Author Archives: aviyer2010

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About aviyer2010

Dean and H. William Lichtenberger Chair in Management at the School of Management, University at Buffalo, State University of New York.

Brick and mortar stores using ecommerce tricks

Posted on August 12, 2015 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (August 12, 2015) titled “Web retailers Teach In-store Tricks” describes Macy’s display of one item each of swimsuits, with shoppers using an app to get their size to try on. Freeing up the … Continue reading →

Posted in competitiveness, consumer, Cost, product, retailers, Service Operations | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Should “digital instructions for physical products” be protected by US copyright laws

Posted on August 12, 2015 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (August 12, 2015″ titled “Digital Patent cases Faces Skeptics”, describes a current appeals court hearing involving ClearCorrect, a company that used digital data from Pakistan to manufacture custom orthodontic devices, thus violating the … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, intellectual property, Liability, manufacturer, mgmt5612019, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , | 62 Comments

Rising demand for organic foods and associated shortages

Posted on April 27, 2015 by aviyer2010

An article  in  the  Wall Street  Journal  (April 3, 2015) titled “Hunger for Organic Foods Stretches the Supply Chain” describes both the rising demand for organically grown products and  the cost of transitioning to organics. The interim period has rising … Continue reading →

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“The Zara Gap” article

Posted on April 27, 2015 by aviyer2010

In an article in the “Sourcing Journal” (April 24 2015) John Thorbeck describes research with Warren Hausman on the persistent gap in the performance between Zara and other apparel retailers. Their results suggest a profit increase of 28% through adoption … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 111 Comments

John Oliver’s plea to apparel firms about their supply chains

Posted on April 27, 2015 by aviyer2010

A recent program aired by John Oliver in “Last Week Tonight” (first aired Sunday, April 26 2015) on HBO focused on the link between the demand for inexpensive trendy clothes and associated supply chains. He focused on examples where products … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, consumer, Cost, Global Contexts, labeling, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , | 103 Comments

Amazon’s Dash button for consumers

Posted on March 31, 2015 by aviyer2010

An article in The Verge (March 31, 2015) titled “Amazon Has invented tiny plastic buttons that simplify ordering” describes Amazon’s partnership with 18 manufacturers to supply wifi enabled buttons that, when pressed, generate an order through Amazon Prime.  These buttons … Continue reading →

Posted in consumer, Cost, delivery, Ecommerce, loyalty, manufacturer, ordering, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Amazon’s patent for 3D printing and delivery

Posted on March 5, 2015 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (February 26, 2015) titled “When Drones Aren’t Enough, Amazon Envisions Trucks with 3D Printers” describes a recent patent awarded to Amazon that describes printing the required product for the customer rather than carrying it … Continue reading →

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USPS evolution as ecommerce delivery expectations increase

Posted on March 3, 2015 by aviyer2010

An article in EcommerceBytes (March 2, 2015  http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y15/m03/i02/s04 ) titled “Online Selling and the future of package delivery”, describes the possible role for the US Postal Service that already serves every postbox every day. It describes use of the US Postal … Continue reading →

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Will Roadie provide an alternative cost effective delivery model ?

Posted on February 25, 2015 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Technology Bubble? Ask Waffle House” (February 24, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/technology-bubble-ask-waffle-house-1424754062?cb=logged0.0031108735129237175) describes an alliance between Roadie (a technology startup) and Waffle House (a 24 hour restaurant). Under the agreement, Waffle House’s 1750 stores will … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, Collaboration, Cost, delivery, Ecommerce, Operations Management, retailers | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Understanding USAID’s supply chain based on available data

Posted on November 1, 2014 by aviyer2010

A paper to be presented by A Iyer and G Berenguer uses the dataset provided in section j9 in this site The data provides delivery costs and flow paths from suppliers to country locations by product, by path (direct from supplier or … Continue reading →

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