Category Archives: Service Operations

Toyota’s Toyotag and engaging consumers

Posted on August 3, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (August 2, 2011) describes Toyota’s use of Toyotags – a “logo inside a ring” that permits customers with smartphones to get specific product information from the mobile bar code, but also permits use of a … Continue reading →

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

“Tide Dry Cleaners” as P&G takes downstream role

Posted on August 2, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (December 8, 2010) describes dry cleaning stores opened by Proctor and Gamble to popularize its Tide products. A similar effort focuses on Mr Clean Car washing locations. The goal is to use these … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged competition, Consumers, Cost, Efficiency, Retail, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Making the case for “cost effectiveness” of new drugs

Posted on August 1, 2011 by aviyer2010

A story in the Wall Street Journal (August 1, 2011) describes the challenges in launching new drugs, given the “cost effectiveness” concern by health authorities. This means that new drugs have to be effective in treatment, but also deliver sufficient … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged competition, Costs, Design, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Pipeline capacity location and demand-supply matching

Posted on July 30, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (29 July 2011) describes the reduced demand for pipeline capacity from the Midwest and Canadian locations to the Northeast (with capacity reported to drop by 44 %) as increased gas is shipped from the Marcellus … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Infrastructure, pipeline, shale gas, Supply Chain, utilization | Leave a comment

Product package size and associated potential liability

Posted on July 29, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Jorunal article (28 July 2011) describes a lawsuit in Las Vegas against generic manufacturers of propofol used in colonoscopy. The manufacturers sold 50 milliliter bottles that could be used for at least two procedures. However, labels on … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations | Tagged Design, Generic, liability, manufacturing, poka-yoke, Quality, Service | Leave a comment

The US and Mexico Truck Transport Agreement

Posted on July 27, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (July 6, 2011) summarizes the recent agreement to let Mexican truckers carry loads into US destinations, thus decreasing trade frictions (cost and time delays) at the US-Mexico border. In turn, this agreement decreases Mexican tariffs … Continue reading →

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

Is US Inshoring of manufacturing and services a trend ?

Posted on June 17, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in CNN Money (http://money.cnn.com/2011/06/17/news/economy/made_in_usa/index.htm?hpt=hp_t2) asks if the examples of companies inshoring i.e., bringing outsourced activities back to the US, is a long term trend. The articles identifies GE’s appliance plan in Kentucky that will produce refrigerators and water … Continue reading →

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

Impact of the DOT delay rule on flight cancellations

Posted on June 13, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/06/13/tarmac.delays.cancellations/index.html?hpt=hp_bn12) describes the impact of the new Department of Transportation rile that penalizes airlines up to $ 27,500 per passenger for ground delays of more than three hours. The result was a drop in such delays … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations | Tagged Capacity, Cost, disruption, Loyal Customers, Service, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Heavy Equipment monitoring and Energy Savings

Posted on June 1, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (June 1, 2011) describes the use of electronic monitoring of heavy equipment (bulldozers, dump trucks etc) to decrease costs. One contractor claims that his excavators were idling 48 % of the time in … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Costs, Design, heavy equipment, parts, Service, Suppliers, Supply Chain, tracking | 1 Comment

Publishing vaccine prices paid across the UN system and impact

Posted on May 31, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (May 27,2011) describes a decision by the United Nations Children’s Fund to list prices paid for vaccines on its website. The goal is to permit price transparency and thus, perhaps, to lower prices … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, Global Contexts, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged competition, global supply chain, Suppliers, UN, vaccines | Leave a comment