Tag Archives: Consumers

Ullmart’s three tier ecommerce distribution in Russia

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (March 10,2014) titled “In Russia, call it You-Commerce”, describes the company Ullmart, that sells 55,000 fast moving items through a three tier distribution system. The company buys from manufacturers to three warehouses that supply 30 urban … Continue reading

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Penalties for Canadian railways that do not ship enough grain

An article in the Wall Street Journal (March 7,2014) titled “Canada sets Minimum Grain Shipment Targets for Railways”, describes penalties of up to $90,000 if shipments by railways fall below 5,500 railcars a week. This target is significantly greater than … Continue reading

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The business of personalizing IKEA products

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (February 24,2014) titled “Cry of the Style. Mavens” describes smaller companies that enable customers to personalize their IKEA products. Companies like Bemz provide slipcovers for chairs, couches and beds, and Superfront, that modifies kitchens and wardrobes, … Continue reading

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Will delaying online cab service pickups by 15 minutes increase competition in France

An article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Uber, Taxis engage in French Street Fight” (30 December 2013) describes a proposal to impose a 15 minute delay between the online order and pickup by online by limo service companies like … Continue reading

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Is web ordering shifting the market share to national chains ?

An article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Big Pizza Chains use web ordering to slice out a bigger market share” (February 6,2014), describes an increase in the market share for large pizza chains to 52% from 47% in 2009, … Continue reading

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Delivery, fashion tips, payment collection and returns by Lamoda’s couriers

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek titled “Where the Deliveryman Gives Fashion Advice” (February 10, 2014), describes the ecommerce website Lamoda in Russia. The internet fashion retailer offers home delivery of fashion that customers can try on and decide within 15 minute … Continue reading

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“Anticipatory Shipping” ideas from Amazon

An article in the CBS News website (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-files-patent-for-anticipatory-shipping/) titled “Amazon files patent for anticipatory shipping” provides an outline of the idea. The key is that goods would be shipped out before the customer places the order so that the deliveries … Continue reading

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The many reasons for Christmas delivery delays by UPS

An article in Supply Chain Digest (Jan 6, 2014) available at (http://www.scdigest.com/ontarget/14-01-06-2.php?cid=7717) discusses reasons for the delivery delays of Christmas orders handled by UPS. While UPS anticipated an 8% increase in shipment volume, and added 55,000 employees and 23 aircraft, … Continue reading

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Centralized vs decentralized last mile delivery models in New York City

An article in the Wall Street. Journal (December 21,2013) titled titled “Delivery goes Hi-Tech” describes Hobsons, a delivery service with its own vans that does 300 trips a day currently, and Postmates, a decentralized service provider that broadcasts request to … Continue reading

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Tracking consumers and adjusting inventory locations to improve retail performance

An article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Hot at the Mall:Heat Maps to Track Shoppers” (December 9,2013) describes heat sensor technology and cell phone tracking software used by retailers to identify shoppers routes through the store, bottlenecks, and products … Continue reading

Posted in competitiveness, consumer, Ecommerce, Operations Management, Service Operations, technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments