Category Archives: Operations Management

Global steel demand and Arcelormittal’s capacity adjustment

Posted on November 16, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in bloombergbusinessweek (nov 14, 2011) describes the impact of the doubling of steel capacity in china from 2005 to 2010, the consequent global exports at cut rate prices of supply in excess of chinese demand, and its impact. … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple’s supply chain strategy – more insights

Posted on November 7, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in bloombergbusinessweek (Nov 7,2011) describes Apple’s plans to invest $ 7.1 billion in its supply chain and commit $ 2.4 billion in prepayments to suppliers. It describes Apple’s decisions to buy such large volumes of high-end drills that … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

US auto jobs growth and supply chain impact

Posted on November 7, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in bloombergbusinessweek (Nov 7,2011) describes growing employment in the us auto industry, projected to be 88,000 by 2015. The reasons – a 10 % sales increase this year, production to rebuild inventory lost due to the earthquake in … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fair trade usa vs fair trade international – flexibility or selling out ?

Posted on November 7, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in bloombergbusinessweek (Nov 7,2011) describes a decision by the Fair Trade USA group to break away from Fair Trade International and enable growth of large OEMs and retailers. This requires permitting fair trade labels on chocolate bars that … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

US Natural gas production and the return of manufacturing ?

Posted on November 6, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (Nov 7, 2011) describes the rise of shale gas extraction, suing fracking, and the US becoming the world’s largest natural gas producer. With natural gas becoming a low priced energy alternative to coal, with lower greenhouse gas emissions … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fiat’s Italian auto productivity vs Poland’s auto workers

Posted on November 6, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Bloombergbusinessweek article (Oct 31-Nov 6,2011, pg 30) describes Fiat’s Italian workers producing 30 cars per year per worker, earning 3 times their Polish counterparts and operating at 33 % of capacity. In contrast, Polish workers produce 100 cars per … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chinese oversight of US sources of apple juice in the global supply chain

Posted on November 6, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the wall street journal (Nov 4,2011) states that 72 % of US apple juice is sourced from China, and is part of over $3.2 billion in food imports. But concerns about food quality has caused the US … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thai floods, supply chain and insurance impact

Posted on November 4, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (Nov 3, 2011) describes the floods in Thailand impacting 25% of the world’s supply of hard drives. The Honda plant’s water damage impacted global supply of components, and a plant in Brazil had … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

OEMs, Yuan contracts and supplier costs

Posted on November 4, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (Oct 3, 2011) describes China’s attempts to make the Yuan a global currency and its role in supplier contracts. Current rules to buy and sell yuan involve a lot of paperwork, as a result … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Federal response to vital Medicine shortages in US hospitals

Posted on October 31, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (Oct 31, 2011) describes Federal attempts to ease shoratges of sterile injectables that constutue 74 % of drug shortages.  The government blames market concentration – 90 % of the medicines are bought by five hospital … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment