Tag Archives: Cost

Buying weather contracts to support retail promotions

Posted on October 1, 2011 by aviyer2010

A BloombergBusinessweek article (Sept 5, 2011) article on weather related risk management describes a retail promotion by a parka manufacturer, Weatherproof Garment, that promised promised Macy’s credit card customers reimbursement of the cost of parkas if weather was freezing on … Continue reading →

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Organizing Chilean rural carpenters into networks to sell sustainable wood furniture

Posted on October 1, 2011 by aviyer2010

A report by the WEF and BCG (http://reports.weforum.org/new-sustainability-champions/#view/new-sustainability-champions/case-studies/florida-ice-farm/) describes a Chilean wood producer Masisa. The company gets wood from pine and eucalyptus farms it owns, which are processed to form wood boards.It organized remote rural carpenters into networks that can … Continue reading →

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Broadband access, cellphones and supply chains in Africa

Posted on October 1, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in CNN Money(http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/19/ibm-the-african-revolution-no-one-should-ignore/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fortunebrainstormtech+%28Fortune+Brainstorm+Tech%29) describes the impact of a $ 250 million undersea fiber optic cable and the growth of cellphones.  Fishermen in Ghana use cellphones to find wholesale prices to choose the best option. Reduced internet costs are … Continue reading →

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Making cars in high cost Brazil in response to import taxes

Posted on October 1, 2011 by aviyer2010

The Economist (Sept 24, 2011) describes a 30 percent increase in tax on cars with an exemption for cars made in Brazil, Mexico or the Mercosur trade block. Thus, even though labor costs in Brazil are 60 % higher than … Continue reading →

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The logic of producing cellphones in Tierra del Fuego

Posted on October 1, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the Economist (Sept 24, 2011) describes the decision by Brightpoint, an Indianapolis manufacturer, to spend 15 times labor cost in Asia to set up a manufacturing plant for Blackberrys in Tierra del Fuego at the tip of … Continue reading →

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Should the Indian govt squeeze foreign acquisitions of its drug companies ?

Posted on September 27, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (Sept 27, 2011) describes worries by the Indian govt regarding the future impact of foreign acquisitions of its local drug firms – Abbot buying Piramal Healthcare and Daiichi Sankyo buying Ranbaxy Labs Ltd. The worry … Continue reading →

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Village Health volunteers and health care success in Thailand

Posted on September 27, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (Sept 27, 2011) describes the role of Village Health volunteers – one million strong in a nation of 65 million, who watch for disease outbreaks, spread warnings wen detected and thus curb infectious diseases. These … Continue reading →

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Lost cost diagnosis and Supply Chain Impact

Posted on September 27, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (Sept 27, 2011) describes efforts in a lab to use small postage size paper bits to diagnose mold and bacteria.  One impact of a low cost test for mold is diagnosis of aflatoxin, … Continue reading →

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Nokia volume drops and supplier impact

Posted on September 27, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (Sept 27, 2011) describes the declining fortunes of Nokia and its impact in suppliers. These suppliers are described as finding that Apple and Android based smartphones are using custom built components that are closed to … Continue reading →

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Europe rules regarding airline emissions

Posted on September 27, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (Sept 26, 2011) describes new European rules that restrict airline emissions to 97 % of their emissions from 2004-2006 with a free emissions 85 % of this limit. This number will drop to 95 % … Continue reading →

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