the management of Aluminium Cyclo Enterprises (ACE), was concerned that the European Union (EU) export rules for ferrous and non-ferrous scrap were becoming more restrictive. Not just the EU, but close to 43 countries had restricted the e...
    Read more
    Reference IMD-2665
    Copyright ©2025
    Copyright owner IMD Copyright
    Industry Manufacturing, Metal Products
    Available Languages English
    Contact

    Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

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    By Mark J. Greeven and Sophie Liu
    in I by IMD
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    Explore how innovation, R&D, and policy reforms are reshaping China’s pharmaceutical sector amid rising healthcare demand and demographic shifts.
    Read more
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    Reference IMD-7-2608
    Copyright ©2024
    Copyright owner IMD Copyright
    Organization Stellantis Group
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    Available Languages English
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    Sea2see: Seastainable vision
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    Case reference: IMD-7-2564 ©2024
    Summary
    BARCELONA, JANUARY 2023. What started in 2016 as a humble entrepreneurial attempt to contribute to a more sustainable future had turned into a solid eyewear brand present in major Western markets. François van den Abeele was even more excited by the rapid development of the Sea2see Foundation, which he set up in Ghana. But success brought its own new questions and issues. From the start, he had relied on the superb craftmanship and dedication of an Italian frame manufacturer. Over time that relationship had turned into a mutual dependency: He was now one of its major clients but, reciprocally, had developed a key supplier risk. What if something happened to that relationship? Should he develop a broader set of suppliers and, if so, how could that be done without antagonizing a great working relationship? Recycling very much set the stage for the brand’s sustainability claims, but it also took massive amounts of time to manage. As other companies started to develop their own fishing net recycling supply chains, did it still make sense to invest so much time in the upstream phase or should he pour his energy into his beloved brand? Finally, maybe it was also time to revisit the growth/profitability dilemma and open up the capital to increase the speed of growth, all for the benefit of the environment as impact fed on scale.
    Reference IMD-7-2564
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