Category Archives: Supply Chain Issues

Dropping rare earth prices in China and supply chain impact

Posted on July 27, 2011 by aviyer2010

The Wall Street Journal (July 6, 2011) reports that rare earth metal prices in China dropped by as much as 7.2 %, a remarkable change from a short few months when China’s cut in exports created worries of global shortages … Continue reading →

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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 →

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JIT workers and Sales Impact

Posted on July 27, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (July 27, 2011) describes the 2009 sales drop of 4.5 % and employment drop of 8.3 % and a ten year growth of 19 % while private sector jobs dropped 2 million.  One concept described … Continue reading →

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Vertical Integration, Global Supply Chains and reliable power in India

Posted on July 27, 2011 by aviyer2010

The New York Times (July 27, 2011) describes a vertically integrated global supply chain built by the Adani Group – with coal mined in their mines in Indonesia, South Korean manufactured ships transporting it 4,000 miles to their port in … Continue reading →

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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 →

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China cost advantage for manufacturing to disappear by 2015 ?

Posted on June 8, 2011 by aviyer2010

A report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) summarized in Supply Chain Digest (June 6, 2011) describes wage growth in China of 17 % a year (vs 3 % in the US) , increasing appreciation of the Yuan and labor … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Adjusting Apparel features to balance margins with appeal

Posted on May 31, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in BloombergBusinessweek (May 30, 2011 page 18) describes efforts by designers to balance the needs of designers, who want clothes to be appealing, with manufacturers who want to produce them and maintain margins. This tug-of-war has become even … Continue reading →

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Uncoordinated Decisions by the US Energy department and supply chain impact

Posted on May 31, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (May 28, 2011) describes one department selling the helium-3 gas as fast as the other department worked to build up stocks, thus creating a shortfall.  The gas is helium-3 that is cited as a “byproduct … Continue reading →

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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 →

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