Category Archives: Global Contexts

Wal-Mart Assortment, gas prices and one stop shopping

Posted on March 21, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (March 21, 2011) describes adjustments to Wal-Mart’s strategies to increase the number of shoppers who do one-stop shopping at the store. Wal-Mart’s US chief, William Simon, claims that as gas prices increase, shoppers will be … Continue reading →

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Japan Tsunami and Supply Chain Resilience

Posted on March 21, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (March 19, 2011) descibes management of the global supply chain impact of the Japanese tsunami and earthquake and likens it to triage in a hospital.  Apple is quoted as having buffer inventory to compensate for … Continue reading →

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Japanese Tsunami and Supply Chain Disruptions

Posted on March 17, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (March 17, 2011) describes the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and its consequent impact on electricity supply, ports, manufacturing plants and the global supply chain.  It describes Texas Instruments as claiming that one of its Japanese … Continue reading →

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New Rare earth supply chain

Posted on March 9, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the International Herald Tribune (March 8, 2011) describes a new rare earth supply chain.  The ore is mined in Australia and concentrated (2/3 of the dirt removed) before it is put in sealed bags inside steel containers … Continue reading →

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Recycling Cell Phones and Supply Chain Impact

Posted on March 6, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (March 5, 2011) describes the growing used cell phone recycling industry.   Consumers preferring old models so they do not heave to learn new features, or desiring a lower cost phone, seem to flock to these … Continue reading →

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Electronic Component Suppliers for the iPad but OEMs too

Posted on March 4, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street journal article (March 4, 2011) describes an interesting global supply chain issue for electronic component suppliers like Toshiba, Samsung and LG Display (they supply memory chips or screens). These companies supply components used by Apple for their … Continue reading →

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Eliminating the ban on Mexican trucks crossing the US border

Posted on March 4, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (March 4, 2011) describes the announcement of the end of the 20 year ban  on Mexican truckers driving across the US border (the ban was a violation of the Nafta agreement). That ban has resulted … Continue reading →

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Green Score for Jeans based on Supply Chain Evaluation

Posted on March 2, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (March 2, 2011) describes an effort to catalog the environmental impact of every step in the global supply chain of apparel, from cotton growth, to fabric, to dyes, textile manufacturing, packaging, shipping, retail through to … Continue reading →

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Why is the iPad the cheapest of the comparable tablets ?

Posted on March 2, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (March 2, 2011) reports on a note by an analyst, Toni Sacconaghi, at Bernstein Research, on why the Apple iPad is the cheapest of the tablet products offered.  The article claims reasons for this cost … Continue reading →

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Commodity Trader Glencore’s role in the global supply chain

Posted on February 27, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the International Herald Tribune (February 27, 2011) describes the role of Glencore, a commodity trading company. Glencore provides raw materials supply to OEMs (ArcelorMittal, Sony, Chevron etc) from raw materials suppliers, managing the risk of weather, price … Continue reading →

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