Category Archives: Operations Management

Tracking the US supply chain impact of new California Greenhouse Gas Emissions Laws

Posted on October 23, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (Oct 21, 2011, A25) describes recent passage of greenhouse gas emissions laws in California that aim to impose stringent caps on emissions with the flexibility to trade with any other firm across the US for … Continue reading →

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A Parallel between Japanese auto and Chinese solar manufacturers ?

Posted on October 23, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (Oct 21, 2011, B3) describes a potential reaction to US solar manufacturer unfair trade concerns regarding Chinese competitors , a parallel to Japanese auto manufacturers in the ‘80s.  At that time, Japanese auto … Continue reading →

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Simple Labels or Comprehensive Nutrient Labels for Food ?

Posted on October 23, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (Oct 21, 2011, B3) describes a new proposed food labeling system by the Institute of Medicine. The proposal would list calories per serving and up to three stars. Each star would be for … Continue reading →

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Liking Cotton Price Increases to Consumer Goods Sales Growth in Pakistan

Posted on October 19, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in bloombergbusinessweek (Oct 17,2011) describes a global cotton driven supply chain. The rising cotton prices worldwide, doubling the past year, has increased spending capacity among  Pakistan’s farmers. But the biggest beneficiaries are global consumer goods manufacturers Unilever and … Continue reading →

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Llama and guano dung fertilizer in Peru

Posted on October 19, 2011 by aviyer2010

In a talk at the Northeast Conference on Andean Archeology (Andover, Oct 15, 2011), Professor Paul Szpak described the dung of guano birds and llamas and their role as fertilizers.  The guano dung has 11% nitrogen, while the llama dung … Continue reading →

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Food waste and food shortages across the global supply chain

Posted on October 19, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the International Herald Tribune (Oct 15, 2011) describes waste as a key contributor to food shortages. 33 % of food purchased in the UK is wasted. 40 % of the fruits and vegetables grown in India is wasted. … Continue reading →

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Near Net Zero at Frito-Lay’s Casa Grande, Arizona plant

Posted on October 19, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in Sustainable Life Media (Oct 8, 2011) describes efforts at Frito Lay’s plant to reduce its energy and water impact. 67 % of the energy used comes from renewable sources – solar power. 75 % of the water … Continue reading →

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Amazon.com – the WalMart of the web ?

Posted on October 11, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the Economist (Oct 1, 2011) reports that Amazon.com’s are 11 % lower than other retailers with physical stores for 100 products selected randomly.  The prices at Amazon were even lower compared to store websites. Amazon.com’s low profit margin, scale, the … Continue reading →

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Airline sustainability goals and biofuel role

Posted on October 9, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (Green Column, Oct 9, 2011) describes the airline industry goal to become “carbon neutral” by 2020 and cut emissions by 50 % by 2050, given that they account for 2 % of all human generated … Continue reading →

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The Impact of concentration in the Global Electronics Supply Chain

Posted on October 8, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the Economist (Oct 8, 2011) describes how concentration of manufacturing by Taiwanese firms has enabled price decreases and feature increases faster than chip prices. At HTC, new product development time has dropped by six months compared to two … Continue reading →

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