Tag Archives: Efficiency

Reducing design elements to improve supply chain performance at Lego

Posted on December 23, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (Dec 19,2011) describes Lego’s decision to outsource themeparks, sell the entertainment division and decrease the number of design elements available to designers from 12,900 to 7,000. The company describes each new element as creating both mold … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Cost, Design, Efficiency, Retail, Service, Suppliers, Supply Chain | 2 Comments

Using security cameras to fine tune retail assortment and displays

Posted on December 23, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (Dec 19, 2011) describes the use of security camera video data to track consumer flows within Montblanc’s retil stores, with software by Retailnet enabling adjustments that increased sales 20 %. Given that individual tracking of customer … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged cameras, Ecommerce, Efficiency, Infrastructure, Inventory, realtime, Retail | Leave a comment

Orphan drug laws and attractiveness for pharmaceutical companies

Posted on December 6, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (Nov 5, 2011) describes the Orphan Drug Act, a competition free seven year period for manufacturers of drugs to treat diseases affecting less than 200,000 patients. This exclusive period enables drug prices for dosages to reach … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged competition, Consumers, Cost, Efficiency, manufacturing, regulation, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Justifying the LED light bulb

Posted on December 1, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (Nov 30, 2011) describes the calculation being done by companies like WalMart as they switch to light bulbs made from light emitting diodes (LEDs), which last potentially 10 times longer than regular light … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged Cost, Efficiency, Service, Supply Chain, Sustainable | 1 Comment

Evolving landfills into alternate energy sources

Posted on November 30, 2011 by aviyer2010

A CNN video (http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/11/30/javaheri-landfill-solar-methane.cnn) describes a landfill in Atlanta that uses a polyester based fabric with solar panels to cover up a landfill. the solar panels generate electricity that is fed to the grid. But the organic waster generates methane, … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged alternate energy, Costs, Efficiency, recycling, Supply Chain, Trends | 1 Comment

U.S. multinationals global job growth in the 2000s

Posted on November 26, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (Nov 22, 2011), describes an analysis by the Commerce Department showing that US multinationals cut 865,000 jobs in the US and added 2.9 million jobs in the rest of the world. In the manufacturing sector, … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capacity, competition, Consumers, Cost, Efficiency, Global, Growth, manufacturing, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Immigrant networks, trust and supply chain speed

Posted on November 18, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the Economist (Nov 19,2011) describes a hypothetical example of a Chinese trader in Indonesia who, seeing a market opportunity for umbrellas, uses his cousin in Shenzhen to quickly source and ship product for sale in Indonesia. Contract … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, Global Contexts, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Coordination, Cost, Efficiency, Global, Suppliers, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Restructuring the global supply chain at Whirlpool

Posted on October 29, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Wall Street Journal article (Oct 29, 2011) describes the extra capacity held by appliance makers anticipating a demand rebound from 25 % low in the US and a 15 % drop in Europe compared to past levels. But continued … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capacity, Efficiency, Global, Growth, manufacturing, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Airline sustainability goals and biofuel role

Posted on October 9, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (Green Column, Oct 9, 2011) describes the airline industry goal to become “carbon neutral” by 2020 and cut emissions by 50 % by 2050, given that they account for 2 % of all human generated … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Consumers, Cost, Design, Efficiency, Global, regulation, Supply Chain, Sustainable, Trends | Leave a comment

Preventing cholera in Bangladesh by used folded saris

Posted on September 27, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (Sept 27, 2011) describes the historic levels of cholera that persisted when sweetened drinks were strained using a sari (made of cotton fabric) because microorganisms are smaller than the pores in the fabric. A research … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged Efficiency, health, low cost, Service, Supply Chain, Survival, Sustainable | Leave a comment