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How To Write A Change Management Case Study

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  • Identify the change initiative
  • Describe the change management process
  • Analyze the impact of the change initiative
  • Provide recommendations for future change initiatives

Understand the Purpose of a Change Management Case Study

Identify the change initiative, describe the change management process, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, highlight the key challenges and obstacles, analyze the impact of the change initiative, showcase best practices and lessons learned, provide recommendations for future change initiatives, use clear and concise language, include relevant visual aids and examples, emphasize the importance of communication and collaboration, can a change management case study help in developing a change management plan.

Yes, a change management case study can absolutely help in developing a change management plan . By analyzing real-life examples of successful (or unsuccessful) change management initiatives, businesses can learn valuable lessons and apply best practices to their own processes of developing a change management plan.

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Change Management Case Study Examples: Lessons from Industry Giants

Explore some transformative journeys with efficient Change Management Case Study examples. Delve into case studies from Coca-Cola, Heinz, Intuit, and many more. Dive in to unearth the strategic wisdom and pivotal lessons gleaned from the experiences of these titans in the industry. Read to learn about and grasp the Change Management art!

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In the fast-paced world of business, staying ahead means being able to adapt. Have you ever wondered how some brands manage to thrive despite huge challenges? This blog dives into a collection of Change Management Case Studies, sharing wisdom from top companies that have faced and conquered adversity through effective Change Management Activities. These aren’t just stories; they’re success strategies.

Each Change Management Case Study reveals the smart choices and creative fixes that helped companies navigate rough waters. How did they turn crises into chances to grow? What can we take away from their successes and mistakes? Keep reading to discover these inspiring stories and learn how they can reshape your approach to change in your own business. 

Table of Contents  

1) What is Change Management in Business? 

2) Top Examples of Case Studies on Change Management 

    a) Coca-Cola 

    b) Adobe 

    c) Heinz  

    d) Intuit  

    e) Kodak 

    f) Barclays Bank 

3) Conclusion

What is Change Management in Business?  

Change management in business refers to the structured process of planning, implementing, and managing changes within an organisation. It involves anticipating, navigating, and adapting to shifts in strategy, technology, processes, or culture to achieve desired outcomes and sustain competitiveness.  

Effective Change Management entails identifying the need for change, engaging stakeholders, communicating effectively, and mitigating resistance to ensure smooth transitions. By embracing Change Management principles and utilizing change management tools , businesses can enhance agility, resilience, and innovation, driving growth and success in dynamic environments.

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Top Examples of Case Studies on Change Management  

Let's explore some transformative journeys of industry leaders through compelling case studies on Change Management: 

1) Coca-Cola  

Coca-Cola, the beverage titan, acknowledged the necessity to evolve with consumer tastes, market shifts, and regulatory changes. The rise of health-conscious consumers prompted Coca-Cola to revamp its offerings and business approach. The company’s proactive Change Management centred on innovation and diversification, leading to the launch of healthier options like Coca-Cola Zero Sugar.  

Coca-Cola Zero Sugar 

Strategic alliances and acquisitions broadened Coca-Cola’s market reach and variety. Notably, Coca-Cola introduced eco-friendly packaging like the PlantBottle and championed sustainability in its marketing, bolstering its brand image. 

Acquire the expertise to facilitate smooth changes and propel your success forward – join our Change Management Practitioner Course now!  

2) Adobe  

Adobe, with its global workforce and significant revenue, faced a shift due to technological advancements and competitive pressures. In 2011, Adobe transitioned from physical software sales to cloud-based services, offering free downloads or subscriptions.  

This shift necessitated a transformation in Adobe’s HR practices, moving from traditional roles to a more human-centric approach, aligning with the company’s innovative and millennial-driven culture. 

Discover the Impact of Change Management Salaries on Career Growth and Organizational Success!

3) Heinz 

Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital’s acquisition of Heinz led to immediate, sweeping changes. The new management implemented cost-cutting measures and altered executive perks.  

Products by Heinz

Additionally, it introduced a more insular leadership style, contrasting with 3G’s young, mobile, and bonus-driven executive team. 

Commence on a journey of transformative leadership and achieve measurable outcomes by joining our Change Management Foundation Course today!  

4) Intuit  

Steve Bennett’s leadership at Intuit marked a significant shift. Adopting the McKinsey 7S Model, he restructured the organisation to enhance decision-making, align rewards with strategy, and foster a performance-driven culture. His changes resulted in a notable increase in operating profits. 

Discover the Best Change Management Books ! Read our top picks and transform your organization today!

5) Kodak  

Kodak, the pioneer of the first digital and megapixel cameras in 1975 and 1986, faced bankruptcy in 2012. Initially, digital technology was costly and had subpar image quality, leading Kodak to predict a decade before it threatened their traditional business. Despite this accurate forecast, Kodak focused on enhancing film quality rather than digital innovation.  

Kodak Megapixel Cameras

Dominating the market in 1976 and peaking with £12,52,16 billion in sales in 1999, Kodak’s reluctance to adopt new technology led to a decline, with revenues falling to £4,85,11,90 billion in 2011.  

Get ready for your interview with our top Change Management Interview Questions .

Fujifilm Camera 

In contrast, Fuji, Kodak’s competitor, embraced digital transformation and diversified into new ventures. 

Empower your team to manage change effectively through our Managing Change With Agile Methodology Training – sign up now!  

6) Barclays Bank  

The financial sector, particularly hit by the 2008 mortgage crisis, saw Barclays Capital aiming for global leadership under Bob Diamond. However, the London Inter-bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) scandal led to fines and resignations, prompting a strategic overhaul by new CEO Antony Jenkins in 2012.  

Changes included rebranding, refocusing on core markets, altering the business model away from high-risk lending, fostering a customer-centric culture, downsizing, and embracing technology for efficiency. These reforms aimed to strengthen Barclays, improve shareholder returns, and restore trust. 

Dive into the detailed Case Study on Change Management

Conclusion  

The discussed Change Management Case Study examples serve as a testament to the transformative power of adept Change Management. Let these insights from industry leaders motivate and direct you as you navigate your organisation towards a path of continuous innovation and enduring prosperity. 

Enhance your team’s ability to manage uncertainty and achieve impactful results – sign up for our comprehensive Risk Management For Change Training now!  

Frequently Asked Questions

The five key elements of Change Management typically include communication, leadership, stakeholder engagement, training and development, and measurement and evaluation. These elements form the foundation for successfully navigating organisational change and ensuring its effectiveness. 

The seven steps of Change Management involve identifying the need for change, developing a Change Management plan, communicating the change vision, empowering employees, implementing change initiatives, celebrating milestones, and sustaining change through ongoing evaluation and adaptation. 

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Alongside our diverse Online Course Catalogue, encompassing 17 major categories, we go the extra mile by providing a plethora of free educational Online Resources like News updates, Blogs , videos, webinars, and interview questions. Tailoring learning experiences further, professionals can maximise value with customisable Course Bundles of TKA .

The Knowledge Academy’s Knowledge Pass , a prepaid voucher, adds another layer of flexibility, allowing course bookings over a 12-month period. Join us on a journey where education knows no bounds.  

The Knowledge Academy offers various Change Management Courses , including the Change Management Practitioner Course, Change Management Foundation Training, and Risk Management for Change Training. These courses cater to different skill levels, providing comprehensive insights into Change Management Metrics .   

Our Project Management Blogs cover a range of topics related to Change Management, offering valuable resources, best practices, and industry insights. Whether you are a beginner or looking to advance your Project Management skills, The Knowledge Academy's diverse courses and informative blogs have got you covered.  

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Explore the Levels of Change Management

Example Business Case for Enterprise Change Management

how to write a change management case study

Tim Creasey

Updated: August 5, 2024

Published: November 11, 2021

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This sample business case outline can help your present the clear rationale and approach for building organizational change management capability—what we call ECM or enterprise change management. Although the outline is not exhaustive, it provides a starting point and format you can customize and use when you present your need for organizational change management capability to senior leaders.

The Business Case for Enterprise Change Management (ECM)

Executive summary.

In the coming years, no core competency will be more important than the ability to effectively implement change. With increasing internal and external pressures, our organization will only undertake more projects and initiatives. Our ability to achieve expected benefits and outcomes will be tied directly to how effectively we engage employees in these upcoming changes, as return on investment depends on employee adoption and usage. By building an organizational change management capability with the ECM Project, we will realize greater return on the initiatives we launch and position ourselves for success in the present and the future.

Situational assessment and problem statement

The time to build an organizational capability in change management is now. In upcoming years, we will face more change than ever before. We are already suffering the consequences of change saturation, and a change management capability can help increase our capacity to handle new change. Industry data suggests that 70% of change initiatives fail to deliver. One key source of this failure is that we do not pay adequate attention to employee adoption and usage. We have experienced the costs of not managing change and cannot afford to put at risk the changes we are about to embark upon.

Additionally, data suggests that there is a direct correlation between project success rates and effective change management. Projects with excellent change management are seven times more likely to meet objectives than those with poor change management (see below), and they are more likely to be completed on time and on budget as well. As an organization that values our employees and considers them one of our most important assets, it is paramount that we embed an employee focus in our change efforts.

Correlation With Meeting Objectives_BPCM12e_2023

Our ability as an organization to realize benefits and create value through change depends on our internal change management capabilities.

Project description

The project is called Enterprise Change Management (ECM). The project entails understanding how change is managed today (our current state), defining what a change capability will look like (our future state) and developing a plan to embed change management and grow change management competencies (our transition state).

The project scope is twofold:

  • Increase the application and use of change management on projects and initiatives
  • Build individual change leadership competencies throughout the organization (from the CEO to front-line employees)

The objective of project ECM is to improve our organizational maturity in change management, increase our change capability, and improve the success rates of our projects and initiatives.

Solution description

The solution for Project ECM will involve two work streams: a technical side solution for institutionalizing and embedding change management and a people side solution for building the necessary buy-in and commitment to change management across the organization. These two work streams are necessary to ensure that we fully realize a change management capability. On the technical side, the Prosci ECM Strategy Map will guide the development of specific tactics that address:

ECM_Strategy_Map_-_web

  • Project application of change management that is intentional, triggered and structured
  • Skill development in change management with a robust curriculum for all levels of the organization
  • Structure supporting change management including a Change Management Office and change management job roles
  • Process integration into our existing project management methodology and improvement disciplines (including our Continuous Process Improvement, Business Process Management, Lean, Six Sigma and Strategic Planning disciplines)

On the people side, we will:

  • Engage employees in change management to ensure that the approach is embraced, adopted and used
  • We will demonstrate why change management is needed on our projects, what is at risk if we do not manage change, and why this capability is critical right now
  • Show the organizational and individual benefits of becoming more adept at change

Cost-benefit analysis

The cost components of Project ECM include:

  • Procuring a Prosci site license that grants access to integrate and customize the Prosci methodology, research and toolset
  • Developing internal trainers through the Prosci   Train-the-Trainer Program
  • Delivering change management training for all levels in the organization
  • Creating job aids and continuing education opportunities
  • Assigning staff to the Change Management Office and to change management job roles
  • Allocating budget and resources for change management on each project and initiative.

While the cost figure may seem large at first glance, it is quite small when compared to the overall capital and budget being invested in projects and initiatives; a Prosci site license equates to a rounding error on our largest project.

The benefit of building the change capability is first and foremost the achievement of expected results and outcomes of the capital and budget being invested in projects and initiatives, increasing likelihood of success six-fold. In addition, the organizational change management capability can:

  • Increase change capacity
  • Reduce change saturation
  • Improve sustainment of change impacts
  • Serve as a competitive differentiator

Change Done Right: Join 50,000+ Prosci Insiders Receive expert guidance and practical strategies for effective change management. Subscribe for success.

Implementation timeline

Project ECM will take place in three phases:

Phase 1: Select pilot projects and procure change management site license

We will strategically select specific pilot projects. These projects will have fully resourced and budgeted change management, including training for the project teams and impacted leaders, managers and supervisors. Additionally, we will begin work to develop internal trainers and to procure the necessary Prosci site license to fully integrate change management into the project management methodology and other improvement disciplines.

Phase 2: Increase change management training and integration

We will increase the number of projects applying change management, build out a robust curriculum so that change leadership becomes a competency of all members of the organization (even weaving change management concepts into existing leadership development programs), and integrate change management into the project management methodology and other improvement disciplines. In addition, we will create and charter a Change Management Office.

Phase 3: Launch change management office and deliver organizational-wide training

During Phase 3, we will extend change management to all projects and initiatives and will include change management in the project launch and funding processes. The Change Management Office will be fully functional and will support the application of change management and the building of individual change management competencies. We will also deliver training to all employees, along with continuous education opportunities, and we will add change leadership to the performance management system.

A specific timeline with dates will be built around the three phases.

Critical assumptions and risk assessment

The primary critical assumption is that this effort will have the necessary and sufficient support by senior leaders. The effort will not be successful if change management is seen as optional. The effort must have senior leaders demonstrating their commitment to building an organizational capability. This support must be active, visible and sustained for the effort to gain the necessary traction and momentum.

A primary risk to the effort would be attempting to create an organizational capability simply through training. It is necessary but not sufficient to train members of the organization in change management. However, change management must also be attached to projects, and its impact must be made visible. It must become commonplace and viewed as a "must have" rather than a "nice to have." To achieve this, we must integrate change management in how projects are governed, including funding decisions, progress reviews, measurements, and resourcing and budgeting exercises. Project leaders must know that their sponsors expect change management on each initiative they fund.

Conclusions and recommendations

Building an organizational capability in change management is not free, will not happen overnight, and will take energy and commitment. However, with the velocity of change and the importance of realizing expected benefits from the numerous projects and initiatives our organization is undertaking, it is an essential move that we must make. To begin, we suggest formally chartering Project Enterprise Change Management, assigning an Enterprise Change Management lead, and creating a team or task force to begin developing the solutions and plans that will increase our adaptability, agility and change capability. 

Business-case-for-enterprise-change-management

Tim Creasey is Prosci’s Chief Innovation Officer and a globally recognized leader in Change Management. Their work forms the basis of the world's largest body of knowledge on managing the people side of change to deliver organizational results.

See all posts from Tim Creasey

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Transformational change: Theory and practice

A look at how transformational change themes apply in practice, with case studies providing practical examples

Explores how the themes on transformational change apply in practice

Our report,  Landing transformational change: Closing the gap between theory and practice  explores how the themes identified in earlier research apply in practice. Case studies from four organisations provide practical examples of how organisations have approached transformational change.

The report also includes recommendations that HR, OD and L&D professionals should consider for their organisations and their own skill set, if they are to be successful expert initiators and facilitators of transformational change.

Whilst these findings and case studies are UK-based, the broader trends and implications should be of interest wherever you are based.

Download the report and individual case studies below

Landing transformational change

This earlier report covers some of the thinking and innovative ideas in the field of change management that can help to land transformational change. Drawing on a comprehensive literature review on change management the report develops ten themes on transformational change practice to provide a platform of knowledge on designing, managing and embedding change essential for OD, L&D and HR professionals.

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Change Management: Results With and Without. A Case Study.

22 February 2022 Same change, same time, two different approaches, widely different outcomes. Article written by Nelly Tire and Vincent Piedboeuf

Prosci Europe's case studies offer practical insights for organisations wishing to make changes that stick.

Executive Summary

Why should I read? To get a real-life example of what can happen without a structured approach to managing the change. We uncover the difference in outcome between two organisations seeking to deploy the same technological solution to a recurrent and common issue in the personal care service sector.

Highlights:

  • In one case, the implementation phase proved much longer than expected. Only half of the staff was or stayed on board. The gulf between the target set and the number of people proficiently using the change kept widening every day.
  • The second case shows adoption and utilisation rates close to 88%. A clear CM plan with actionable strategies delivered expected results on time.
  • For a complete overview of what a successful CM plan looks like, please see Keys to application. 

Background 

Year – 2021.

Sector – Personal Care Services.

Who – Two non-profit organisations offering social services such as childcare, home nursing, special assistance to vulnerable people, heavy-duty housework, etc.

What – In a nutshell, outdated paper-based management and monitoring systems generate errors, poor responsiveness, and late payments while also causing the organisations and the sector to miss out on new opportunities. The new "Mobile Teleprocessing System" attempts to leverage technology to optimise the provision of existing and future services.

Type of change – See below. 

The challenge (why the change?)

Baseline. Managing and controlling provided services happens through a two-fold mechanism of phone check-in used by staff members in the home of users (elderly, physically- challenged people, etc.) and paper-form shift sheets subsequently signed by users (date of the month, number of hours).

Internal reasons to change. Both entities sought to provide practical solutions to recurrent problems reported by frontline employees/account services. Climbing on the train of digitisation was also expected to raise the sector's attractiveness. More specifically, both associations faced the following issues:

  • The excessive shift sheet volume led to repeated data processing and validation delays, pushing back invoicing and wage payments to 15 days the following month.
  • Frontline employees (caretakers) found it challenging to check-in using the user's phone landline .
  • There were problems managing shift sheets/forms , sometimes signed by disabled or vulnerable people (users), by staff members themselves, when not simply lost.

External reasons to change.   The availability of game-changing technological solutions, which could also respond to concerns related to funding, turned the change into a pressing issue. The mix of specific requirements and opportunities included:

  • system loopholes – the phone clocking in/out mechanism could only be used for some services.
  • technological developments and new apps designed to smooth out the problems of bureaucracy and speed up data exchange.
  • requests from funders to better control the use of resources allocated to the associations and allow real-time communication with home care services. 

The solution

This set of external and internal drivers led to "Mobile Teleprocessing" project. The overarching element of the action plan was the switch from the aforementioned "point system" (fixed phone system and shift sheets) to the use of a particular app running on a professional smartphone and connected in real-time with the all-in-one software for planning/accountancy . This advanced solution could also help manage instant alerts in case of a change in the internal working schedule. Sending off invoices would be just one click away. Other apps responding to specific health and care issues were also under consideration. 

Expected benefits ranged from shortening processing times and reducing errors when logging data to improving communication with frontline employees and funders. 

Keys to application – 1st case

Highlight: The first organisation implemented the solution within one month, impacting 500 employees. The plan was based upon Prosci's best practices and ADKAR model for individual change. Here is an overview of the main items:

a. Sponsorship, the face of change.  

Active and visible sponsorship throughout the whole duration of the project is the number-one success factor of any change initiative. In this case, the Director-General was designated as the primary sponsor. Beyond its involvement in the early phases, he was provided with data fresh from the field to remind people of the rules and communicate results. 

b. Bringing in Change Management resources.

The association allocated resources to CM, setting up a dedicated team with a change practitioner and a network of change agents.

c. Evaluating impact.

The organisation identified the groups impacted by the change (frontline employees, team leaders, accounting services) to prepare targeted training sessions.

d. Creating Awareness and Desire.

Before moving any further along the change journey, the association communicated extensively around the project and the strategic reasons underpinning it. They proceeded to:

  • Convene and conduct a meeting to introduce the project and CM plan to team leaders and super-users.
  • Get executives and team leaders actively involved with CM and fully committed to the process.
  • Circulate a promotional film featuring the change and its rationale, along with footage of an employee using the new tool.
  • Disseminating information on the intranet to communicate with frontline staff (caretakers operating in users' homes)
  • Send mail communications to present the "Mobile Teleprocessing" project to users and employees.

e. Building Knowledge and Ability.

After completing the impact analysis and conducting preliminary campaigns to raise awareness and desire, the organisation started to prepare the people for the change. They did so by:

  • Delivering 21 training sessions to 500 collaborators
  • Choosing instructors among expert users
  • Designing high-quality training materials, with a strong focus on user-friendliness  (practical exercises, quizzes, appropriate evaluation forms, ….)
  • Systematically collecting and analysing feedback to improve materials
  • Creating FAQs on the intranet
  • Uploading Video tutorials on the association website
  • Developing memos for teams on specific topics
  • At the end of the project, team leaders took over the role of instructors for new employees entering the application.

f. Reinforcing.

To ensure long-lasting results and effective use of the phone and app, the association proceeded to:

  • Collect info on clocking in/out processes and the remaining volume of shift sheets.
  • Hold a special briefing on results, including a quick review/reminder of the rules (main sponsor).
  • Diffuse reminders on the intranet.
  • Issue warning letters to people tricking the system by logging incorrect data, holding multiple broken phones, or repeatedly losing them.

Keys to application – 2 nd case

Highlight : The size of the change was even more significant in the second case, impacting about 800 employees. The expected time for completion was one month and a half. But unlike its counterpart, this association did not implement any structured Change Management plan. Team leaders viewed the technical solution as an easy fix.

Items : Team leaders were tasked with demonstrating how the application worked, with the following consequences:

  • Employees complained that they received poor guidance and struggled to use the phone or the application.
  • Employees perceived the new tool as a "policing instrument."
  • The roll-out proved difficult, triggering resistance among staff and causing the training modules to be delivered late. 

Results and Takeaways

Clear differences in outcomes show the importance of adopting a structured approach to managing the change. The implementation lasted one month without any significant setback in the first case . Not only did this association meet the deadline. Adoption and utilisation rates after four months were close to 88% . In contrast , implementation suffered from major delays in the second case . While leaders had planned on a one-month and a half roll-out, deployment was only complete after six months. Moreover, adoption and utilisation rates proved grossly insufficient , with a more modest 50%.

220210_graph04-en.png

If all the above-described Change Management items account for what did go well in the first case, what went wrong in the second one?

A common mistake is to jump right into equipping the people without raising A wareness and creating D esire. This second case study clearly illustrates the consequences of not laying the foundations for the change. Omitting this part led to early resistances, crystallizing without any strategy or capacity to mitigate them. The new system was seen as a policing maneuver of sorts.

Furthermore, there was no attempt to create engaging training materials, leaving team leaders without a clear roadmap or tools to deliver K nowledge. Frontline employees lamented the lack of information or guidance. Issues with the phone connection in some rural regions also meant that employees were unable ( A bility) to use the solution. The new system, first seen as a quick fix, created distrust, and with nothing being done, the snowball effect sat in.

Change cannot be left to chance.

Check out our resources to learn more about Change Management and stay updated!

PROSCI Methodology in action

PROSCI's impact analysis provides a very accurate overview of the kind of change involved. The following "radar graphs" identify how the project "Mobile Teleprocessing" affects the three main target groups: Area Managers, Domestic Helpers, and Accounting Services. Most dimensions are self-explanatory [1] , but let's point out that processes , systems , tools, and critical behaviours – heavily emphasised in this case study – refer to:

  • the "action steps to achieve a defined outcome" ( processes ), or how the provision of care services will be managed and monitored from this point on.
  • the "combination of people and automated application" necessary to meet a set of goals ( systems ), in this case, all stakeholders and what is expected from them in terms of promoting, showcasing, and or being able to use the new "Mobile Teleprocessing" system.
  • "an item used for a specific purpose" ( tools ), that is, a professional phone and related app to clock out, report, or log other relevant information.
  • "a specific response to a stimulus" ( critical behaviours ), in this example, the consistent and proficient use of the professional phone and app.

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[1] PROSCI's change impact model offers a robust framework to define the change along 10 dimensions that may impact people involved.  These dimensions or areas typically include Processes (1), Systems (2), Tools (3), Professional Roles (4), Critical Behaviours (5), Mindset/Attitudes/Belief (6), Reporting Structure (7), Performance Review (8), Compensation (9), Location (10). To learn more: https://www.prosci.com/blog/defining-change-impact

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After having managed a large number of changes in a wide range of business sectors, Vincent Piedboeuf  dedicates his time helping managers to optimise their return on investment through effective integration of the people side in their change projects. He is one of the most active Change Management instructors and certifies hundreds of people in Prosci methodology every year.

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Nelly Tire and Vincent Piedboeuf

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