Category Archives: Service Operations

Ecommerce, couriers and cash on delivery in India

An article in the New York Times (Sept 14, 2011) describes FlipKart – an ecommerce company in India that employs couriers for home delivery of orders with cash paid on delivery. Given the preference for cash transactions and payment ion … Continue reading

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Mishandled Missioni line at Target.com and Impact

An article in the New York Times (Sept 14, 2011) describes the Target specific Missoni line offered at Target for a fraction of the price that it  regular line is sold at Bergdorf Goodman ($ 40 vs $ 12,000).   The … Continue reading

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Drug Shortages in the US – other issues

An article in the Economist (Sept 3, 2011, pg 29) describes the increase in drug shortages from 58 drugs in 2004 to 211 in 2010 and 198 by Sept 2011.  Most of these drugs are generics whose prices are set … Continue reading

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Managing an air traffic control tower from afar

An article in WIRED magazine (http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/08/st_flybywire/) describes technology used in Sweden that can provide a 360 degree hid-def screen view of aircraft and detailed data around a control tower. The benefit is that a air traffic controller can be located … Continue reading

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Plans to fix the US Postal System to avoid closure

A New York Times article (Sept 5, 2011) describes the financial crisis at the US Postal Service, which saw volumes decline by 22 % in the alst five years and is estimated to loose another 30 % of volume in the … Continue reading

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Importing Indian rosewood to Gibson guitar plants, and customs office reaction

A New York Times article (August 31, 2011) describes a raid on factories owned by the Gibson Guitar Corporation that disrupted the company’s supply chain. The focus is on rosewood and ebony fingerboards imported from India. While Indian laws prevent … Continue reading

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Nurse Navigators and patient service supply chains

A Wall Street Journal article (August 16, 2011) describes the role of a nurse navigator to assist patients from start of the diagnosis through completion of treatment. The nurse navigator starts with the patient right from initial diagnosis (in one … Continue reading

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Struggling with recovery from the Tsunami – Honda vs the rest

A Wall Street Journal article (August 17, 2011) describes differences in the recovery from the tsunami across Nisaan, Toyota and Honda. While Nissan has 54 days of inventory in stock, Toyota has 34 days and Honda 18 days of supply.  … Continue reading

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“Amazon Law” and supply chain impact

A Wall Street Journal article (August 3, 2011) estimates that being required to collect sales tax would reduce Amazon.com’s sales by 1.4 % or about $ 650 million per year.   While operating without a brick-and-mortar store in all states, Amazon.com does … Continue reading

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Ecommerce Robustness during economic downturn

A Wall Street Journal article (August 14, 2011) describes the potential growth of ecommerce businesses (10 % in 2011 and 9 % in 2012) even as overall retail sales are expected to decrease. Increased selection, pooled inventory that can be … Continue reading

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