Tag Archives: Efficiency

Kidney Transplants – is matching available lifespans of kidney and patient appropriate ?

Posted on February 25, 2011 by aviyer2010

A New York Times article (February 25, 2011) describes a new proposal for allocation of transplanted kidneys – match the lifespan of the recipient and the kidney. The article describes the fact that in the current system an 18 year … Continue reading →

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Pepsico’s guaranteed price corn purchases from small farmers in Mexico

Posted on February 23, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the International Herald Tribune (February 22, 2011) describes Pepsico’s guaranteed price purchase (upfront) of corn from small farmers in Mexico. The farmers use the contract to buy seeds, fertilizer and equipment. Buying from these farms close to … Continue reading →

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Grocery Co-ops of small stores competing with Supermarkets

Posted on February 18, 2011 by aviyer2010

The Economist (January 29, 2011, pg 64) describes how a collection of small stores are uniting as a co-op to develop customer loyalty cards, negotiate with branded manufacturers and offer electronic discounts to preferred customers.  The article comments on the … Continue reading →

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Understanding Rare Earths Supply Chains – a DOE Report

Posted on January 23, 2011 by aviyer2010

For supply chain managers interested in rare earth supply chains, a DOE report, available at  http://www.energy.gov/news/documents/criticalmaterialsstrategy.pdf provides a comprehensive summary. Currently, 97 % of the world’s rare earth metals are sourced from China. A few highlights of the report (a) … Continue reading →

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Slow Steaming, Extra Slow Steaming and Antitrust Exemption

Posted on January 19, 2011 by aviyer2010

A Supply Chain Digest article (January 13, 2011,http://www.scdigest.com/ontarget/11-01-13-1.php?cid=4091) describes discussions between shipping carriers that transport between Asia and the US to slow down speeds and decrease their environmental impact. Slow steaming reduces speed from 25 knots to 18 knots and … Continue reading →

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U.S.Manufacturing jobs grow 1.2 %

Posted on January 19, 2011 by aviyer2010

A report in the Wall Street Journal (January 19, 2011) describes a 1.2 % growth in manufacturing jobs in the US in 2010, with a projected increase of 2.5 % in 2011. The article also states that while manufacturing output … Continue reading →

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Initiatives to protect the Global Supply Chain

Posted on January 18, 2011 by aviyer2010

Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, wrote an Op-Ed piece in the Wall Street Journal (Januray 6,2011) describing the challenges and efforts to protect the Global Supply Chain. Products ordered by consumers today may often involve components, subassemblies and packaging … Continue reading →

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Energy Efficiency for troop tents to save fuel convoys

Posted on January 14, 2011 by aviyer2010

An Op-Ed piece in the New York Times (January 13,2011) describes the over 1,000 US troops who have been killed on fuel related missions. The author, Steven Anderson, proposes a solution – using foam insulation on the exteriors of bases … Continue reading →

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Nuclear propulsion for Civilian Ships – the impact of fuel regulation

Posted on January 10, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the Financial Times (Dec 5, 2010) describes how planned regulation of the fuel emissions by commercial ships – is expected to increase fuel costs by 50 % in 2012 due to the level of sulphur content in … Continue reading →

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Outsourced Legal Services

Posted on October 1, 2010 by aviyer2010

A recent New York Times article described the outsourcing of legal work to lawyers in India. The concept of splitting white collar work into a standard and a customized component is interesting. A careful splitting of such work requires coordination … Continue reading →

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