Tag Archives: Cost

Tracking medicines to prevent counterfeits in the US

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (June 3,2013) describes a plan to install a digital ID on tablet bottles to track them as they move through the supply chain. Individual companies would have to be registered in the Federal licenses and subject … Continue reading

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Should the US restrict LNG exports to assist higher margin plastics exports ?

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (June 3,2013) describes efforts by chemical companies like Dow Chemicals to argue against US exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) given the abundance of natural gas in the US. These chemical companies produce polymers and plastics … Continue reading

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Palm oil using manufacturer constraints impact Indonesia’s forests

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (June 3,2013) describes sourcing restrictions for palm oil by Nestle, Unilever and Cargill which bans palm oil grown in virgin rain forest land. The impact is a move by the Indonesian government to ban virgin rain … Continue reading

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Apple’s 30% commission elimination and price increase

An article in the Wall Street Journal (June 10, 2013) describes the Justice department’s claim that Apple’s 30% revenue sharing contract (uniform for all products Apple sells) is a violation of antitrust and uncompetitive. The article claims that when this … Continue reading

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Are European manufacturers globally competitive in making premium components or products ?

An article in the Financial Times (May 29, 2013) describes a collection of Italian manufacturers – Luxottica for eyewear, Sogefi for premium auto parts and Guala Closures for premium bottle caps that prevent counterfeiting. They compete globally to make premium … Continue reading

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US forests to fuel European power plants – a green supply chain ?

An article in the Wall Street Journal (May 28, 2013) describes exports of US forest generated pellets to replace coal in European power plants as Europe cuts down on fossil fuel use and tries to decrease emissions of carbon dioxide. … Continue reading

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The emerging “internet of things” and opportunities

An article in WIRED magazine (June 2013) describes the emerging internet enabled devices across homes, factories, cities etc. They predict three stages – Stage 1 links devices to the internet, Stage 2 enables conditional actions (If-Then actions) between pairs of … Continue reading

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Decreasing the $290 billion cost of poor drug adherence

A report in the Wall street Journal (May 21, 2013) quotes a $290 billion cost estimated by the New England Health Institute due to poor drug regimen adherence by 33% to 50% of the patients, thus increasing hospital or other … Continue reading

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Vertical integration in the US global pharmacy supply chain and impact

An article in the Wall Street Journal (May 21, 2013) describes an alliance between Walgreens, Alliance Boots and AmerisourceBergen to consolidate their global purchasing of generic and branded pharmaceuticals and sell them through their US Walgreens retail stores and AllianceBoots … Continue reading

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Can outsourced manufacturing compliance to agreements be crowdsourced ?

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (May 20, 2013) describes companies such as LaborVoices and LaborLink that permit employees at manufacturing plants abroad to call in anonymously to report about working conditions. The companies then follow up to verify complaints and thus … Continue reading

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