Monthly Archives: September 2011

Internet productivity and future employment across supply chains

An article in the International Herald Tribune (Sept 24, 2011) describes a presentation by Yuri Milner, a Russian investor in Facebook and Zynga.  He describes internet based companies generating revenues of $ 100 million per employee compared to 10 to … Continue reading

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Marvin Windows and the no layoff decision

An article in the New York Times (Sept 24, 2011) describes the”no layoff” strategy used by privately held Marvin Windows of Warroad, MN.  To reduce costs, employees saw cuts in perks like tuition reimbursement, overtime, salary cuts of 5 % … Continue reading

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Print to order by HarperCollins and small bookstore competitiveness

An article in the Wall Street Journal (Sept 23, 2011) describes the impact of a decision by the publisher HarperCollins to make 5,000 paperbacks available through OnDemand Books LLC Espresso print Machine. The small printer enables a book to be … Continue reading

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Panama Canal Expansion and US Trade and Domestic port Impact

A New York Times article (August 16, 2011) describes the construction in the Panama Canal, scheduled to be completed by 2014, that will permit ships that are 25 % longer and 50 % wider to pass through while relieving the … Continue reading

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Using customer financing of prototype designs to cover manufacturing costs

A New York Times article (Sept 23, 2011) describes Kickstarter – a crowdsourcing website model to fund designs.  Designs are proposed along with a fundraising goal with an “all or nothing” model – if the minimum is not met, no … Continue reading

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College apparel and provider sourcing strategies

A New York Times article (Sept 23, 2011) describes frustration expressed by student groups at Ohio State and University of Southern California because contracts for manufacturing their school apparel was granted to a unit of the Dallas Cowboys that has … Continue reading

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Postponing Customization of the Prius to the NJ port

An article in the New York Times (Sept 23, 2011) describes customization of the Toyota Prius, manufactured in Japan, at the Newark port. Cars are tailored to customer requirements such bluetooth, accessories, quality touchup, satellite radios, alloy wheels etc.  This … Continue reading

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Financing sustainability driven retrofits and thus manufacturing growth

An article in the New York Times (Sept 19, 2011) describes a new consortium, including Lockheed Martin and Barclays bank, that will finance retrofits of buildings to decrease energy costs, cutting energy use and utility bills by 33 %.  Building … Continue reading

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Airbus and Boeing long term airplane demand forecasts

An article in the New York Times (September 19, 2011)  states that Airbus predicts that a demand for 27,800 airplanes by 2030 with a potential revenue impact of $ 3.5 trillion and an implied air traffic growth rate of 4.8 … Continue reading

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The efficiency benefit of eliminating van keys at UPS

A Wall Street Journal article (Sept 26, 2011) describes the efficiency benefit to eliminating keys for vans – they are instead using a keyless system to start vehicles with a digital remote fob on the drivers belt.  UPS claims to … Continue reading

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