Should the US government permit recycling of scrap metal from nuclear sites?

Posted on January 18, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (January 17,2013) describes a plan by the US government to release scrap metal from nuclear sites. The scrap is described as containing low enough levels of radioactivity – comparable to exposures in a cross country flight. But worries of use of such recycled material commingled with other metals might hurt US products using them, argue opponents. In addition, use of these metals in glasses, belt buckles or hip joints may cause prolonged exposure to consumers. How should the scrap metal be dealt with and what should be the standard to prevent side effects from being passed on to the public ? Should the scrap be required to be tracked, and if so, will the cost of tracking be so prohibitive as to kill the market ? At which point will the recycling benefit compensate for the downstream risks from release of the scrap material ?

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Is manufacturing shifting away from China due to wage increases ?

Posted on January 18, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (January 17,2013) describes shifts in manufacturing out of China to compensate for the 20% wage increase compared to 2005, as well as an attempt by the government to shift to more value added industries. Countries shifting out of China include Thailand, Singapore and South Korea. Countries gaining include Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. But some of these shifts also reflect the frictions between Japan and China and decisions by Japanese firms to shift production sites to offer options other than China. Will these new global supply chains shifted to locations with more difficult logistics suggest increased retail prices in the US? Will the potential role of China in providing higher end services at lower price points cause a shift in white collar labor into China, compensating for the increased manufacturing costs ? Given China’s large market with its continued growth, can manufacturers ever afford to abandon domestic Chinese manufacturing to be competitive in China?

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Boeing’s Dreamliner’s lithium ion battery decision and current worries

Posted on January 18, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (January 17,2013) describes the lithium ion batteries used in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and the current string of fires, as a crucial design element in the success of the airplane. The batteries increase the power generated and thus increase the range while decreasing fuel consumption. But the heat generated and possible fire impact have generated significant worries. Switching to more traditional nickel cadmium batteries would increase cost and weight. Trading down to less capacity batteries would decrease range of the airplanes and thus competitiveness. Providing more protection for the batteries themselves against fires would increase cost and weight. Given these worries, should Boeing stop production and generate a long term solution or think of a short term fix that keeps planes flying while developing a longer term efficient solution ? Since trading to a safer battery type would provide a solution while decreasing range, yet keep planes flying, should that be the quick fix or will it hurt the airplane’s competitiveness significantly enough to be infeasible ?

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Decoy bottles to track painkiller medicine robbers

Posted on January 18, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (January 17,2013) describes a plan by PurduePharma to hold fake decoy bottles with tracking capability in drugstore shelves. When thieves steal painkiller bottles, they emit tracking signals that the New York City police can use to trace the location of the stolen merchandise. The plan is to distribute these decoys widely across the retail environment to catch the theives. Will such disruptions to the retail inventory continue to protect services required by paying retail consumers ? Will thieves change their modus operandi by incenting retail customers to shop for them, thus increasing the costs of illicit painkillers ? Would a move from tracking bottles to tracking pills possibly increase the effectiveness, and if so how will such tracking efforts coexist with the needs for genuine customers ?

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Electronic Medical Records cost impact and the benefit of mining information

Posted on January 18, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (January 17,2013) refers to a report from the RAND corporation that suggests that shifting to electronic medical records make increase health care cost. But is also suggests that the data collected from patient datasets may enable faster analysis of the impact of drug interactions. The example describes discovery of a possible link between blood sugar and the joint use of antidepressants and cholesterol reducing drugs when neither by itself had such an effect. Given the benefits from such analysis, can the beneficiaries of such studies i.e., pharmaceutical companies, be required to pay to use the data, thus offsetting the increased costs created ? In a more general supply chain context, should newly available data from sensors or information sensors be monetized to justify their adoption ?

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How should the excess steel capacity problem be solved ?

Posted on November 28, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (November 28, 2012) describes the glut in steel capacity -an estimated 1.8 billion tons, compared to demand which is 1.5 billion tons. The reason, fragmented capacity with the top five companies comprising 18.2 % of the market, fragmented mills in China which has 46 % of the world’s capacity and a lack of appetite for consolidation. Should European politicians intervene and organize a “coordinated scheme of capacity cutting” that a European CEO proposes ? Will the impending falling prices (which have already dropped 35 % compared to 2008 prices) open up new markets and thus help the industry ? Or will this overcapacity create competitive pressures to invest in higher margin unique technology intensive products that will help industries like the auto industry ?

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Adhoc social networks to assist during hurricane Sandy in NJ and lessons learned

Posted on November 24, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article published in the CNN.com website (http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/20/us/new-jersey-sandy-social-media/index.html?hpt=hp_c1) describes the use of facebook and street signs to create volunteer groups to assist people impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Providing food, cleaning supplies, clothing etc and helping clean out flood affected rooms is now coordinated using adhoc facebook and other social networks in addition to the formal FEMA support system. A key decision that impacted the greater need is the “keep ’em in their homes” strategy which requires existing homes to be made habitable before winter starts. Should such social media centered volunteer coordination be formally included in the FEMA coordination to speed up relief ? Will direct appeals by people with larger social networks (the article describes Nastia Liukin from the US gymnastics team asking her 190,000 followers to send food) increase the effectiveness of relief provision by increasing supply ? What should be the role of traditional relief providers like the Red Cross in such contexts ?

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The internet of things and supply chain impact

Posted on November 23, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Wired magazine (December 2012) describes the low price points to make physical objects wen enabled. A WeMo switch enables an outlet to be controlled through the internet, thus enabling a temperature triggered adjustment of cooling. Decentralized Geiger count readings in Japan provide an internet database of radioactivity measurement. Can such internet based visibility of inventory at stores or customer locations enable more sustainable supply chain designs ? Will the lowed cost of information flows allow proactive replenishment and trend detection by coupling real-time data with cloud computing power ?

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Higher fares, fewer flights, poorer service – what is the solution for passenger air transport ?

Posted on November 23, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (November 21, 2012) describes a 14% drop in flights, a 10% increase in fares and longer lines faced by passengers this Thanksgiving. But the US domestic flights continue to be off limits go foreign airlines. Should low cost airlines like Ryanair and full service airlines like British Airways be permitted to offer domestic US flights ? Will increased flights, even restricted to airports with significantly reduced service, enable lower fares and higher service ? Will similar changes across the world make air travel demand increase while improving service ?

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The elections, toy introduction delays and preorders this holiday season

Posted on November 23, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times ( November 20, 2012) describes the increased media buys by candidates this election and thus delays in advertising toys. The focus on detecting hits by manufacturers and retailers is thus claimed to require pre-orders and layaways as predictors of holiday trends. But an attempt to sway pre-orders pushed promotions back to May of this year. Given the short season post-election, and the danger of too much inventory, how should the supply chain manage inventory this holiday season? Will a move to e-commerce lower retailer risk by consolidating stocks ? Or will customers face stockouts as trends emerge or higher prices for air shipments from manufacturers ?

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