Tag Archives: Cost

Rising demand for organic foods and associated shortages

An article  in  the  Wall Street  Journal  (April 3, 2015) titled “Hunger for Organic Foods Stretches the Supply Chain” describes both the rising demand for organically grown products and  the cost of transitioning to organics. The interim period has rising … Continue reading

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Amazon’s patent for 3D printing and delivery

An article in the Wall Street Journal (February 26, 2015) titled “When Drones Aren’t Enough, Amazon Envisions Trucks with 3D Printers” describes a recent patent awarded to Amazon that describes printing the required product for the customer rather than carrying it … Continue reading

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Will Roadie provide an alternative cost effective delivery model ?

An article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Technology Bubble? Ask Waffle House” (February 24, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/technology-bubble-ask-waffle-house-1424754062?cb=logged0.0031108735129237175) describes an alliance between Roadie (a technology startup) and Waffle House (a 24 hour restaurant). Under the agreement, Waffle House’s 1750 stores will … Continue reading

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Is Amazon vulnerable because it does not control last mile delivery ?

An article in WIRED magazine (May 8, 2014) titled “Amazon Should Make the Postal Service Its Own Personal Courier” describes Amazon’s service vulnerability because it does not control outbound transportation from distribution centers, unlike WalMart. The UPS delivery slippage last … Continue reading

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Will the SupplierPay program boost small business sales ?

An article in the Wall Street Journal (July 11, 2014) titled “Apple, Coca-Cola Among Firms Signed on to White House Plan for Small Suppliers”, describes a voluntary plan announced at the White House under which small suppliers would be paid … Continue reading

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Amazon’s 1 cent shipping in France

An article in Slate (July 11, 2014), titled “France Banned Free Shipping. So Amazon made it cost 1 cent”, describes Amazon.com’s response to a new French law that bans free shipping and permits only bricks and mortar bookstores to offer … Continue reading

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Should “pay to delay” launch by branded pharma be considered illegal ?

An article in the International Herald Tribune (July 10,2014) titled “EU fines drug makers over generics”, describes the $450 million fine levied in Servier, a branded producer of the blood pressure drug perindopril. The company is accused of buying up … Continue reading

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France’s laws to protect bookshops

An article in the International Herald Tribune (July 10,2014) titled “The French do buy books. Real books”, describes two French laws, the “Lang Law” that says that book prices cannot be discounted more than 5%, and a new rule that … Continue reading

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Will the US catfish inspection program derail the TPP pact

An article in the New York Times on June 28, 2014 (“US Catfish Program Could Stymie Pacific Trade Pact, 10 Nations Say”) describes the Agriculture Department’s catfish inspection program that is being protested by Vietnam with support from Thailand, Philippines, … Continue reading

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Surging prices for railcars as demand runs up against supply shortages

An article in the Wall Street Journal (May 30,2014) titled “Driller’s Pain is Railcar Owner’s Gain”, describes 33% price increases for tank cars, 50% increases for cars hauling sand and 40% increases for grain hoppers. These price increases reflect the … Continue reading

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