Tag Archives: Growth

Political Risk and Global Supply Chain Impact

An article in the Economist (Schumpeter, February 12, 2011, pg 75) describes the impact of political risk on the supply chain. It starts with the abrupt impact of the changes in Egypt on the company that controlled 67 % of … Continue reading

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Neiman Marcus Assortment changes and potential impact

A Wall Street Journal article (15 February 2011) describes the past strategy at Neiman Marcus and changes to respond to the 30 % sales drop in December 2008.   The article describes that 50 % of its sales were generated … Continue reading

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Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Global Supply Chain Impact

An article in the International Herald Tribune (14 February 2011) describes the TPP – which involves the Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam (and possibly Japan).  The article describes the possible impact of such a pact … Continue reading

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Commodity price increases, margin impact and choices

A Wall Street Journal article (14 February 2011) describes the impact of commodity price increases have driven down average operating margins – by $ 500 million for Kraft and $ 1 billion for Proctor & Gamble.  The focus on productivity … Continue reading

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US Medical Device Approval Delays and Global SUpply Chain Impact

A New York Times article (February 10, 2011, B1) describes delays in FDA approval of medical devices and their impact on consumers, manufacturers and jobs.  A few key issues (a) FDA approval requires the manufacturer to show the device is … Continue reading

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Growing India China Trade Flows

An article in the International Herald Tribune (February 9, 2011) describes the growing trade flows between China and India, projected to grow by 62 % by 2015, after growing by a factor of 20 in the last 10 years.  Air … Continue reading

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Pentagon Procurement opposes mergers

A Wall Street Journal article (February 9, 2011) reports that the procurement officials at the Pentagon will oppose mergers of defense suppliers. The belief is that competition has to be maintained to increase the US government’s buying power.  The Pentagon … Continue reading

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Strong Yen causes Nissan to shift global production

A Wall Street Journal article (1 February 2011) reports that given the strong yen, Nissan will consider shifting production out of Japan to the US and other markets.  The article claims that a move of one yen (against the dollar) … Continue reading

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Apple’s Platform Approach impact on growth

An article in the International Herald Tribune (January 28, 2011) describes the 71 % growth in quarterly sales reported by Apple and attributes it to a “platform” approach.  The claim is that Apple software (iTunes, the store and app software) … Continue reading

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Adjusting the Supply Chain for Girl Scouts Cookies

A Wall Street Journal article (January 27,2011) describes changes being made to girl scout cookie supply chains to improve profits. First – variety is being cut to focus on just six SKUs which are estimated to save a penny per … Continue reading

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