Operations Management - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Chicken Producers Face Price-Fixing Investigation

June 27, 2019

Last week, the U.S. Justice Department intervened in a class-action lawsuit against some of the nation’s largest poultry producers. The plaintiffs in the case claim that companies like Tyson Foods, Perdue Farms, and Pilgrim’s Pride conspired together to fix the price of chicken. Given that these allegations involve some of the top firms in a huge industry, the federal government decided to take over legal proceedings for the rest of the year. “The Justice Department wants to make sure they Continue reading →

Regulation, Legal, Production, Poultry, Operations Management, Tyson, Ethics, Food & Drink, Price-fixing

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Party City Will Close 45 Stores Due to Helium Shortage

June 25, 2019

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For decades, the New Jersey-based party supply retailer Party City has relied on balloon sales to keep it afloat. Doing so requires a plentiful supply of helium, the second-most abundant element in the universe that is nevertheless increasingly difficult to find on Earth. Due to both supply chain and production problems, companies are currently using up helium at a quicker rate than it can be produced. As a result, the skyrocketing price of helium has begun to spoil the fun Continue reading →

Product Distribution, Supply & Demand, Economics, Party City, Operations Management, Retail, Supply chains

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution

Register Outages Cause Trouble for Target

June 21, 2019

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Last weekend, Target shoppers around the country received some unwelcome news when they reached the checkout counter. Due to an “internal technology issue,” the retailer’s registers crashed for about two hours on Saturday afternoon. Soon social media became filled with footage of long lines at Target stores as employees completed cash transactions by hand. Of course, many customers abandoned their carts and went home after they learned about the problem.

Eventually Target announced that the registers had come back online, Continue reading →

Reputation, Operations Management, Payment systems, Retail, Security, Product Distribution, Credit Cards

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Kroger Adapts to New Supermarket Distribution Dynamics

May 21, 2019

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In recent years retailers both large and small have struggled to compete against the low prices and convenience offered by e-commerce outlets. But even as Amazon disrupted all sorts of stores over the last decade, supermarkets such as Kroger managed to survive and thrive. Along with the troubles of delivering fresh produce, online retailers couldn’t convince customers to buy their food sight-unseen.

That is until startups like Instacart made grocery delivery more accessible to the average consumer. Although online purchases Continue reading →

Kroger, Retail, Innovation, Product Distribution, Supermarkets, Management, Food & Drink, Operations Management

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

[VIDEO] Why Amazon Is Gobbling Up Failed Malls

May 9, 2019

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Although some brick and mortar retailers are managing to thrive in the age of e-commerce, many others haven’t been able to compete against rivals like Amazon. This includes a good portion of America’s once mighty malls that now either struggle to keep tenants or have shuttered completely. In an ironic twist, however, abandoned malls are currently being purchased by Amazon and other companies to serve as product distribution centers. This video details why the location and size of Continue reading →

Transportation, Amazon, Product Distribution, E-commerce, Malls, Operations Management, Facility Location

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media, Videos

[VIDEO] Why You’re Recycling Wrong

April 11, 2019

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Although Americans have become enthusiastic recyclers in recent years, many people still have trouble telling the difference between what’s recyclable and what isn’t. In fact, approximately 25 percent of the material that U.S. citizens toss in their recycling bins can’t actually be recycled. This video takes a look at the possible causes of this trend and provides viewers with some simple waste-sorting advice: “when in doubt, throw it out.”

Questions:

How does single-stream recycling contribute to the high rate of Continue reading →

Operations Management, Ethics, Sustainability, Recycling

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Videos

Philadelphia Passes Ban on Cashless Stores

March 8, 2019

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According to a recent Pew Research Center study, approximately 29 percent of Americans said that they don’t use cash for any purchases during a typical week. Instead, they depend on credit and debit cards as well as mobile payment apps like Apple Pay. These increasingly cashless consumers are becoming so common that some companies have stopped accepting paper and coin money for the sake of efficiency. For instance, in 2016 the salad chain Sweetgreen announced it was going cashless in Continue reading →

Retail, Regulation, Operations Management, Legal, Ethics, Product Distribution, Money, Cash

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

FedEx Reveals New Same-Day Delivery Robot

February 28, 2019

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Managing the “last mile” of a product’s journey from the warehouse to its destination is one of the most complicated aspects of shipping and logistics. This final step accounts for as much as half of all delivery costs due to unpredictable factors like traffic jams, route distances, and the need to make multiple stops. That’s why this week FedEx revealed its new SameDay Bot, an autonomous machine that cuts costs by delivering products directly to the customer’s door.

Developed in Continue reading →

Transportation, Automation, Product Distribution, Logistics, FedEx, Operations Management

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Candy Factory’s Closing Leads to SweetHearts Shortage

February 7, 2019

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With Valentine’s Day just a week away, lovebirds across the nation are running out of time to stock up on romantic gifts like flowers and candy. But while stores should have many of the seasonal items that shoppers are looking for, there’s one iconic Valentine treat that consumers won’t be able to get their hands on. Due to the sudden closing of the Necco candy factory in July, there will be no SweetHearts available this year.

The colorful heart-shaped candies Continue reading →

Branding, Product Distribution, Production, Seasonal, Economics, Valentine’s Day, Operations Management

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

[VIDEO] Brooklyn’s Last Seltzer Men

February 1, 2019

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Many years ago, hundreds of delivery men used to criss-cross New York City transporting big bottles of seltzer water directly to customers. As soda and other pre-packaged drinks became popular, however, most of the city’s “seltzer men” began to disappear once demand for their product plummeted. But the old-school seltzer trade isn’t entirely dead in the Big Apple. The video below shows how Brooklyn Seltzer Boys carries on this legacy by combining traditional methods with a new marketing strategy.

Questions: Continue reading →

Economics, Packaging, Marketing, Operations Management, Product Distribution, Entrepreneurship, Delivery

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Videos