Tag Archives: Margins

Walmart’s new technology intensive warehouse that is 40% more efficient

Posted on October 21, 2018 by aviyer2010

An article in finance.yahoo.com titled “Walmart’s grocery warehouse worker of the future will have a STEM background” discussed the new warehouse in Shafter, California that will use automation to get eggs, diary and frozen goods to warehouse employees pick rather … Continue reading →

Posted in consumer, Cost, disruption, logistics, Operations Management, retailers, technology | Tagged automation, grocery, Margins, mgmt5612019, prices, productivity, STEM, WalMart | 55 Comments

Will Roadie provide an alternative cost effective delivery model ?

Posted on February 25, 2015 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Technology Bubble? Ask Waffle House” (February 24, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/technology-bubble-ask-waffle-house-1424754062?cb=logged0.0031108735129237175) describes an alliance between Roadie (a technology startup) and Waffle House (a 24 hour restaurant). Under the agreement, Waffle House’s 1750 stores will … Continue reading →

Posted in Capacity, Collaboration, Cost, delivery, Ecommerce, Operations Management, retailers | Tagged Capacity, Collaboration, Coordination, Cost, Design, Margins, Risk, Service | Leave a comment

Amazon’s 1 cent shipping in France

Posted on July 15, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in Slate (July 11, 2014), titled “France Banned Free Shipping. So Amazon made it cost 1 cent”, describes Amazon.com’s response to a new French law that bans free shipping and permits only bricks and mortar bookstores to offer … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged bookstores, Consumers, Cost, Ecommerce, France, Margins, prices, regulation, Supply Chain, transport | Leave a comment

Will buyers paying a penny a pound more for tomatoes help farm workers ?

Posted on March 30, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in ozy.com (January 16,2014) titled “A Penny a Pound and so much more”, describes the push by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to get buyers like Taco Bell, Subway, McDonalds, WalMart and Whole Foods to pay a penny … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged competition, Consumers, Cost, labor cost, Margins, Retail, Supply Chain, tomato | 1 Comment

Penalties for Canadian railways that do not ship enough grain

Posted on March 30, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (March 7,2014) titled “Canada sets Minimum Grain Shipment Targets for Railways”, describes penalties of up to $90,000 if shipments by railways fall below 5,500 railcars a week. This target is significantly greater than … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Canada, Capacity, competition, Consumers, Cost, Margins, rail, regulation, river transport, Service, Suppliers, Supply Chain | 1 Comment

“Anticipatory Shipping” ideas from Amazon

Posted on January 24, 2014 by aviyer2010

An article in the CBS News website (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-files-patent-for-anticipatory-shipping/) titled “Amazon files patent for anticipatory shipping” provides an outline of the idea. The key is that goods would be shipped out before the customer places the order so that the deliveries … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, emb2019, imm2018, Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Amazon, Consumers, Cost, delivery, Ecommerce, Efficiency, emb2019, imm2018, imm2019, Margins, Service, shipping, Supply Chain | 38 Comments

Traditional vs transparent Pharmacy Benefit Management companies

Posted on November 5, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in Fortune magazine titled “Painful Prescription” (October 28,2013) describes a traditional pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), Express Scripts and a transparent PBM, Envision Pharmaceutical Services. Transparent PBMs charge a fixed fee for processing prescriptions while traditional PBMs make money … Continue reading →

Posted in Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Consumers, Cost, Margins, PBM, pharmaceuticals, regulation, Service, Suppliers, Supply Chain, transparent | Leave a comment

Can Uber be a hyper-local logistics provider ?

Posted on September 23, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in Fortune magazine (October 7,2013) describes the capability of Uber, the taxi app software provider whose main capability rests on the algorithms that enable its drivers to remain utilized by matching the dynamics of the spatial demand and … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Algorithms, Consumers, Cost, local, logistics, Margins, surge pricing, taxi | Leave a comment

Is P&G’s plan to cut package contents to increase prices a winner ?

Posted on September 16, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (September 8, 2013) describes a plan by Proctor and Gamble (P&G) to reduce 8 diapers from a box of 140 while maintaining the price, thus raising prices by 6%. This policy follows the … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capacity, Consumers, Cost, Margins, package sizes, Retail | 7 Comments

Does fast fashion enhance poor garment manufacturer working conditions in Bangladesh ?

Posted on September 16, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New Yorker by James Surowicki (May 20,2013) quotes MIT political scientist Richard Locke as suggesting that fast fashion, with short cycle times, high variety and demands for quick turnaround, force garment manufacturers to demand poor working … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Apparel, Bangladesh, Capacity, Cost, fashion, fast, Global, manufacturing, Margins, Outsourcing, Supply Chain | 16 Comments