Category Archives: Supply Chain Issues

Auto Demand and supply mismatch worries impact platinum prices

Posted on October 1, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (September 29, 2014) titled “Platinum Skids on Car-Demand Worries” describes the recent price drop for platinum and traces the volatility of prices of the metal recently. A strike in a South African mine … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, consumer, Cost, Prices, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged autos, demand, output, platinum, strike, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Conscious Supply Chain Management at H&M

Posted on September 22, 2014 by aviyer2010

A report in Sustainable Brands (http://tinyurl.com/qg5gtn7) titled “H&M Unveils Conscious Denim, Signs Agreement for More Conscious Supply Chain Management” describes initiatives with the International Labor Organization (ILO), Solidaridad and Jeanologia to audit its water use, energy consumption, working conditions, fair … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, competitiveness, consumer, Cost, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged audit, conscious supply chain, H&M, jeans, nonprofits, sustainability | 1 Comment

Adjusting distribution centers for omnichannel success at the retailer John Lewis

Posted on September 21, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in CSCMP’s Supply Chain Quarterly (Quarter 2, 2014) titled “A Supply Chain Redesign for Omnichannel success” describes changes to the distribution center at the retailer John Lewis to ensure omnichannel success – a 7.2% sales increase in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, consumer, Cost, Ecommerce, productivity, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged click and collect, Ecommerce, emb2020, omnichannel, retailer | 28 Comments

The Ebola premium added to cocoa prices ?

Posted on September 21, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (September 19, 2014) titled “Cocoa Prices Surge on Ebola Fears” describes concerns about the cocoa growing regions in West Africa, including Ghana and the Ivory Coast who grow 60% of the world’s supply, … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, Cost, disruption, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged chocolate, cocoa, disruption, Ebola, prices, Products, Supply Chain | 16 Comments

Are southern US states now the “least expensive production sites in the industrialized world”?

Posted on September 7, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (September 4, 2014) titled “The U.S. South Rises as a Manufacturing Hub” describes an article by BCG’s Harold Sirkin claiming that South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee represent the “least expensive production sites in the industrialized world”, … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, competitiveness, Global Contexts, Operations Management, productivity, Supply Chain Issues | Leave a comment

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

Posted on September 7, 2014 by aviyer2010

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

Verifying conflict-free refiners proves difficult for the US Commerce Department

Posted on September 6, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (September 6, 2014) titled “Conflict Minerals Prove Hard to Track” descries the Commerce Department list of over 400 refiners with a statement that finding which smelters have minerals that can be tracked to … Continue reading →

Posted in Cost, Global Contexts, Liability, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged conflict-free, Legislation, Tracing | Leave a comment

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

Posted on September 6, 2014 by aviyer2010

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 Amazon, grocery | 2 Comments

Rail delays and crop price impact

Posted on September 1, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in the Financial Times (September 1, 2014) titled “Rail Delays Knock north US grain prices” describes speed reductions of 9% for Burlington Northern Railroad (BNSF) and 11% for Canadian Pacific causing shipment delays. The backlog for BNSF was … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, Grain, Operations Management, Prices, Railroad, Supply Chain Issues, Train | 7 Comments

Is Amazon vulnerable because it does not control last mile delivery ?

Posted on August 4, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in WIRED magazine (May 8, 2014) titled “Amazon Should Make the Postal Service Its Own Personal Courier” describes Amazon’s service vulnerability because it does not control outbound transportation from distribution centers, unlike WalMart. The UPS delivery slippage last … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged competition, Consumers, Cost, Ecommerce, Supply Chain, transport | 9 Comments