Tag Archives: Consumers

Will Apple’s two different market segment phone offerings help or hurt?

Posted on September 16, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (September 11,2013) describes possible issues caused by Apple’s decision to offer the iPhone in a 5S and a 5C configuration, priced at $550 and $400. The cheaper model will have a plastic body … Continue reading →

Posted in Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Consumers, Cost, Design, Global, Growth, Retail, Risk, Supply Chain | 4 Comments

Will a flat-fee model by publishers for ebook access work ?

Posted on September 3, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (September 3, 2013) describes a proposal by two companies, eReatah and Oyster, to provide a flat-fee access to ebooks. eReatah plans to offer 80,000 titles and offers a $16.99/month for two books or … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Consumers, Cost, ebooks, Ecommerce, Netflix, Suppliers, Supply Chain | 1 Comment

Auto supply shortages in the US and impact

Posted on September 3, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (September 3,2013) describes supply constraints faced by US auto dealers for cars made by Nissan, Ford, Toyota and Honda. Dealers report having significantly lower inventories, one car instead of the normal 15 in … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged automobiles, Capacity, Consumers, Inventory, Retail, Risk, Supply Chain | 1 Comment

Will consumers pay a premium for ethical transparent supply chains ?

Posted on August 26, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/26/living/aj-zady-ethical-fashion/index.html?hpt=hp_c3) describes two companies, Small Trades and Zady.com, who focus on providing all details of their supply chain – from the factory location to the employee sewing the apparel. The hope is that fashion conscious consumers … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capacity, competition, Consumers, Cost, ethical, manufacturing, Margins, Outsourcing, Risk, Supply Chain, transparency | 4 Comments

Growing food in the backyard to combat the rising cost of imports in Jamaica

Posted on August 3, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (August 3, 2013) describes the growing cost of food imports, exceeding a billion dollars for Jamaica, and the response. The local population is encouraged to grow in their backyard, including grocery stores and … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged agriculture, competitive, Consumers, Costs, Imports, Jamaica, manufacturing, prices, Sustainable, Water | Leave a comment

A deeper Jacksonville port to accommodate larger ships through the Panama Canal

Posted on July 27, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (July 27, 2013) describes a move to increase the depth of the Jacksonville port from 40 to 47 inches, through dredging, to accommodate the larger ships that will be passing through the Panama … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged Capacity, competition, Consumers, Costs, Jacksonville port, Panama Canal, rail, Retailers, shippers, ships, Supply Chain, transport | Leave a comment

On to the next legal round regarding Apple’s role in ebook pricing

Posted on July 18, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (July 10,2013) describes the judge’s ruling that Apple coordinated with competing publishers to increase ebook prices. Apple is said to have offered publishers an agency pricing scheme by which it would be paid … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged agency pricing, Amazon, Apple, collusion, competition, Consumers, Coordination, Cost, Ecommerce, Efficiency, prices, publishers, Suppliers | Leave a comment

The Thai mountain of rice inventory and global supply chain worries

Posted on July 18, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the Financial Times (July 18, 2013) describes the impact of the 50% price premium offered by the Thai government to rice farmers that last few years, leading to a drop in Thai rice exports and a surge … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Consumers, Cost, Farmers, Global, Imports, India, Inventory, rice, Suppliers, Supply Chain, Thailand, Vietnam | Leave a comment

The impact of WTO’s ruling to eliminate COOL in US food products

Posted on July 5, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the url (http://info.usa-c.com/2013/05/06/wto-may-23rd-and-cool/) reports on a World Trade Organization ruling requiring US food products to stop the Country of origin labeling (COOL) on food products after May 23, 2013. The WTO ruled that COOL labels are barriers … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Consumers, Cost, Country of origin label (COOL), Food, Global, Labeling, regulation, WTO | Leave a comment

How widespread is counterfeit food ?

Posted on June 30, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (June 26,2013) describes counterfeit foods such as vegetable oil in chocolate bars, peanuts in almond powder, water in olive oil, liquor marketed as tequila, engine oil in olive oil, nonbranded vodka sold as … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Consumers, Cost, counterfeit, Food, Global, manufacturing, regulation, Risk, Suppliers, Supply Chain | Leave a comment