Tag Archives: Efficiency

Private Equity ownership and bulk purchasing savings

Posted on September 2, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times(July 12,2012) describes the private equity firm, the Blackstone Group, which owns 74 companies with a combined 700,000 employees. Across its companies, the firm buys 15 million reams of paper, 35 million FedEx shipments … Continue reading →

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India’s large grain stockpiles, yet 21% undernourished

Posted on June 9, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (June 8, 2012), describes the 71 million tons of grain stockpiles in India, the world’s second largest invenory. But distribution to its poor citizens through ration shops is inefficient and corrupt, leaving 21% … Continue reading →

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Can coordination of health care save 30 % of costs ?

Posted on May 27, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (May 23, 2012) describes an effort by UCLA’s Health System to save 30% of costs by coordinating the hospital, patient, doctors and health insurers. These reductions will come from decreasing the number of … Continue reading →

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Global Twinning with a Belgian plant to improve a US steel mill

Posted on May 22, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (May 21, 2012) describe an approach called twinning, pairing a weaker and stronger plant to share productivity improvement methods, and thus increase productivity. ArcelorMittal paired their Burns Harbor plant in Indiana with a … Continue reading →

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A New Pentagon lab and better gas mileage for cars

Posted on May 19, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (May 21, 2012) describes a new Pentagon lab in Warren, Michigan to test alternate fuels, improve energy efficiency of parts amd thus improve tank designs. But the same technologies may assist automakers trying to increase their … Continue reading →

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The ripple effect of auto sales on the supply chain

Posted on May 19, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (May 21, 2012) describes the growth in auto sales to 2008 levels (14 million) – back to 2008 levels – and its ripple effect across the supply chain. Tooling and ficture manufacturer Apex Tool claims growth, … Continue reading →

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Why did Amazon.com decide to provide Harry Potter e-books free ?

Posted on May 18, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (May 11,2012) describes a decision by Amazon.com to provide Harry Potter e-books free to libraries, while paying book publishers the wholesale price. The article argues that Amazon will obtain profits from other purchases … Continue reading →

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Private Equity Efficiency Improvement and the Toyota Production System

Posted on May 2, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (April 26, 2012) describes the efficiency improvement generated by a private equity firm Monomoy Capital Partners. Examples include reducing forklift times by 10 minutes, finding lost inventory, streamlining operations etc. The company claims to runs kaizens … Continue reading →

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Harmonizing trade regulations and supply chain impact

Posted on May 1, 2012 by aviyer2010

In an article in the Wall Street Journal (May 1,2012) Cass Sunstein, administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, describes steps taken by the US government to harmonize regulations across countries to reduce costs. Examples cited … Continue reading →

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Delta Airlines going upstream to save costs – are there risks ?

Posted on May 1, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in CNNMoney (http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/30/news/companies/delta-oil-refinery/index.htm?hpt=hp_t2) reports on a plan by Delta Airlines to buy the Trainer oil refinery in Philadelphia to produce jet fuel. The claim is that the purchase of the refinery for $ 150 million will allow Delta … Continue reading →

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