Category Archives: Supply Chain Issues

Reducing Variety to manage Supply Chain Shocks

Posted on September 3, 2026 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal on September 1, 2026 titled “Retailers Ditch Variety to Best Supply-Chain Costs and Tariffs”, describes how Under Armor, an athletic apparel retailer, Helen of Troy, a consumer products company and Yedi Houseware, a … Continue reading →

Posted in competitiveness, consumer, manufacturer, Operations Management, product, Supply Chain Issues, Variety | Tagged competition, Consumers, Cost, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Alternate routing options for Saudi Arabian oil

Posted on August 26, 2026 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (August 26, 2026) titled “Under Threat, Saudi Arabia Reroutes Oil Exports Yet Again”, describes a couple of different routes for Saudi Arabian oil since the closure of the Straits of Hormuz. The initial … Continue reading →

Posted in Supply Chain Issues, Capacity, Cost, logistics, ship, Africa, transport, congestion | Tagged Capacity, Cost, oil | Leave a comment

Data Centers and their manufacturing impact

Posted on August 15, 2026 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (August 15, 2026) titled “Big Manufacturers find new demand in Equipping AI Data Centers”, describes the impact on Caterpillar, Eaton and Ford Motor company. Caterpillar’s electric generators and turbine engines, Cummins generators for … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, Coordination, logistics, supplier, Supply Chain Issues, technology | Tagged Capacity, Cost, Suppliers, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Arctic Routes for ships and their impact

Posted on August 15, 2026 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (August 15, 2026) titled “China is Opening the First Regular Cargo Route through the Arctic”, describes the planned voyage of a Chinese ship, Dubai Tower, from Ningbo, China, to Felixstowe, U.K, through the … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, Cost, logistics, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capacity, Global, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

New technology to use the entire cocoa fruit – who will it benefit ?

Posted on August 27, 2024 by aviyer2010

An article in the BBC news site (August 27, 2024) titled “Have Swiss scientists made a chocolate breakthrough?” describes new technology developed at the Federal Institute of Technology at Zurich that claims to use the rest of the coca fruit … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Cost, delivery, Prices, productivity, supplier, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability, technology | Tagged chocolate, Consumers, Global, Supply Chain, Sustainable | Leave a comment

Global freight charges surge in response to supply chain demand and supply disruptions

Posted on June 24, 2024 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (June 24, 2024) titled “Ocean Shipping Prices are Pushing Towards Pandemic-Era Highs” describes the doubling of freight from Asia to the East coast of the US. It suggests that the Houthi rebel ship … Continue reading →

Posted in Air, Capacity, China, congestion, logistics, Made in USA, ordering, Prices, ship, supplier, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Cost, manufacturing, Suppliers, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Climate change and its impact on olives, coffee and grapes

Posted on June 10, 2024 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (June 10, 2024) titled “Climate Change is Coming for the Finer Things in Life” describes heavy rains causing mildew that has destroyed grapes in Italy, hot weather and drought impacting olive groves and … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, Cost, disruption, Global Contexts, logistics, productivity, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability, technology | Tagged climate, competition, Consumers, Cost, Food, grapes, Supply Chain, sustainability, Sustainable, travel, weather, wine | Leave a comment

Did Boeing favor “Speed over Quality” ?

Posted on March 28, 2024 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (March 28, 2024) titled “”‘Shortcuts Everywhere’: How Boeing Favored Speed over Quality” describes examples of monthly production rates of the 737 Max increased from 42 in 2017 to 52 in 2018, suppliers pushed … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, competitiveness, Cost, delivery, logistics, manufacturer, supplier, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged competition, Cost, Quality, Reliability, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

White house suggestions to reduce supply chain congestion

Posted on February 24, 2022 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (February 24, 2022), titled “White House Lays Out Broad Changes to Address Supply-Chain Shortfalls” , describes several initiatives short, medium and long term,to deal with global container flows. In the short run, eliminating … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, Coordination, Prices, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capacity, Capital Investment, Containers, overtime, ports, ships, trucking | Leave a comment

Managing small firm supply chain pressures

Posted on February 22, 2022 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (February 22, 2022) titled “Worried About Inflation and Supply Constraints? Try Being a Small Business”, describes the longer supply lead times, how higher prices and higher demand, yet lower bank credit access. The article claims … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, competitiveness, delivery, disruption, manufacturer, Operations Management, Prices, Supply Chain Issues, technology | Tagged delays, lead time, price, Supply Chain, wages, working capital | Leave a comment