Category Archives: Supply Chain Issues

The ripple effect of Foxconn’s changes

Posted on March 29, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (March 29, 2012) describes widspread violations discoverd by the Fair Labor Association, hired by Apple to audit its suppliers, at Foxconn. The supplier, Foxconn, has committed to adhere to Chinese law, which restricts … Continue reading →

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

Uniqlo’s global expansion

Posted on March 28, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Economist (March 24, 2012) describes the Japanese retailer’s expansion into the US and China. The company focuses on producing large volume, low cost items that are sold across the season. Given that weather patterns in China … Continue reading →

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

Inditex’s supply chain as it goes global

Posted on March 28, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Economist (March 24, 2012) describes the fact that future growth for the parent company of Zara will come from Asia and the US, rather than the current 70 % of sales in Europe. Zara, known for … Continue reading →

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

Using the US Strategic Petroleum reserves

Posted on March 28, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Economist (March 24, 2012) discusses a plan to use the US Strategic Petroluem Reserves to dampen US oil prices. The reserve was set up to provide an inventory buffer against emergencies and has been used after … Continue reading →

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

The Impact of New Emission rules for power plants

Posted on March 28, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (March 28, 2012) describes new EPA rules that limit the CO2 emissions of power plants to 1,000 lbs per KWh. The new rules are easy to meet for new natural gas fired plants. … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Increased recycling by manufacturers to help themselves and municipalities

Posted on March 28, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (March 23, 2012) describes plans by Coca Cola to recycle 100 % of its cans by 2015 and by Starbucks to enable paper cup recycling at 100 % of its outlets by 2015. … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The impact of natural gas extraction on steel mills

Posted on March 28, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (March 26, 2012) describes the doubling of steel tubes, pipes etc in the last two years – thanks to the demand from natural gas extraction facilities across the US. But the abundant supply … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The global supply chain for outsourced services

Posted on March 28, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (March 19,2012) describes new locations for higher level outsourced work – accounting, research, marketing etc. New locations in Argentina, Guatemala, Poland and Brazil, enable these tasks to be performed closer to the customer, despite being more … Continue reading →

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

Nike’s knit shoe design and global supply chain impact

Posted on March 28, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (March 19,2012) describe the flyknit shoe design by Nike – whose upper is knit from thread as one piece, thus saving 35 parts and 66 % less waste. The reduced labor intensive assembly also makes US … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Green jobs in the US Economy

Posted on March 28, 2012 by aviyer2010

The New York Times (March 22, 2012) describes a US government report that claims that there were 3.1 million green jobs in the US economy. Green jobs were defined as those involved in activities that either decrease energy consumption or … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment