Category Archives: Service Operations

Will rethinking operations improve hospital outcomes?

An article in the New York Times (February 2, 2016) titled “Hospitals Focus on Doing No Harm”, describes the dramatic impact of operational changes on outcomes, with an eye to reducing the 75,000 preventable deaths nationwide. Orlando Health reports reducing … Continue reading

Posted in Collaboration, consumer, Cost, emb2021, hospital, imm2019, logistics, Service Operations, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 58 Comments

Brick and mortar stores using ecommerce tricks

An article in the Wall Street Journal (August 12, 2015) titled “Web retailers Teach In-store Tricks” describes Macy’s display of one item each of swimsuits, with shoppers using an app to get their size to try on. Freeing up the … Continue reading

Posted in competitiveness, consumer, Cost, product, retailers, Service Operations | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Should “digital instructions for physical products” be protected by US copyright laws

An article in the Wall Street Journal (August 12, 2015″ titled “Digital Patent cases Faces Skeptics”, describes a current appeals court hearing involving ClearCorrect, a company that used digital data from Pakistan to manufacture custom orthodontic devices, thus violating the … Continue reading

Posted in Global Contexts, intellectual property, Liability, manufacturer, mgmt5612019, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , | 62 Comments

“Parcel” aims to mediate between shipper, carrier and customer

An article in Mashable.com (February 12,2014) and available at http://mashable.com/2014/02/12/parcel/  describes the company Parcel (https://fromparcel.com/) that permits customers to have their online packages delivered to a Parcel shipping address.  Customers then provide details such as preferred delivery time, doorbell ring or … Continue reading

Posted in consumer, Cost, Ecommerce, logistics, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | 25 Comments

US Postal service to deliver Amazon groceries between 3 and 7 am

An article in the Wall Street Journal (September 6,2014) titled “U.S. Mail Delivers Amazon Groceries in Test” describes a pilot in which US Mail delivers containers of grocery including meat and dairy in San Francisco. The deliveries take place between … Continue reading

Posted in Capacity, Collaboration, Ecommerce, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues, truck | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Will the global package business model offered by “manyship.com” be sustainable ?

The website http://www.manyship.com describes a system in which individual travelers post their planned trip, shippers post their requirements and the available capacity is assigned to carry products between destinations. The company charges shippers $20 per pound and pays carriers $10 … Continue reading

Posted in Air, Capacity, Cost, Ecommerce, Global Contexts, Liability, Service Operations | Leave a comment

France’s laws to protect bookshops

An article in the International Herald Tribune (July 10,2014) titled “The French do buy books. Real books”, describes two French laws, the “Lang Law” that says that book prices cannot be discounted more than 5%, and a new rule that … Continue reading

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Volvo’s concept of “Roam Delivery” that deliveries online orders to your parked car

An article in BloombergBusinessweek (February 27, 2014) titled “Volvo wants your parked car to accept deliveries”, describes a system that would permit a one time key option to open parked cars to deliver packages to Volvos. Online shoppers would place … Continue reading

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Will Stihl’s strategy of sales through small dealers sustainable ?

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (April 28, 2014) titled “Big-box Cutter” describes Stihl’s strategy to sell chain saws through small dealers, avoiding big box sales or internet sales. By selling through small dealers for whom they account for a significant portion … Continue reading

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The “click and collect” grocery model in the UK

An article in the Financial Times (April 21, 2014) titled “WalMart’s English Experiment”, describes “click and collect”, an approach where WalMart owned Asda’s customers in the UK order their grocery online, it is delivered to temperature controlled lockers close to … Continue reading

Posted in Ecommerce, Global Contexts, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments