Tag Archives: Dual Sourcing

Building resilience in supply chains

A news report (https://tinyurl.com/y55ypho3) described six ways that supply chains can build in resilience to deal with the pandemic during the early days when suppliers in China were impacted. These include adjusting shipment modes, using alternate designs, building up inventory, … Continue reading

Posted in Capacity, China, Coordination, disruption, logistics, product, ship, supplier, Supply Chain Issues, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 68 Comments

The retail supply chain impact of Hurricane Sandy

An article in the New York Times (November 4, 2012) describes the impact of hurricane Sandy on the retail supply chain, action taken by companies and the possible consequences. With fuel supply shortages, FedEx started using fuel tankers to supply … Continue reading

Posted in Ecommerce, Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Can cheap, flexible robots assist workers to make US manufacturing globally competitive?

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (September 24, 2012) describes new robots announced by Rethink Robotics, priced at $ 22,000 and reprogrammable to assist workers with repititive tasks. Teaching the robot requires simulating the steps by moving its arms, after which the … Continue reading

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The US Navy’s concern about sole suppliers for defense

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (Sept 5, 2011) describes the worry in the Navy that their sole sourced contract for the Aegis Combat System with Lockheed Martin may not have delivered the best deal. Past contracts to Lockheed have been under … Continue reading

Posted in Collaboration, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A new report on Apple’s China Supply Chain and associated pollution

A recent report (http://www.ipe.org.cn/Upload/Report-IT-V-Apple-II.pdf, published August 31, 2011) questions whether decisions made by Apple’s suppliers continue to have a negative environmental impact.  The report identifies suppliers who release hazardous chemicals into the river or environment, the speed of ramp up … Continue reading

Posted in Global Contexts, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Swatch sales growth and its component supply impact

A New York Times article (April 23,2011) describes the 42 % net profit increase and sales growth at Swatch, the Swiss watch company. The company is rushing to satisfy demand in Asia and expects to add over 2,000 employees in … Continue reading

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Collaboration, Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Japan Tsunami and Supply Chain Resilience

A New York Times article (March 19, 2011) descibes management of the global supply chain impact of the Japanese tsunami and earthquake and likens it to triage in a hospital.  Apple is quoted as having buffer inventory to compensate for … Continue reading

Posted in Collaboration, Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment