Author Archives: aviyer2010

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About aviyer2010

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The supply chain for songs

Posted on April 8, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New Yorker (March 26, 2012) describes the role of producers (who generate chord progressions, beats and computerized synths), “top-line” writers (who generate melodies, lyrics and hooks to attract listeners) – who then market to performers to … Continue reading →

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Pepsico’s “water positive” schemes and Jugaad Innovation

Posted on April 7, 2012 by aviyer2010

In a book titled “Jugaad Innovation” Radjou, Prabhu and Ahuja write about Pepsico’s water positive supply chain in India i.e., the company saves more water than it uses. The secret – enabling a “direct seeding” rice planting process, thus saving … Continue reading →

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Renewable energy server farms in Iceland

Posted on April 7, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (April 2,2012) describes a server farm on solid bedrock, close to the airport, in the midpoint of the Atlantic, fueled by renewable geothermal energy and cooled by fans that blow in cool air from the outside. … Continue reading →

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Improving the competitiveness of Portugal’s ports

Posted on April 7, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Economist (March 24,2012) describes the drop in prices per container from $1000 to $300 from Asia to Europe as ship capacities increased to 14,000 containers. Portugal’s deep ports can accommodate these ships but are uncompetitive for … Continue reading →

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US Manufacturing rebound and prospects

Posted on April 7, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (April 4,2012) describes job growth at Master Lock, a manufacturer, and the 20% of the manufacturing jobs, lost during the recent recession, that have been added back to the economy. However, some of … Continue reading →

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What are GM’s choices for the Opel plant in Bochum, Germany ?

Posted on April 4, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (April 2,2012) describes worker frustration at GM’s Opel plant in Bochum, Germany, with worries that it will be shut down in 2014. Wages at the plant are six times the wage rate in … Continue reading →

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Is fiber optic cable capacity too much ?

Posted on April 4, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (April 3, 2012) suggests that fiber optic capacity expansion is too optimistic, pointing to 3% utilization of cable in big cities and new laser technology that expanded capacity in the past. But capacity … Continue reading →

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Social Networking at P&G to drive sales growth

Posted on April 3, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (April 3, 2012) describes Proctor & Gamble’s foray into social networking and its demand impact. A Facebook campiagn for Pepto-Bismol focused on “Celebrate Life” – targeting users of the product on Saturday and Sunday mornings – … Continue reading →

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Unilever’s Sustainability Measures for its Supply Chain

Posted on April 3, 2012 by aviyer2010

A white paper by Verdantix Ltd (http://www.verdantix.com/uploadedfiles/products/Verdantix%20Unilever%27s%20Strategy%20Leverages%20Value%20Chain%20Influence.pdf) describes specific measures at Unilver e.g., measurement of its environmental impact per unit of consumer usage i.e., per tea bag or per dose of detergent, with a goal to decrease that impact by … Continue reading →

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Wal-Mart’s ecommerce approach to combat Amazon.com

Posted on April 3, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (April 2, 2012) cites WalMart’s 8 % growth in 2011 vs Amazon.com’s 41 % growth as reason for WalMart to innovate in the ecommerce space. The result (a) Endless Aisle – which permits customers to order … Continue reading →

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