Category Archives: Global Contexts

Corn trade restrictions, price increases and the impact on the urban poor

Posted on September 15, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Economist (September 15, 2012) describes impact of the recent drought in the US, coupled with ethanol blending requirements for fuel on a spike in corn prices. Similar choices by other drought stricken countries and price sticker … Continue reading →

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A global pharma supply chain as Walgreens and Alliance Boots combine forces

Posted on September 14, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Forbes (September 24,2012) describes a merger between Walgreens in the US and Alliance Boots in Europe to create a global supply chain serving “170,000 pharmacies, doctors and health clinics” globally. Analysts claim that providing a supply of … Continue reading →

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Viruses inserted during manufacturing due to insecure supply chains

Posted on September 13, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article on the BBC website (13 September 2012) describes new computers built in China with viruses already installed. These viruses crept in when the manufactruers installed illegal software with malware, thus compromising user data from the moment the machines … Continue reading →

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Smuggled HCFC-22 foils ban on the refrigerant in the US

Posted on September 11, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (September 9,2012) describes the smuggling into the US of HCFC-22, a refrigerant that the US has banned due to its link to global warming. As production of the product gets phased out, its … Continue reading →

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Apple cuts chip orders to Samsung

Posted on September 11, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (September 9,2012) claims that Apple has cut orders for memory chips sourced from its long time supplier, Samsung. Current patent disputes regarding the similarity of Samsung’s phone and the iphone have caused friction … Continue reading →

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Too few countries producing staple crops and associated risk

Posted on September 7, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (September 7,2012) describes food price increases of 10% from June to July 2012, corn and wheat price increases of 25% and soybean price increases of 17%. The reason – drought in the US … Continue reading →

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Civil disobedience, Rare earth processing and supply chains

Posted on September 7, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (September 6, 2012) describes plans by two NGOs in Malaysia, Himpunan Hijau and Save Malaysia Stop Lynas, to protest a plan by Lynas, a materials processor, to start rare earth processing in a … Continue reading →

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China slowdown and supply uncertainty for outsourcers

Posted on September 7, 2012 by aviyer2010

An opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal (September 7, 2012) describes supply issues faced by US companies that outsource manufacturing to plants in China. Some companies face demands for more money to buy raw materials, others find the company … Continue reading →

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Volkswagen (VW) and its Modular Transverse Matrix strategy for part commonality

Posted on September 3, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Fortune (July 23, 2012) describes VW’s plan to standardize the 60 % of a car model’s cost – the front axle, heating, air conditioning etc across 40 car models and thus seven million units. The projected savings … Continue reading →

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Lending plants to get OEMs back on track after the Japanese earthquake

Posted on September 3, 2012 by aviyer2010

A report published by the Congressional Research Service (“The Motor Vehicle Supply Chain: Effects of the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami” by Bill Canis, May 23, 2011) describes an example in which Denso, a Tier 1 supplier to Toyota, decided to … Continue reading →

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