Product Distribution - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

[VIDEO] How a Steel Box Changed the World: A Brief History of Shipping

March 8, 2018

Last year the shipping industry transported more than $4 trillion worth of goods all over the world on huge container vessels. Although these mighty boats are now the backbone of global supply chains, shipping wasn’t always so efficient. This video takes a look at how these metal behemoths revolutionized an ancient industry and the ways they continue to innovate today.

Questions:

How did large container vessels revolutionize the shipping industry?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using large container Continue reading →

Transportation, Sustainability, Operations Management, Global, Product Distribution, Shipping, Innovation, Supply chains

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media, Videos

Anticipating a Price Hike, Taiwanese Shoppers Stock up on Toilet Paper

February 27, 2018

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Last week, we took a look at the logistical nightmare that caused hundreds of British KFCs to close due to a lack of chicken. And while the company seems to have solved this issue for now, another strange supply chain problem is frustrating consumers halfway around the world. This time, however, the product in question is a bit more essential to daily life than fried chicken.

Over the weekend in Taiwan, panicked shoppers rushed to stores so they could purchase Continue reading →

Crisis management, Taiwan, Operations Management, Pricing, Global, Supply chains, Ethics, Product Distribution, Social Media

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Chicken Shortage Causes Hundreds of British KFCs to Close

February 20, 2018

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

The world is home to billions upon billions of chickens, which would seem like more than enough birds to stock an average KFC restaurant. This weekend, however, hundreds of the chain’s locations in the U.K. closed after failing to receive their usual shipments of chicken. “We’ve brought a new delivery partner on board, but they’ve had a couple of teething problems – getting fresh chicken out to 900 restaurants across the country is pretty complex,” said the company in a Continue reading →

Fast food, Supply chains, Product Distribution, Crisis management, United Kingdom, Global, Logistics, Food, KFC

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

How Music Copyrights Work in Figure Skating

February 15, 2018

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

For nearly a week, millions of people around the world have been tuning into the Winter Olympics broadcasting from Pyeongchang, South Korea. Like seemingly every edition of the games, figure skating has been one of the most watched events as stars like Adam Rippon and Mirai Nagasu take to the ice with incredible grace and skill. With everyone’s eyes on the athletes, though, your ears may have missed something new about the music that soundtracks these routines. For the first Continue reading →

Copyright, Entertainment, Television, Product Distribution, Olympics, Licensing, Sports

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

[VIDEO] American Shopping Malls Struggle to Survive

February 9, 2018

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Last week, we looked at how property owners are trying to combat the decline of shopping malls by appealing to non-retail tenants like gyms and fitness centers. This video provides more background on this downward spiral, showing footage of American malls thriving in their heyday as well as the decaying, abandoned structures that some have become. But the video isn’t entirely doom and gloom: it also gives a lot of screentime to an Atlanta-area shopping center called Plaza Fiesta that Continue reading →

Product Distribution, Malls, Atlanta, Retail, Innovation, Demographics

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Videos

Mall Owners Look to Gyms to Fill Empty Space

February 1, 2018

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

For decades, malls served as community hubs where people could shop, see a movie, or grab some food all in one convenient location. But the rise of e-commerce and social media caused malls to decline both as retail and recreational centers, leading many to look like ghost towns today. In fact, experts predict that one in every four malls could go out of business by 2022.

In an effort to stay open, mall owners across the country have started appealing Continue reading →

Malls, Gyms, Health & Fitness, Retail, Location, Product Distribution, E-commerce

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

[VIDEO] The Meaning of Life According to Google

January 26, 2018

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

More than 90 percent of global Internet searches occur on Google, making it one of the world’s most trusted sources for gathering information. Many of the questions fielded by the site can be solved with a single obvious answer, such as “When is Thanksgiving this year?” or “What is the capital of Canada?” Recently, though, the search engine has begun to provide answers for increasingly abstract inquiries concerning religion, politics, and even the meaning of life. This video takes a Continue reading →

Product Distribution, Ethics, Google, Product Development, Innovation

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media, Videos

Facebook Makes Sweeping Changes to News Feed

January 16, 2018

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

For Facebook’s more than 2 billion users, the News Feed serves as a gateway to what’s going on in their world. People can spend hours scrolling through the photos and videos that pop into their feeds from friends and media companies they follow. In fact, for years Facebook ensured that content posted by brands received prominent placement in the News Feeds of its users. At one point the company even developed a partnership program that allowed media firms to take Continue reading →

Marketing, Facebook, Ethics, Product Distribution, Social Media, Promotion, News Feed

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Quick Shipping Leads to Increased Air Freight Costs

January 9, 2018

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

In the complicated world of global shipping, companies have traditionally relied on large cargo ships to ferry goods from overseas producers to domestic distributors. Recently, though, these enormous vessels just haven’t been quick enough for firms who need to send products to customers within a matter of days. These time-crunched companies often turn to air carriers that can move products faster but often with added costs. Along with simply being more expensive than cargo ships, increased demand also caused air Continue reading →

Supply chains, Transportation, Amazon, Product Distribution, Shipping, Operations Management, Air Freight, Global

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

MoviePass Price Slash Disrupts the Multiplex

January 4, 2018

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Much like the retail industry, Hollywood studios did not particularly enjoy 2017. Ticket sales at the nation’s cineplexes fell by an estimated 4 percent, representing the movie business’s lowest attendance in 22 years. What’s more, experts say those numbers would have been even worse without the help of December blockbusters like the new Star Wars and Jumanji films. But as sales at the traditional box office fell last year, business began booming for the subscription-based ticket service MoviePass.

For Continue reading →

Pricing, Ethics, Innovation, Product Distribution, Movies, MoviePass, Entertainment

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media