Tag Archives: Infrastructure

GM, Peugeot Alliance

An article in the New York Times (Feb 29,2012) describes a decision by General Motors to invest in 7% of Peugeot, creating an alliance. The associated $125 billion spend of the two companies is expected to deliver synergies in the … Continue reading

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US Demographics in 2020 and supply chain trends

An article in the Wall Street Journal by Mills and Ottino (Jan 30, 2012) states that in 2020 the US population will be younger than China and Europe. They present three trends – computing power and its ubiquity, smart manufacturing … Continue reading

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Apple’s global supply chain and US jobs

An article in the New York Times (Jan 21, 2012) describes Apple’s global supply chain  for the iPhone with suppliers from Germany, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Europe, rare metals from Africa and Asia and assembly in China. The article highlights the … Continue reading

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From China to Cambodia – shifts in the global apparel supply chain

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (Jan 16,2012) describes the impact of the rising yuan, environmental rule enforcement and rising wages (18 to 20% annually the past three years) driving manufacturing to locations out of China – such as Cambodia. With weekly … Continue reading

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Solarthermal approach to store solar energy and supply chain impact

An article in the New York Times (Jan 4, 2012) describes solarthermal techonolgy- using  salt to store the heat generated from solar energy, with release of this heat to create electricity at a later time.The resulting heat can be used … Continue reading

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Corn Storage Capacity increase and supply chain impact

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (Jan 9, 2012) describes a significant increase in corn storage capacity at the farm level. The result, farmers hold their crop to sell at the best price, thus corn prices have increased 23 % over the … Continue reading

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Reverse Logistics – managing the US Army withdrawal from Iraq

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (Dec 19, 2011) describes the management of the ramp down in Iraq, with 2 million items to be accounted for removal. The choices (1) donate to Iraq,(2) ship back to the US Army for use, (3) … Continue reading

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Using security cameras to fine tune retail assortment and displays

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

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Borders bookstore operations and its trajectory to extinction

An article in bloombergbusinessweek (nov14, 2011) describes supply chain choices by Borders bookstores in its path to extinction. The company’s origins and growth were fueled by careful title sales tracking and inventory management, but its merger with Waldenbooks created an … Continue reading

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Rare earth mountains and Federal supply chain assistance ?

A bloombergbusinessweek article (Oct 31-Nov 6, 2011, pg 85) describes a private company’s attempt to mine rare earths from the Bokan montain in Alaska. The mountain represents the highest purity source of rare earths in the US.  But China represents … Continue reading

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