Monthly Archives: March 2011

Recycled boxes, export growth and global supply chain impact

Posted on March 30, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (March 30, 2011) describes exports of recycled cardboard boxes from the US to China.  With the increased use of online shopping – US consumers have a growing number of such boxes, with 15 % of … Continue reading →

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iPod battery supply constrained by a polymer producer

Posted on March 29, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (March 29, 2011) traces supply worries for the lithium ion batteries used in the iPod to a polymer manufacturer, Kureha. The company produces PVDF – polyvinylidene flouride, a polymer that is flexible and thus ideal … Continue reading →

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Managing food prices by Adjusting package sizes

Posted on March 29, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (March 29, 2011) describes package size adjustment as an approach to maintain prices at the grocery store.  Examples cited include whole wheat pasta packs with 13.25 ounces instead of the usual 16 ounces, baby wipes … Continue reading →

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Panic Buying or redesign to avoid potential Japan earthquake related supply disruptions

Posted on March 29, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (March 28, 2011) describes actions being taken by manufacturers to prevent supply disruptions of their product.  Hollywood film equipment suppliers are scouring the world to build up stocks of tape, and also suggesting digital options.  … Continue reading →

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Paint additive shortage from Japanese supplier impacts car colors

Posted on March 27, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (March 26, 2011) describes a shortage of an additive, Xirallic, made of coated glass flakes, and by a Merck plant in Japan.  This additive is shipped to paint makers in Germany and then to car … Continue reading →

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Japanese Tiers 2 and 3 supplier impact of the tsunami

Posted on March 26, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal story (March 26, 2011) describes production shortages at Renesas Electronics, a divison of NEC, and a supplier of chips to intermediates like Hitachi , Bosch and Siemens, who in turn create auto components to control engines, … Continue reading →

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Cargo Ships and containers impact of Japan earthquake and tsunami

Posted on March 26, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (March 26, 2011) describes decisions made by cargo ships, ship owners of leased ships and container owners to avoid routes and ports that might result in exposure to radioactivity.  Ships that test positive for radioactive … Continue reading →

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Airflow Sensor shortage from Japanese supplier and auto OEM impact

Posted on March 25, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (March 24, 2011) describes the supply chain impact of part shortages from a Japanese company, Hitachi Automotive, that has a 60 % world market share of mass airflow sensors that measure airflow to car engines. … Continue reading →

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Auto Supply Chain Parts Shortages and OEM Impacts

Posted on March 24, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (March 22, 2011) describes parts shortages across the auto supply chain for chips, sensors, forged parts etc. In some cases, past auto demand order drops have resulted in supplier capacity being diverted (for chips) from … Continue reading →

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Efficient Bagging and Supervalu competitiveness

Posted on March 24, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (March 22, 2011) describes rules at Supervalu to increase bagging efficiency and thus decrease the more than 1.5 billion plastic and paper bags used across stores. The articles reports that a projected 5 % savings … Continue reading →

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