Tag Archives: competition

Same day delivery options, pricing and retail competition

An article in the New York Times (December 28,2012) describes same day delivery options offered by stores to compete with Amazon. For $ 5, Ebay Now offers delivery options to coffee shops, homes etc same day. Amazon offers same day … Continue reading

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Coexisting roles for humans and robots

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (December 17,2012) describes a future where robots coexist with humans to deliver productivity gains. The 64 robots working with 330 humans at Quiet Logistics shows humans doing complex tasks and robots moving material. Given the increased … Continue reading

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How should the excess steel capacity problem be solved ?

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 … Continue reading

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

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 … Continue reading

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Will shifting designs from ODMs to OEMs improve PC industry competitiveness ?

An article in the Wall Street Journal (November 16,2012) describes slumping PC demand and a decision by OEMs such as HP and Acer to assume control of their product design details. In the past, ODMs (Original Design manufacturers) such as … Continue reading

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How suppliers sometimes overestimate their power in a supply chain

The New York Times (November 21,2012) describes the role, in 1861, of Southern US cotton growers who supplied cotton to British mills and imported household furniture, thus serving as a source of supply and demand. In April 1861, when the … Continue reading

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Same day delivery by the US Postal service and impact

An article in the Associated Press (November 23, 2012) describes a plan by the US Postal service to offer same day delivery – with items picked up from retailers and dropped off to customers in the same metropolitan area the … Continue reading

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The buy “Made in France” campaign and consumer impact

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (October 29, 2012) describes a campaign by the French Industry minister to encourage purchase of products made in France, though they are 15 to 25% more expensive. His goal is to use increased demand as a … Continue reading

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The Google and Amazon product search competition

An article in the New York Times (September 10, 2012) describes the growing battle between Amazon.com and Google to lead in product search. As Google tries to improve its product search and provide more ecommerce services, it has decided to … Continue reading

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Can faster delivery help Amazon.com compensate for state sales tax collection ?

An article in the New York Times (September 15,2012) describes the rapid pace of new warehouses opened by Amazon.com to hold inventory close to customers and cut a day out of shipping time. Next day or same day delivery will … Continue reading

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