Category Archives: Operations Management

Understanding the reasons for GM’s shift of work from Mexico to Canada

Posted on September 30, 2016 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (September 20, 2016)  titled “G.M. Job Shift From Mexico Tests a Trump Premise”, describes a decision by General Motors to shift work from an automobile engine plant in Mexico to Canada and shutting … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, competitiveness, consumer, Global Contexts, Made in USA, manufacturer, Operations Management | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Construction site drones and 15% material savings

Posted on September 30, 2016 by aviyer2010

An article in Fortune magazine (September 15, 2016) titled “A Drone for every Job Site”, claims that 15% of materials delivered to construction sires end up in landfills because schedules are not synchronized or purchasing issues. Thus, with  $1.13 trillion … Continue reading →

Posted in Cost, delivery, logistics, Operations Management, technology | Tagged , , , | 99 Comments

Should food delivery focused restaurants be structured differently ?

Posted on September 17, 2016 by aviyer2010

An article in Forbes (July 1, 2016) titled “How Food Delivery startup Maple Moves Fast by starting from Scratch” describes production choices made by Maple, a company focused on food delivery. The article claims that focusing on delivery and using … Continue reading →

Posted in consumer, Operations Management, ordering, Prices, product, productivity, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Choosing queues to minimize wait time

Posted on September 17, 2016 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (September 7,2016) titled “How to pick the Fastest Line at the Supermarket” describes how choosing a line with one person with 100 items may be faster than a line with four people with … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, emb2019, imm2018, Operations Management, productivity, retailers, Service Operations, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 24 Comments

The productivity benefits from Amazon ‘s Kiva robots

Posted on June 20, 2016 by aviyer2010

An article in Quartz (http://qz.com/709541/amazon-is-just-beginning-to-use-robots-in-its-warehouses-and-theyre-already-making-a-huge-difference/) claims that the “click to ship” time at Amazon has decreased from 60-75 minutes with human operators to 15 minutes using Kiva robots. In addition, with robots, warehouse inventory can increase by 50%, thus decreasing … Continue reading →

Posted in competitiveness, consumer, Cost, Ecommerce, logistics, Operations Management, productivity, Service Operations, technology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 161 Comments

Shopping cart robots at Walmart ?

Posted on June 20, 2016 by aviyer2010

An article in the website geek.com (http://www.geek.com/news/walmart-is-turning-its-shopping-carts-into-robots-that-follow-you-1658786/) describes a partnership between Walmart and Five element Robotics to assist Walmart shoppers using a personal robot. The goal is to have the robot gather things in the shopper’s shopping list and freeing … Continue reading →

Posted in competitiveness, consumer, Cost, Ecommerce, logistics, Operations Management, productivity, Service Operations, technology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The role of logistics competitiveness in Airbus’s Mobile, Alabama assembly plant decision

Posted on September 21, 2015 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (September 18, 2015) titled “First US Airbus Factory Gives Wings to Revival in Mobile, Alabama” describes parts being flown in from Europe for assembly of the A321 jet in the Mobile plant. But the article … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, competitiveness, Cost, logistics, manufacturer, Operations Management, ordering, productivity, Railroad, Train, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

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

Are southern US states now the “least expensive production sites in the industrialized world”?

Posted on September 7, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (September 4, 2014) titled “The U.S. South Rises as a Manufacturing Hub” describes an article by BCG’s Harold Sirkin claiming that South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee represent the “least expensive production sites in the industrialized world”, … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, competitiveness, Global Contexts, Operations Management, productivity, Supply Chain Issues | Leave a comment

Rail delays and crop price impact

Posted on September 1, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in the Financial Times (September 1, 2014) titled “Rail Delays Knock north US grain prices” describes speed reductions of 9% for Burlington Northern Railroad (BNSF) and 11% for Canadian Pacific causing shipment delays.  The backlog for BNSF was … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, Grain, Operations Management, Prices, Railroad, Supply Chain Issues, Train | 7 Comments