Tag Archives: transport

Competition between railroads and pipeline operators to transport oil

Posted on June 15, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (June 17,2013) describes competition between a oil pipeline owner, Kinder Morgan, and railroads to transport oil from West Texas to Los Angeles. While pipeline operates demands long term contracts to cover their capital costs, railroads can … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capacity, competition, Coordination, Cost, oil, pipeline, rail, regulation, Risk, Sustainable, transport | Leave a comment

Is blocking logistics for US coal exports good for the global environment ?

Posted on June 15, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (June 15,2013) describes efforts to block train shipments and port expansion for low sulfur coal from native American reservations. Environmentalists claim that train transport will result in coal dust being blown into rivers … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged China, Cost, Environment, exports, Global, low sulfur coal, Risk, Supply Chain, Sustainable, transport, Water | Leave a comment

Volvo offers Dimethyl Ether (DME) as a truck fuel

Posted on June 12, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the Supply Chain Digest (June 12, 2013) describes the use of Dimethyl Ether (DME) as a truck fuel by Volvo, producing 95% lower carbon emissions than diesel and 70% lower emissions than natural gas. Volvo claims that … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged Cost, Environment, river transport, Supply Chain, Sustainable, transport, truck | Leave a comment

London’s port expansion and volume aspirations

Posted on June 12, 2013 by aviyer2010

A video in the Financial Times (June 11, 2013) describes the expansion of London’s port by Dubai based DP World. The new port is claimed to be the largest logistics park in Europe and appropriate for the UK, given that … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capacity, competition, Consumers, Cost, Imports, London, port, sea, Supply Chain, transport, Water | Leave a comment

Ecommerce in Nigeria – motorcycles, tuk tuks and vans to deliver goods and collect funds

Posted on May 15, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the Financial Times (May 14, 2013) describes ecommerce companies in Nigeria like Konga.com and Jumia.com, that permit internet ordering of goods, delivery to the customer and collection of money on delivery. Given worries about fraud, Nigerians prefer … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capability, Consumers, Cost, Ecommerce, Global, Nigeria, Retail, Risk, Service, Supply Chain, transport | Leave a comment

Steel manufacturer’s competitive response to falling steel prices

Posted on April 27, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (April 27, 2013) describes the decline in steel prices and the response by steel manufacturers. ThyssenKrupp is claimed to offer to pay freight costs to maintain market share. Further price discounts of 5 … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capacity, competition, Costs, manufacturing, Suppliers, Supply Chain, Survival, transport | Leave a comment

Natural gas use by the US trucking industry – how fast can it happen ?

Posted on April 23, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (April 22, 2013) describes the growing use of natural gas in the US trucks, with the industry consuming over 3 million gallons of diesel fuel daily. Natural gas use is estimated to cut … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged Capacity, Cost, Environment, exports, Supply Chain, Sustainable, transport | 1 Comment

Can “Droptags” reduce damage processing costs ?

Posted on March 8, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the SupplyChainDigest(http://www.scdigest.com/ontarget/13-02-13-1.php?cid=672) describes a Droptag – a device developed by Cambridge Consultants consisting of a battery, bluetooth transmitter, accelerometer and memory chip to monitor whether packages have been dropped or mishandled. Upon delivery, the customer could detect … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Cost, disruption, droptags, Retail, Supply Chain, transport | 1 Comment

A move from “just in time” to “just in case” supply chain designs ?

Posted on February 13, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (February 12,2013) describes claims that the number of distribution centers to satisfy US demand has increased from two to seven, as retailers demand quick deliveries wile cutting their own inventories. In addition, rising … Continue reading →

Posted in Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capacity, Cost, Retail, Risk, Service, Supply Chain, transport | 13 Comments

Transporting wine in bulk in plastic bags from Australia to the UK

Posted on February 9, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (February 7,2013) describes shipments of Australian wine in 24,000 liter plastic bags that are then packed in the UK. Saving 25 cents per bottle by shipping without the bottle enables the wine to be sold for … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Cost, Design, Environment, Global, Supply Chain, Sustainable, transport | Leave a comment