Tag Archives: Infrastructure

The projected impact of insufficient port improvements on the US economy

Posted on September 22, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Supply Chain Management Review (Sept 17, 2012 http://www.scmr.com/article/the_american_society_of_civil_engineers_say_u.s._supply_chains_at_risk/?goback=.gde_115985_member_165825492) states that investments in US marine ports ad waterways upkeep from now to 2020 is planned to be $ 16 billion lower than required, while investments in airports … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capacity, Consumers, Cost, Design, Efficiency, Infrastructure, Inventory, regulation, Risk, Service | Leave a comment

Pipeline flow direction in Canada to accomodate tar sands output growth

Posted on May 27, 2012 by aviyer2010

A article in the Economist (May 26, 2012) describes the increased oil production from the tar sands in Alberta, Canada, estimated to gow to 72 % of Canada’s output by 2020 (from 58 % now). But getting that oil, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged Capacity, China, Cost, Environment, Growth, Infrastructure, pipeline, regulation, Risk, Suppliers, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Lost opportunity for Pakistan’s textile mills ?

Posted on May 18, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (April 30,2012) describes Pakistan’s textile industry as one of the world’s largest,employing 20% of the country’s labor and $14 billion in exports. But in the Pakistani city of Faisalabad, that produces 50% of the output, power … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capability, Capacity, China, competition, Cost, disruption, Global, Infrastructure, manufacturing, Risk, Supply Chain, Survival | Leave a comment

Figuring out if Chinese solar panel manufacturers are dumping in the US

Posted on May 18, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (May 16, 2012) describes possible countries whose cost structure could be used to estimate costs in China. In the past, costs in India i.e., labor, material, rent, electricity have been used as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capability, China, competition, Cost, Global, Infrastructure, manufacturing, regulation, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Bangladesh – an emerging apparel manufacturer ?

Posted on April 26, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (April 23,2012) describes the doubling of apparel exports from Bangladesh, compared to four years ago. Li & Fung, a manufacturer of apparel increased its procurement to over $1 billion in 2011, a 41% … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged competition, Cost, Global, Infrastructure, manufacturing, Outsourcing, Risk, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Coal supply issues, power supply and supply chain impact in India

Posted on April 26, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (April 19,2012) describes coal supply difficulties in India due to price controls on power, rising prices of Indonesian coal and lack of incentives to use natural gas. The impact – erratic power supplies … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged competition, Cost, Global, Growth, India, Infrastructure, manufacturing, Supply Chain, Sustainable | Leave a comment

Improving the competitiveness of Portugal’s ports

Posted on April 7, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Economist (March 24,2012) describes the drop in prices per container from $1000 to $300 from Asia to Europe as ship capacities increased to 14,000 containers. Portugal’s deep ports can accommodate these ships but are uncompetitive for … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capacity, competition, Cost, Infrastructure, manufacturing, Outsourcing, regulation, Service, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Unilever’s Sustainability Measures for its Supply Chain

Posted on April 3, 2012 by aviyer2010

A white paper by Verdantix Ltd (http://www.verdantix.com/uploadedfiles/products/Verdantix%20Unilever%27s%20Strategy%20Leverages%20Value%20Chain%20Influence.pdf) describes specific measures at Unilver e.g., measurement of its environmental impact per unit of consumer usage i.e., per tea bag or per dose of detergent, with a goal to decrease that impact by … Continue reading →

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

The reuse vs recycling decision at Starbucks

Posted on April 2, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Sustainable Brands (http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/articles/starbucks-increases-recycling-backs-away-reusable-mugs?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=businessweekly&utm_campaign=april2) describes a decision by Starbucks to shift from reuseable to recylclable cups. Reuseable mugs were related to a 5 % increase in water usage in 2011, after and 17 % drop from 2008 to … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged Collaboration, Consumers, Cost, Design, Environment, Infrastructure, Retail, Service, Sustainable | 1 Comment

The supply chain impact of minimum wage increases in China, Vietnam and Indonesia

Posted on March 18, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (March 14,2012) describes the impact of wage increases in China on Charming Shoppes, owner of the Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug and Catherine labels. In addition to wage increases, the company realized that 60% … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capability, Capacity, competition, Cost, Global, Growth, Infrastructure, Legal, manufacturing, Risk, Suppliers, Supply Chain | Leave a comment