Tag Archives: Supply Chain

Are droids better than drones for last mile delivery ?

An article in the Chicago Tribune (April 19, 2016) titled “Droids, not drones, are the future of e-commerce deliveries”, describes plans by Starship Technologies to develp mobile delivery robots to do home deliveries. The company claims that its robots weigh … Continue reading

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Implications of the “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act 2015” passed by Congress

A discussion of the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act in (http://www.fooddemocracynow.org/blog/2015/jul/23-0) describes the law’s impact on blocking states from passing voluntary GMO labeling laws. A Cornell study by William Lesser had estimated the impact of such labels at $500 … Continue reading

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Canada’s Supply Management Policy and TPP

An article in Business News Network (http://www.bnn.ca/News/2015/6/26/3-things-to-know-about-the-Trans-Pacific-Partnership.aspx) reports on the impact of the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) pact being negotiated between 12 countries on supply management approaches used for milk, cheese and eggs. Under supply management, the Canadian government controls the … Continue reading

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Brick and mortar stores using ecommerce tricks

An article in the Wall Street Journal (August 12, 2015) titled “Web retailers Teach In-store Tricks” describes Macy’s display of one item each of swimsuits, with shoppers using an app to get their size to try on. Freeing up the … Continue reading

Posted in competitiveness, consumer, Cost, product, retailers, Service Operations | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Should “digital instructions for physical products” be protected by US copyright laws

An article in the Wall Street Journal (August 12, 2015″ titled “Digital Patent cases Faces Skeptics”, describes a current appeals court hearing involving ClearCorrect, a company that used digital data from Pakistan to manufacture custom orthodontic devices, thus violating the … Continue reading

Posted in Global Contexts, intellectual property, Liability, manufacturer, mgmt5612019, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , | 62 Comments

Auto Demand and supply mismatch worries impact platinum prices

An article in the Wall Street Journal (September 29, 2014) titled “Platinum Skids on Car-Demand Worries” describes the recent price drop for platinum and traces the volatility of prices of the metal recently.  A strike in a South African mine … Continue reading

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The Ebola premium added to cocoa prices ?

An article in the Wall Street Journal (September 19, 2014) titled “Cocoa Prices Surge on Ebola Fears” describes concerns about the cocoa growing regions in West Africa, including Ghana and the Ivory Coast who grow 60% of the world’s supply, … Continue reading

Posted in Capacity, Cost, disruption, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Is Amazon vulnerable because it does not control last mile delivery ?

An article in WIRED magazine (May 8, 2014) titled “Amazon Should Make the Postal Service Its Own Personal Courier” describes Amazon’s service vulnerability because it does not control outbound transportation from distribution centers, unlike WalMart. The UPS delivery slippage last … Continue reading

Posted in Ecommerce, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Will the SupplierPay program boost small business sales ?

An article in the Wall Street Journal (July 11, 2014) titled “Apple, Coca-Cola Among Firms Signed on to White House Plan for Small Suppliers”, describes a voluntary plan announced at the White House under which small suppliers would be paid … Continue reading

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Amazon’s 1 cent shipping in France

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

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