Tag Archives: Consumers

The impact of a US-Europe free trade agreement on auto supply chains

An article in the New York Times (March 7, 2013) describes the possible impact of a US-Europe free trade agreement on automobile production. Executives at BMW and Mercedes claim that they would manufacture cars in the US and ship them … Continue reading

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Will local supply solve the horsemeat contamination problem?

An article in the Financial Times (March 3,2013) describes a decision by Tesco, a UK retailer, to increase use of local sources, starting with chicken and working towards others. Similarly,Carrefour, a French retailer, claimed it would shift to French sources. … Continue reading

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The impact of a US-Europe free trade agreement on supply chains

An article in the New York Times (February 13,2013) describes President Obama’s plan for a free trade agreement with Europe thus impacting the 3% duty on the $646 billion in trade. But more than duties, it is the harmonization of … Continue reading

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Is “Punk” the fashion trend ?

An article in the Financial Times (March 3,2013) describes the influence of the announcement of the “Punk” theme for the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute’s exhibition. Jimmy Choo’s handcuff bag with key, Cesare Casadei’s blade heeled shoe, Versace’s “Vunk” featuring heavy … Continue reading

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Apple’s supply chain transparency — what do we learn ?

A recent release of Apple’s supplier list, mapped on Google maps (http://www.chinafile.com/who-supplies-apple-it-s-not-just-china-interactive-map) provides specific locations of 74 component suppliers, of which 331 are in mainland China. A related supplier responsibility report (http://www.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/reports.html) lists audits of suppliers and corrective action, along … Continue reading

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The 340B discount drug program and supply chain leakage

An article in the New York Times (February 12, 2013) describes problems with the 340B drug program that requires pharmaceutical companies to provide 20 to 50 % discount to hospitals treating low income and uninsured patients and accounts for about … Continue reading

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Manufacturing in Italy – choices made by the 300 year old Richard Ginori porcelain factory

An article in the New York Times (February 9,2013) describes the travails of the Richard Ginori porcelain factory in Sesto Fiorentino, Italy and its recent bankruptcy and closure. Once a high end porcelain tableware manufacturer, the trends in Italy away … Continue reading

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The impact of drought on corn and the beef supply chain

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (February 4, 2013) describes the impact of the drought on corn yields and thus the beef supply chain. Corn farmers were covered by crop insurance but produce worth billions were destroyed by the drought. The corn … Continue reading

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Supply Chain Transparency for apparel by Bruno Pieters in honestby

The fashion apparel store (http://www.honestby.com) by Bruno Pieters promises to provide a full description of the supply chain associated with the garment including prices paid at each stage, material details etc. An example look at a 100% silk short sleeved … Continue reading

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Reclothing, Upcycling – the Schmidttakahashi way

An article in the Brander (http://www.thebrander.com/article.php?o=391) describes the Berlin based Schmidttakahashi manufacturer of clothing that creates new apparel from used apparel. The donor of the clothing keeps part of the numbered label and can track the garment’s evolution downstream. But … Continue reading

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