Tag Archives: Service

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 , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

US Manufacturing rebound and prospects

Posted on April 7, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (April 4,2012) describes job growth at Master Lock, a manufacturer, and the 20% of the manufacturing jobs, lost during the recent recession, that have been added back to the economy. However, some of … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Social Networking at P&G to drive sales growth

Posted on April 3, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (April 3, 2012) describes Proctor & Gamble’s foray into social networking and its demand impact. A Facebook campiagn for Pepto-Bismol focused on “Celebrate Life” – targeting users of the product on Saturday and Sunday mornings – … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , | 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 , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Using the US Strategic Petroleum reserves

Posted on March 28, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Economist (March 24, 2012) discusses a plan to use the US Strategic Petroluem Reserves to dampen US oil prices. The reserve was set up to provide an inventory buffer against emergencies and has been used after … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The global supply chain for outsourced services

Posted on March 28, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (March 19,2012) describes new locations for higher level outsourced work – accounting, research, marketing etc. New locations in Argentina, Guatemala, Poland and Brazil, enable these tasks to be performed closer to the customer, despite being more … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The impact of post office cost and rule changes

Posted on March 28, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (March 26,2012) describes how different industry sectors might be impacted by decisions made by the post office. Greeting card manufacturers and drug distributors claim that increased post office rates will decrease their demand … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fastenal’s variety competition

Posted on March 6, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (Feb 27, 2012) describes the greatest growth compan since 1987 as Fastenal, a distributor of fasteners. Fastenal’s 10,261 pages of fasteners provides the greatest variety of fasteners, available at 2,600 outlets.  Does variety provide a distributor … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

iPad Accessory makers and race to be ready for the new version

Posted on March 6, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in USA Today (March 6, 2012) describes a race by accessory makers to be ready with products for the new iPad 3, debuting on March 7.  The market for iPad and iPhone accessories is estimated to be $ … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

$ 8 billion in fines but still suppliers

Posted on March 6, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in USA Today (March 7, 2012) describes the $ 8 billion in fines paid by pharmaceutical companies accused of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid, but with no impact on their supplier status – thanks to them being sole suppliers … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment