Tag Archives: Cost

Hospital Penalties for preventable patient infections ?

A New York Times article (April 13,2011) describes a study doe by the VA hospital to screen patients for MRSA, require use gloves and gowns and hand washing by care providers.   The study reported a 62 % drop in infections … Continue reading

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Oil Soaked booms recycled to make air baffles for the Chevy Volt

An article in Fortune (April 11, 2011, page 25) tracks the movement and transformation of oil soaked booms from the BP Gulf oil spill.  The reverse supply chain involves use of centrifuges in trucks to remove the saltwater and oil, … Continue reading

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FDA and large vs small scale drug manufacturing oversight

A New York Times article (April 4, 2011) describes the impact of decisions by the FDA not to regulate “compounding pharmacies” that make versions of drugs not commonly available (for example liquid forms of tablet medications).  The expectation is that … Continue reading

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Recycled boxes, export growth and global supply chain impact

A Wall Street Journal article (March 30, 2011) describes exports of recycled cardboard boxes from the US to China.  With the increased use of online shopping – US consumers have a growing number of such boxes, with 15 % of … Continue reading

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iPod battery supply constrained by a polymer producer

A Wall Street Journal article (March 29, 2011) traces supply worries for the lithium ion batteries used in the iPod to a polymer manufacturer, Kureha. The company produces PVDF – polyvinylidene flouride, a polymer that is flexible and thus ideal … Continue reading

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Managing food prices by Adjusting package sizes

A New York Times article (March 29, 2011) describes package size adjustment as an approach to maintain prices at the grocery store.  Examples cited include whole wheat pasta packs with 13.25 ounces instead of the usual 16 ounces, baby wipes … Continue reading

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Paint additive shortage from Japanese supplier impacts car colors

A Wall Street Journal article (March 26, 2011) describes a shortage of an additive, Xirallic, made of coated glass flakes, and by a Merck plant in Japan.  This additive is shipped to paint makers in Germany and then to car … Continue reading

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Japanese Tiers 2 and 3 supplier impact of the tsunami

A Wall Street Journal story (March 26, 2011) describes production shortages at Renesas Electronics, a divison of NEC, and a supplier of chips to intermediates like Hitachi , Bosch and Siemens, who in turn create auto components to control engines, … Continue reading

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Cargo Ships and containers impact of Japan earthquake and tsunami

A New York Times article (March 26, 2011) describes decisions made by cargo ships, ship owners of leased ships and container owners to avoid routes and ports that might result in exposure to radioactivity.  Ships that test positive for radioactive … Continue reading

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Airflow Sensor shortage from Japanese supplier and auto OEM impact

A Wall Street Journal article (March 24, 2011) describes the supply chain impact of part shortages from a Japanese company, Hitachi Automotive, that has a 60 % world market share of mass airflow sensors that measure airflow to car engines. … Continue reading

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