Planificacion

our Planning at Cirque du Soleil1

Case2 prepared by Professors Marie-Hélène JOBIN3 and Jean TALBOT4

‐ Where?

‐ Istanbul.

‐ What show?

‐ I don’t know. We have to talk about it. The promoters behind the proposals suggested names of shows, but I believe that the choice of show is open for discussion.

Louise Murray, Vice-President, Tour Planning and Partnerships at Cirque du Soleil, considered the information given to her by Ines Lenzi, the Director of Partnership Management, before answering: “Let me think about it a little longer. It seems like an interesting project, but we’re not very familiar with the region. I’m going to take a close look at the proposals you’ve given me and we’ll talk about it again after the Christmas holidays. By the way, Happy New Year 2009! Ciao!” She hangs up the phone, deep in thought.

Cirque du Soleil regularly receives unsolicited business proposals. But receiving two serious proposals for the same city one right after the other could be seen as a strong sign of potential.

Which show would be the most appropriate? Which partner and which partnership model would allow us to maximize our impact and our profits? There were many aspects to consider before this project could become reality. Louise Murray thought to herself, “What worries me most are the deadlines. It’s December 23, 2008. So 2010 may just as well be tomorrow! Is it possible to add a stop in Istanbul5 to our show schedule?”

1 Translation from French of “La planification de tournée au Cirque du Soleil,” case deposited under #9 50 2011 004.

2 This case was produced as part of the 2008 strategic workshop for the development of major case studies at HEC Montréal. We would like to thank HEC Montréal for its support for the production of case studies. We also thank our colleagues who participated in this workshop for their helpful comments.

3 Marie-Hélène Jobin is a Full Professor in the Department of Logistics and Operations Management at HEC Montréal.

4 Jean Talbot is a Full Professor in the Department of Information Technologies at HEC Montréal.

5 To protect the confidentiality of the proposals received, the project location and the description of the partners that submitted proposals have been disguised.

© HEC Montréal 2011

All rights reserved for all countries. Any translation or alteration in any form whatsoever is prohibited.

The International Journal of Case Studies in Management is published on-line (www.hec.ca/revuedecas/en), ISSN 1911-2599.

This case is intended to be used as the framework for an educational discussion and does not imply any judgement on the administrative situation presented. Deposited under number 9 50 2011 005 with the HEC Montréal Centre for Case Studies, 3000, chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal (Québec) Canada H3T 2A7.

Indeed, planning is a long, drawn-out process at Cirque du Soleil. “Over the past few years, we have worked hard to improve our planning process. It may not be perfectly tuned yet and we may be missing interesting business opportunities due to an overly structured, long-term planning process, but on the other hand, this structure is what allows us to manage complexity. I’ll have to look at all the angles to see if we can optimize the process even more,” Louise Murray told herself.

From Street Performers to International Cultural Industry Leaders

Cirque du Soleil began with a very simple dream. A group of young entertainers got together to amuse audiences, see the world, and have fun doing it.

Guy Laliberté, Founder of Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil’s artists have travelled far and wide on the youthful dreams of its founder! And over the years, nearly 80 million spectators on five continents have shared in the dreams of the creators, artists and employees of Cirque du Soleil. The worldwide success of Canada’s cultural jewel is attested by the numerous prestigious awards it has received, including Emmys, the Drama Desk Award, the Bambi Award, the ACE, Geminis, the Félix and the Rose d’Or de Montreux. In 2008, the company, which is headquartered in Montreal, presented 18 shows simultaneously throughout the world. We’re a far cry from the performers on stilts at the Baie St¬Paul1 festival back in the early 1980s, when the idea for Cirque du Soleil was hatched.

In 1984, 73 people worked for Cirque du Soleil. Today, it has close to 4,000 employees, including 1,000 artists hailing from 40 different countries. Guy Laliberté heads up a company that is international in every sense of the term – by its composition, its influence and the scope of its activities – and whose unique signature is instantly recognizable around the world. The company constantly renews its product offering, but the result is always a feast for the senses.

“Creativity is part of the Cirque culture.2 This creativity is on display in the work of the artists, of course, but it is also manifested in the exploits of the craftspeople and technicians who work behind the scenes,” Louise Murray points out. It also shows through in the work of the planners and logisticians who collaborate to find customized solutions to new problems as they arise, helping to turn Cirque into the Organization – a machine without precedent anywhere in the world.

The numbers speak for themselves: in 2008, 18 different shows, including eight shows touring the planet (see Appendix 1); 450 trailers and cargo containers transporting 4,400 tonnes of Cirque du Soleil material around the world at any one time, and; an average of 400-500 tonnes of material for each show shipped by land, sea or air to their next destination. Since 1984, Cirque du Soleil’s touring shows have stopped in over 200 cities the world over. One of the company’s

1 A municipality with a population of 13,000 in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, Canada.

2 We will use the abbreviated form “Cirque” when referring to Cirque du Soleil.

greatest strengths lies in the speed with which entire shows are transferred from one site to another.

Logistics at Cirque: On Your Mark. Get Set. Set Up, Tear Down! ... Then Set Up Again!

A wide

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