Monthly Archives: September 2016

Will distributed satellite facilities and automation maintain holiday hiring as volumes grow at FedEx and UPS ?

Posted on September 30, 2016 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (Sept 30, 2016) titled “FedEx, UPS Gear Up for Holiday Season With More Sorting Hubs, Technology” describes moves by FedEx and UPS to create satellite facilities and mobile delivery centers respectively, and increase … Continue reading →

Posted in consumer, Cost, delivery, Ecommerce, logistics, Operations Management, ordering, Prices, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues, technology, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Understanding the reasons for GM’s shift of work from Mexico to Canada

Posted on September 30, 2016 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (September 20, 2016)  titled “G.M. Job Shift From Mexico Tests a Trump Premise”, describes a decision by General Motors to shift work from an automobile engine plant in Mexico to Canada and shutting … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, competitiveness, consumer, Global Contexts, Made in USA, manufacturer, Operations Management | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Will water to boost engine performance be adopted by consumers ?

Posted on September 30, 2016 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (September 29, 2016) titled “How do you make turbo engines more efficient, Just Add Water”, describes a technology by Bosch that sprays water on cylinders to cool combustion temperatures and increase engine efficiency … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, consumer, Cost, logistics, manufacturer, Service Operations, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Construction site drones and 15% material savings

Posted on September 30, 2016 by aviyer2010

An article in Fortune magazine (September 15, 2016) titled “A Drone for every Job Site”, claims that 15% of materials delivered to construction sires end up in landfills because schedules are not synchronized or purchasing issues. Thus, with  $1.13 trillion … Continue reading →

Posted in Cost, delivery, logistics, Operations Management, technology | Tagged , , , | 99 Comments

How treating colds in China impacted the donkey supply chain in Africa

Posted on September 30, 2016 by aviyer2010

An article in CNN.com (September 29, 2016) available at http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/29/africa/china-african-donkeys/index.html describes a Chinese remedy, ejiao, used to treat colds and insomnia, that uses donkey gelatin. With a fall in the donkey population in China from 11 million to 6 million … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, competitiveness, consumer, Cost, delivery, disruption, Global Contexts, mgmt5612018, ordering, Prices | Tagged | 57 Comments

VW variety and associated costs

Posted on September 17, 2016 by aviyer2010

An article in the Financial Times (November 20, 2015) titled “Volkswagen (VW) choked by cost and complexity”, claims the company has 117 different steering wheels for the Volkswagen Golf. Plans are afoot to decrease that to 43, with efficiency programs … Continue reading →

Posted in manufacturer, Supply Chain Issues, Uncategorized, Variety, vehicles | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Ecommerce and time to market

Posted on September 17, 2016 by aviyer2010

An article in the Financial Times,  (November 20 2015) titled “Ecommerce offers a cheaper and faster way to market”, describes the growth of BAT i.e., Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, in China. With Alibaba selling $14.3 billion worth of goods on … Continue reading →

Posted in consumer, Cost, delivery, Ecommerce, Global Contexts, Service Operations, ship, Supply Chain Issues, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Amazon’s logistics foray and UPS relationship

Posted on September 17, 2016 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (December 23,2015) titled “Amazon Seeks to Ease Ties with UPS” describes the close relationship between the two companies evolving into one where Amazon is attempting to control it’s logistics costs, which increased from … Continue reading →

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

Will information sharing regarding subsea oilwell bolt failures improve performance?

Posted on September 17, 2016 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal  (July 9, 2016) titled “New Worries over Subsea Oil Wells” describes bolt failure costs for connector units in subsea wells. The bolts were supplied by GE, Schlumberger and National Oilwell, all competitors in … Continue reading →

Posted in disruption, emb2021, product, Service Operations, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 19 Comments

Calculating penalties for component design IP infringement

Posted on September 17, 2016 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal  (August, 4 2016) titled “Apple wins famed designer support in battle vs Samsung” describes the challenge of determining penalties for Samsung ‘ s violation of  Apple’s patents for display of apps and the … Continue reading →

Posted in intellectual property, Liability, product, technology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment