Tag Archives: disruption

Drug shortages and Medicare role

Posted on November 4, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (October 29,2012) describes reasons for shortages of drugs to treat meningitis. While the branded version of the product made by Pfizer continues to be available, generic producers shut down production for several months. The associated shortage … Continue reading →

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The buy “Made in France” campaign and consumer impact

Posted on November 4, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (October 29, 2012) describes a campaign by the French Industry minister to encourage purchase of products made in France, though they are 15 to 25% more expensive. His goal is to use increased demand as a … Continue reading →

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Drug shortages and quality issues at backup compounding pharmacies

Posted on October 5, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (October 4, 2012) describes an outbreak of meningitis caused a fungus that contaminated steriod solutions supplied by a compounding pharmacy in New England. Hospitals ordered the solution, which was in short supply, from … Continue reading →

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The reported 8471 % markup for drugs in the US

Posted on September 7, 2012 by aviyer2010

A report released on July 25, 2012 by staff in the US Senate committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, examined the gray market for prescription drugs and why hospitals are forced to pay extremely high prices for some drugs. One … Continue reading →

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Too few countries producing staple crops and associated risk

Posted on September 7, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (September 7,2012) describes food price increases of 10% from June to July 2012, corn and wheat price increases of 25% and soybean price increases of 17%. The reason – drought in the US … Continue reading →

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Civil disobedience, Rare earth processing and supply chains

Posted on September 7, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (September 6, 2012) describes plans by two NGOs in Malaysia, Himpunan Hijau and Save Malaysia Stop Lynas, to protest a plan by Lynas, a materials processor, to start rare earth processing in a … Continue reading →

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China slowdown and supply uncertainty for outsourcers

Posted on September 7, 2012 by aviyer2010

An opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal (September 7, 2012) describes supply issues faced by US companies that outsource manufacturing to plants in China. Some companies face demands for more money to buy raw materials, others find the company … Continue reading →

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Lending plants to get OEMs back on track after the Japanese earthquake

Posted on September 3, 2012 by aviyer2010

A report published by the Congressional Research Service (“The Motor Vehicle Supply Chain: Effects of the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami” by Bill Canis, May 23, 2011) describes an example in which Denso, a Tier 1 supplier to Toyota, decided to … Continue reading →

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Planning for Greece exiting the euro

Posted on September 3, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (September 3, 2012) describes plans by US companies in the event of an announcement that Greece will exit the euro and move back to the drachma. Some of them include sending employees into … Continue reading →

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Lost opportunity for Pakistan’s textile mills ?

Posted on May 18, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (April 30,2012) describes Pakistan’s textile industry as one of the world’s largest,employing 20% of the country’s labor and $14 billion in exports. But in the Pakistani city of Faisalabad, that produces 50% of the output, power … Continue reading →

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