Monthly Archives: January 2013

Workshare programs to retain skilled workers during downturns and impact

Posted on January 27, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (January 28, 2013) describes the impact of work share programs that enable access to Federal funds to support a fraction (70 % or so) of a worker’s wages when the employee works at least 40 % … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations | Tagged Capacity, Cost, manufacturing, Supply Chain, Survival, workshare | Leave a comment

Quicksourcing – using manufacturing in Tijuana to support design in the US

Posted on January 27, 2013 by aviyer2010

An opinion piece in the New York Times (January 26,2013) by Chris Anderson describes his company, 3D Robotics, that has a factory in San Diego and another in Juarez, 20 minutes away but across the border in Mexico. He describes … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged China, Cost, Global, Imports, Low Margins, manufacturing, Mexico, quicksourcing, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

The overturning of E.P.A.’s mandate for biofuel use and associated questions

Posted on January 26, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (January 26, 2013) describes the overturning of a mandate by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding use of “liquids made from woody crops and wastes in car a truck fuels”. But the lack … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged Capacity, Cost, Environment, Legal, regulation, Risk, Sustainable | Leave a comment

“Earth’s Balance Sheet” discussion by Nestle

Posted on January 26, 2013 by aviyer2010

A discussion with Nestle’s Jose Lopez (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulB-ETDI2wA) focuses on the idea of the Earth’s balance sheet, a concept described by Solomon Darwin in (http://openinnovation.berkeley.edu/Solomon_Darwin_Balance_Sheet_Earth_Executive_Summary.pdf). The idea is to account for the assets that are removed from the earth and not … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged Cost, Earth's balance sheet, Environment, Global, manufacturing, Margins, Supply Chain, Sustainable | Leave a comment

Supply Chain Transparency for apparel by Bruno Pieters in honestby

Posted on January 24, 2013 by aviyer2010

The fashion apparel store (http://www.honestby.com) by Bruno Pieters promises to provide a full description of the supply chain associated with the garment including prices paid at each stage, material details etc. An example look at a 100% silk short sleeved … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Consumers, Cost, Global, manufacturing, Margins, Retail, Supply Chain | 2 Comments

Reclothing, Upcycling – the Schmidttakahashi way

Posted on January 24, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the Brander (http://www.thebrander.com/article.php?o=391) describes the Berlin based Schmidttakahashi manufacturer of clothing that creates new apparel from used apparel. The donor of the clothing keeps part of the numbered label and can track the garment’s evolution downstream. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Apparel, Consumers, Cost, Environment, Global, recycling, stories, Supply Chain, Sustainable | Leave a comment

The promise for US gas exports in the future and current plans – a dream or a likely outcome

Posted on January 21, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (January 4, 2013) describes worries that the promise of US natural gas exports may falter. Currently, US natural gas prices are reported to be $3.30 per thousand cubic feet, while prices in Asia … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged Capacity, Cost, exports, Global, Risk, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

WalMart’s plans to increase sourcing in the US by $50 billion over 10 years

Posted on January 21, 2013 by aviyer2010

A news release (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/walmart-to-boost-sourcing-of-us-products-by-50-billion-over-the-next-10-years-186934711.html) describes plans by WalMart to increase US sourcing by $10 billion over 10 years. The steps include longer term purchase agreements for domestic sourcing stability, hosting a manufacturing summit to encourage stakeholders to coordinate including government … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged China, Collaboration, Cost, Global, manufacturing, river transport, Supply Chain, Sustainable | Leave a comment

Nokia’s sharing of 3-D print files for cellphone cases and the future

Posted on January 20, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the BBC website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21084430 describes plans by Nokia to make 3-D print files available to customers so they can print cases on demand on 3-D printers. The ease of access to customizable cases thus lowers the customer’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged competition, Consumers, Cost, Global, manufacturing, Margins, Outsourcing, Service, Supply Chain | 1 Comment

Using the new Silk Road for trade with China’s interior plants

Posted on January 20, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (December 20, 2012) describes plans by Hewlett-Packard to ship notebook computers by rail to Europe – the new Silk railroad, at 1/3 the cost of air transit, double the cost of shipment by sea, but taking … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Cost, Global, manufacturing, rail, Silk Road, Supply Chain, transport, Water | Leave a comment