Category Archives: Supply Chain Issues

Coffee fed cows producing milk for Starbucks in Japan

Posted on May 14, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in Sustainable Brands (http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/chemistry_materials/jennifer_elks/closed-loop_upcycling_its_finest_starbucks_sourcing?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=innovation&utm_campaign=may14&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRoku6XMZKXonjHpfsX56eotX6SwlMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4DRcFqI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFTrTBMbVxyLgOXxk%3D) titled “Closed Loop Recycling at its Best”, describes the fermentation of used coffee grounds to create a cattle feed, with the milk from the cattle being used at Starbucks stores in Japan. The concentration … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged closed-loop, coffee, Collaboration, Consumers, Cost, Japan, Starbucks, Supply Chain, Sustainable | Leave a comment

The impact of a US bill requiring 75% of US food aid to be shipped on American vessels

Posted on April 29, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (April 24, 2014) titled “Provision could limit US Food Aid” describes a Coast Guard spending bill that requires “75% of US food aid to be shipped on US owned vessels”. The impact is … Continue reading →

Posted in Cost, emb2019, Global Contexts, imm2018, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Cost, emb2019, Food, Global, imm2018, lead time, regulation, ships, Supply Chain, transport, USAID, vessels | 13 Comments

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

Posted on April 26, 2014 by aviyer2010

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 →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Consumers, Cost, independent dealers, repair, Retail, Service, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Will Amazon’s delivery trucks permit competitive same day delivery?

Posted on April 24, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (April 24,2014) titled “Amazon, in a Threat to UPS, tries its own deliveries”, describes a plan by Amazon in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, to operate its own Amazon logo delivery … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capacity, competition, Cost, Demand Surge, disruption, Ecommerce, Risk, Service, Supply Chain, transport | 1 Comment

The “click and collect” grocery model in the UK

Posted on April 22, 2014 by aviyer2010

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 Asda, click and collect, Coordination, Cost, customer, Ecommerce, grocery, Service, transport, WalMart | 2 Comments

Indian firm Tata building the Land Rover in a joint venture in China

Posted on April 21, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in the Financial Times (April 20, 2014) titled “JLR China chief says Changshu factory will rival UK for quality”, describes a new plant in China, owned by China automaker Chery and the Indian Tata group that owns Jaguar … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged automation, Capacity, cars, China, Cost, Jaguar Land Rover, plant, Quality, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Testing alternate modes to get California Salmon to the ocean and back

Posted on April 19, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (April 19, 2014) titled “Swim to Sea ? These Salmon Are Catching a Lift”, describes two alternate paths to move salmon from drought stricken areas to the ocean. With priority being for California … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged boat, California, Coordination, Cost, emb2020, life cycle, salmon, Survival, Sustainable, transport, truck | 25 Comments

Hazardous crude oil cargo on trains – no information sharing with towns on routes

Posted on April 16, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (April 15,2014) titled “Despite Rise in Spills, Hazardous Cargo Rides Rails in Secret”, describes laws that permit railroads to keep their hazardous cargo secret from towns where spills occur. With increasing amounts of … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Collaboration, crude, data, railroad, regulation, risks, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Understanding the logic for Tesla’s proposed $5 billion battery plant

Posted on April 2, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (April 2, 2014) titled “Does Tesla Need a $5 Billion Battery Factory” describes Tesla’s planned mass market electric cars (the GEN III) priced at $35,000 and the current $25,500 cost of the 85 … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged battery, Capacity, competition, Consumers, Coordination, Cost, Risk, Suppliers, Supply Chain, Tesla | 2 Comments

Are the simple European Union conflict materials laws too weak ?

Posted on March 30, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in The Guardian (March 26, 2014) titled “Conflict minerals: new EU rules simpler alternative to US regulation” describes draft legislation that is voluntary, requires the manufacturer to determine areas that are conflict afflicted and just requires use of … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged conflict materials, Cost, Dodd-Frank, European Union, importer, product, Risk, Suppliers, Supply Chain | Leave a comment