Monthly Archives: January 2017

Smartphone ordering and long lines at Starbucks

Posted on January 27, 2017 by aviyer2010

An article in CNN Money (http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/27/investing/starbucks-long-lines-mobile-ordering-earnings/index.html) describes customer adoption of the Starbucks app to order and pay, but the consequent long wait to get their drinks.  The company expects over 30% of the orders at stores to move to mobile … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, Ecommerce, fairness, Operations Management, ordering, queue, Service Operations, Starbucks, technology, Uncategorized | Tagged | 20 Comments

The costs and benefits of drop shipping to customers

Posted on January 27, 2017 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (January 26, 2017) titled “Drop Shipping set to go mainstream as more retailers get on board” describes retailers use of shipping directly from suppliers to customers as a way to increase variety offered … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, consumer, Cost, delivery, Ecommerce, Operations Management, ordering, supplier, Supply Chain Issues | Leave a comment

Amazon’s patent for flying warehouses and delivery drones

Posted on January 24, 2017 by aviyer2010

An article in techcrunch.com (https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/28/amazon-patents-show-flying-warehouses-that-send-delivery-drones-to-your-door/) describes a patent filed by Amazon that describes a floating warehouse that can deliver product to customers via drones. By parking the warehouse close to large gatherings (such as sporting events) the patent claims quickly … Continue reading →

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

Sensors in grocery stores and customer benefit

Posted on January 24, 2017 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (January 20,2017) titled “Kroger tests sensors, analytics in interactive grocery shelves” describes Kroger, the US grocery chain, deploying sensors that detect mobile devices and, through LCD screens on aisles, interact with customers’ shopping … Continue reading →

Posted in consumer, Cost, Ecommerce, logistics, loyalty, mgmt5612018, Operations Management, product, technology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 159 Comments

What innovation lessons can one learn from LEGO ?

Posted on January 23, 2017 by aviyer2010

The book “Brick by Brick:How LEGO rewrote the rules of innovation and conquered the global toy industry”  by David Robertson describes the rebirth of LEGO and strategic choices made along the way. The book lists ideas such as a) linking … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, competitiveness, consumer, Cost, disruption, Innovation, logistics, Operations Management, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Is the quality vs availability tradeoff for Hatchimals a good idea ?

Posted on January 7, 2017 by aviyer2010

As previously discussed in this blog, Hatchimals have been crowned the hit toy for the 2016 Holiday season. But a recent article in Fortune (December 28, 2016) titled “Meet the Hatchimals that Ruined Christmas (For some kids, anyway) describes toys … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, Cost, delivery, logistics, manufacturer, Supply Chain Issues, toy | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment