Category Archives: Supply Chain Issues

Can Walmart get store customers to deliver online orders ?

An article published by Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/28/us-retail-walmart-delivery-idUSBRE92R03820130328) titled “Wal-Mart may get customers to deliver packages to online buyers”, describes an idea where store customers could sign up to deliver orders to customers in their route in return for a discount on … Continue reading →

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Will “botsourcing” bring manufacturing back to the US

An article in the Harvard Business Review Blog Network (http://blogs.hbr.org/) titled “Robots are starting to make offshoring less attractive” describes how use of automation and robots is increasing the attractiveness of US manufacturing. Foxconn’s decision to build iphones in Pennsylvania, … Continue reading →

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Nike’s water footprint across the supply chain and reduction efforts

Nike’s Materials Sustainability Index discussion (http://www.nikeresponsibility.com/report/content/chapter/water) focuses on the 217 billion gallons of water consumed across its supply chain, with 7% generated by raw material production and cotton accounting for 87% of that use. A focus on reducing the absolute … Continue reading →

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Solar Roadways hopes to charge cars as they run on roads

A company called Solar Roadways (http://www.solarroadways.com/intro.shtml) claims to have a prototype installation of solar panels embedded in roads that can charge cars as they drive. Given that vast road network that can be harnessed with embedded solar panels, the company … Continue reading →

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Coffee fed cows producing milk for Starbucks in Japan

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 →

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

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 →

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

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 →

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

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 →

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The “click and collect” grocery model in the UK

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 →

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

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 →

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