Monthly Archives: July 2013

A deeper Jacksonville port to accommodate larger ships through the Panama Canal

An article in the New York Times (July 27, 2013) describes a move to increase the depth of the Jacksonville port from 40 to 47 inches, through dredging, to accommodate the larger ships that will be passing through the Panama … Continue reading

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

Shipping HP computers by rail from China to the Netherlands

An article in the New York Times (July 21, 2013) describes Hewlett Packard’s shipment of computers, produced in Chongqing to Oostrum in the Netherlands. The trip takes 21 days, compared to 5 weeks by sea, and is cheaper than air … Continue reading

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Will shuffling aluminum ingots between warehouses increase commodity prices ?

An article in the New York Times (July 21, 2013) claims that commodity traders, who have purchased large stocks of aluminum ingots, but are required to ship out from warehouses at a rate of 3,000 tons. But these traders are … Continue reading

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Inconsistent responses across governments to the Dreamliner beacon fire

An article in the New York Times (July 20, 2013) describes inconsistencies between the British aerospace authority’s proposal to request that beacon batteries be disabled vs the US FAA’s plan to inspect these batteries vs the Japanese authorities plans to … Continue reading

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Will the US govt proposal to the Bangladesh govt improve garment factory conditions

An article in the New York Times (July 20, 2013) describes a proposal by the US govt to Bangladesh for the country to regain its suspended trade privileges with the US. The plan includes creation of a public database of … Continue reading

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tracking retail customer movements using their cell phones – a prerogative or intrusive ?

An article in the New York Times (July 14, 2013) describes an experiment at Nordstrom, after informaring customers, that tracked customers “using the wi-fi signals from their smartphones”. But the cell phones unique signature also permits tracking customer repeat trips, … Continue reading

Posted in Ecommerce, Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Paying Auditors to audit pollution compliance inspections

An article in the Wall Street Journal (July 18, 2013) describes an experiment in Gujarat, India, to increase the correctness of the pollution readings by auditors. In the past, most pollution audits claimed compliance. But two experiments were conducted – … Continue reading

Posted in Global Contexts, Service Operations, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The US alliance vs the European accord’s plans for Bangladesh garment factories

An article in the New York Times (July 14,2013) describes plans by an alliance of the US retailers to offer shared inspection reports of over 500 factories in Bangladesh, loans from a pool of $100 million to factory owners to … Continue reading

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

On to the next legal round regarding Apple’s role in ebook pricing

An article in the New York Times (July 10,2013) describes the judge’s ruling that Apple coordinated with competing publishers to increase ebook prices. Apple is said to have offered publishers an agency pricing scheme by which it would be paid … Continue reading

Posted in Ecommerce, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Thai mountain of rice inventory and global supply chain worries

An article in the Financial Times (July 18, 2013) describes the impact of the 50% price premium offered by the Thai government to rice farmers that last few years, leading to a drop in Thai rice exports and a surge … Continue reading

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment