Need help answer each of this post separately please....

54

1-On going struggles in the worlds supply chain.

This article shows the ongoing problems with the worlds supply chain. The article points to the wars in Russia and Israel causing some real issues. I think this article really shows the problem with not having important trade goods like micro chips made in your own country. Let me know what you guys think!

https://apnews.com/article/g7-japan-trade-economy-supply-chain-energy-4e4f5bcf81035b26386d32200f5bb2ee

2-UAW Labor Deal

In this WSJ post8Clicks: , the United Auto Workers agreed on a labor deal that includes a 25% pay increase.

Great to see the union agree on a deal with Ford. However, the union is still negotiating with General Motors. Personally, I am happy to see somewhat positive news. I know there's talk about these companies moving their plants somewhere else.

What do you all think of this agreement? Good signs?

https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/ford-uaw-near-tentative-labor-deal-to-potentially-end-six-week-strike-at-the-automaker-8064a971?mod=Searchresults_pos2&page=1

3-Amazon tests drone delivery in Texas

"If you're sick, stay home" is probably an expression everyone started hearing from the time they were a kid, and if not, then 2020 definitely taught you something new. Since the pandemic, teledoc and telehealth companies have been on the rise in the United States, proving that patients do not actually need to show up in person to a doctor's office to get a prescription for a cold, flu, or in some cases, even a refill of a prescription for other diagnoses.

These forms of healthcare services are really revolutionizing the healthcare industry- keeping overhead costs low for medical practices, freeing up Doctor's bandwidths by not having to physically see patients, and keeping waiting rooms and exam rooms germ free. The caveat, if the intention of seeing a doctor virtually was to minimize chances of being around potentially sick patients, then how do you get a prescription filled without the need to leave your house?

Outside of mail order prescriptions, which could take days to show up- Amazon is putting their investment in drone technology to use by testing out drone delivery of pharmaceuticals that will arrive on your doorstep in less than an hour at no additional cost.

Amazon's focus on just pharmaceutical drone delivery (to start) is a smart move for them, because it will drive more business to Amazon Pharmacy, competing with CVS, Walgreens, and other major pharmacies that still require either in person or drive thru prescription pick up. This form of drone delivery will also allow Amazon to test their drone capabilities in a much smaller market, both geographically and product offering wise, which will allow them to then scale accordingly.

The downside to this- is that users have to sign up for Prime Air, which is a service within Prime, but will need to complete a yard survey to make sure their location is suitable for drone delivery. Depending on the requirements of a yard survey, drone deliveries could be very limited to rural or suburban communities.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/18/amazon-begins-delivering-medications-by-drone-in-texas.html

4-Anticipatory Value Creation One of the questions this week was what are examples of products/services that would use Anticipatory/Efficient value creation? Why would this product or service likely be best for this example?

I would say the majority of our product line at Stryker would fall into this category. I manage the trauma and extremities distribution center for Stryker and the majority of our shipments are things such as bone filler and plates and screws. Many of these items are ordered for next day surgeries so we must keep adequate stock at all time to meet such demand with minimal lead times.

5-Supply Chain Partnerships In module 9, we learned the importance of supply chain relationships and the different value that we assign to each partnership/relationship. The article below discusses the relationship Samsung and Best Buy have with regards to the 'Samsun Experience Shop' inside Best Buy stores. This was a mutually beneficial relationship for both companies. Can you think of other examples of two companies forming a relationship like this for the betterment of both parties?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/best-buy-joins-forces-key-193301131.html

6-How Customer demand patterns impact warehousing

The Article shared 7 trends impact retail logistics,so impact warehouse as well:

1^st - An earlier and longer holiday shopping season for brick and mortar and online shipping, which means warehouse need consider the increased holiday cycle demand to full fill demand.

2^nd - Continue growth in mobile commerce, especially in pandemic and after that, more consumers are willing to go shipping with mobile phones, and more shop retailers turn to ecommerce, and obviously saw the consuming product categories increase, which required warehouse consider SKU level, also customer like to reserve goods with shopping cart, which means field warehouse nearby need quick pick up and fast delivery.

3^rd - Customer selection have omnichannel - online, mobile, and personal visit, need consider how nearby retails/warehouse can support reverse logistic for return, and how to manage these inventory separately.

4^th - Based on Customer multiple requirements and multiple echelon inventory network, how can to trace the product effectively which required technology such as RFID to provide the item location, transaction record, and when can arrive customer , and also support warehouse to manage inventory and estimate delivery times and shipping cost.

5^th -E-commerce retailers need improve last-mile delivery for fast delivery such as Amazon prime customer required same day delivery and next time delivery which required automated equipment investment and location cover most customers as many as possible.

https://6river.com/trends-impacting-retail-logistics/

7-Cummins Closed Loop Supply Chain What are examples of companies that have employed a closed-loop supply chain management philosophy? How has this philosophy benefited them and their customers?

This is an example of the Cummins Recon supply chain, these are locations across the globe that are usually outside the main manufacturing locations but have recently started being integrated in the main manufacturing sites as they use a lot of the same tools, processes, people and experience.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/o0Nsp0mNmaQ?v=o0Nsp0mNmaQ

8-UPS Purchase Reverse Logistics Company The fastest way for a large company like UPS to innovate and align operations is to purchase a company that is already doing it well. This week UPS announced that they are doing just that by purchasing Happy Returns from Pay Pal. I think this will help complete UPS's logistics since they already own a good portion of the shipping coming from retailers and online stores. With the riser in popularity of online shopping especially in the post COVID era, return shipping volumes will increase. The hope is that one day they will be able to make label free returns the enhance the customer experience and save e-commers money.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ups-to-buy-reverse-logistics-specialist-happy-returns-from-paypal-9a3ac420?mod=hp_minor_pos13

9-Peak Season Planning I have found an interesting article from CEO Scott Sureddine from DHL that is confident in DHL Supply Chain Labor and inventory planning in our warehouse heading into peak season. It was cool to see some of the fact and figures going to the operation.

Adding seasonal help of 8,000 workers and 700 robots to match volume. Shall be able to accommodate this will 40% increase in application flow.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/north-american-peak-inventory-levels-202409914.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZWNvc2lhLm9yZy8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIxdVDYNdkFHiNBjaD_9aw9lifCa9mhkW5OSaEbyhngTGPqPiozyMIABemx3gjvGYvpVistVEFpSsRob-vjuJUZ2K1_F-eddEv4S3QIYIvwOOzlGDLCnWlsRwCQp4fwB8UBoyJufL6lBhbELFMy0THIQ9yNMHbbEgJRxRGHkSBAt

10-Motor Transportation Vehicle

While reading transportation fundamentals, looking at service characteristics, I wondered about this. Dealing with time and place value, if a company places an order that involves serval motor transportation vehicles to deliver products and services to two separate locations. I understand that inside the motor transportation vehicles products/merchandise can be arranged in a certain order. But my question is, in aspects of time value placed on certain products, customers may want their merchandise quickly. Can a company request to have the motor vehicle transportation arrive in a certain order at their two separate locations? No matter if they are dealing with one or several suppliers. If so, will it be an added cost?

I ask this question because while on active duty, I wanted all my products and services to arrive on one specific day. I had to do this because I did not want to impact the day-to-day operation of the ship. The supplier was awesome as to the arrangement of the content inside the motor vehicle transportation. But they would say that the order in which the motor transportation arrived was not up to them. Although, in most cases, the supplier would comply, but it was always a heavy ask.

11-Siemens Gamesa (wind farm) Issues -German government bailout?

Siemens Gamesa has experienced problems with its installed base of turbines. This is chiefly because larger units were produced that have insufficient testing and now have component failures. Failure is not necessarily due to scale but could be manufacturing defects or design defects. Backlog is strong but there is a lot of work to do to make corrections. Increased interest rates are also a strong contributor to the issue. Siemens asked the German government for billions in loans because banks refused loan to them on this issue and also because of allegations of mismanagement. National bailouts are controversial. There are many ways to resolve this issue with conventional means not requiring national bailout. Siemens competition enjoys national subsidies which makes the question even more controversial. Siemens stock plummeted 40% over the past week due to this issue. Siemens Gamesa is not Siemens AG. AG could bail them out but apparently has not elected to do so yet. This is a fascinating topic that will affect the German economy as Siemens is one of the largest corporations in Germany. There are a lot of discussions about supply chain responsibility, liability, questions about deploying large technology without exhaustive due diligence, management questions,

What are your thoughts?

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/06/23/siemens-energy-wind-farm-issues-could-have-implications-across-whole-sector-analyst.html?jwsource=cl

12-E-Commerce Driving Warehouse Layout & Location Good article here within this week's readings. The article continues to unpack how E-Commerce growth is driving the need for changes in warehousing. Companies are pivoting from traditional layouts to more conducive and efficient multipurpose warehouse layout designs. There is also significant investment being made to expand distribution and reduce customer delivery times. As highlighted within the article many companies are doing this with pop up fulfillment centers. I tend to disagree to some extent with the closing of the article, however. There will be need for traditional box shaped warehouses moving forward. Without efficient technology and automation, I don't see them remaining competitive within their respective industries.

https://medium.com/mitsupplychain/how-e-commerce-is-reinventing-the-humble-warehouse-84343c3ee329

13-Celebrating Manufacturing Day! Hi All, coincidently, when I was going through the Module 6 Manufacturing and Service Operations, we at Cummins Inc. level and plant level were celebrating Manufactuing Day/Week on 6th October. Following is a post shared by Cummins Inc. At plant level also we have conducted multiple awareness sessions for young college going engineers from surrounding communities to further create enthusiasm towards manufacturing processes. Thought of sharing the same with you all!

Also, Just wanted to know, if your organizations are also having such celebrations, events, activities? or any other employee or community interaction programs?

https://www.linkedin.com/company/cummins-inc/posts/?feedView=all

14-BCP _ Business continuity Plan How often do you test BCPs in your organizations? Are they really prepared for a contingency such as a strike or natural disasters?, Do you think you have a robust BCP?

When the pandemic began, our BCP was launched and many things failed at the beginning, and some customers were affected.

Business continuity is the advance planning and preparation carried out to ensure that an organization has the ability to continue performing its critical functions and activities during emergency events or disruptive events.

These events may be due to natural disasters, a business crisis, a pandemic, workplace violence, or any event that causes a disruption or malfunction of the usual and most important operations and processes of a company or organization.

Therefore, business continuity is the ability of an organization to maintain essential functions during and after a disruptive event that has caused interruptions or slowed down services.

Have you had experiences with any major contingency?

15-Manufacturing in the United States In developed countries, such as the United States, many companies are outsourcing manufacturing to less developed countries in order to increase margins by saving on equipment and labor costs. This is a dramatic shift from the earlier years of the industrial age where these operations were prized. I believe we have seen in recent years however with global tensions rising that many Americans are willing to pay a higher premium to obtain a product that is made in the USA over one made overseas. I believe with technology advances and proper marketing stateside manufacturing can be viewed favorably again especially as the economy is hurting for jobs here at home. Let me know what you all think.

16-Gig economy coming to warehouses

Warehouses and logistics centers are taking a page out of Uber and Instacart's model, where qualified workers can now jump on an app to create their own schedule and work across multiple facilities for shifts that work best for their schedule. The workers are pre-qualified and pre-vetted so that employers can select them from a list on the app, HapiGig to meet their qualifications.

The pro of this format is the flexibility it allows warehouse workers in a normally demanding and often physically taxing line of work. They can easily pick up extra shifts, or create a schedule that best adheres to their life's needs. For the warehouse or logistics center itself, it allows them to staff up to meet specific business needs- such as holidays or around the time of special promotions, etc.

I think the downside to this, and as it pertains to the module 6 readings, these fulfillment centers and warehouses can potentially diminish the permeation of their values and standardized warehouse operations if they have a continuous rotation of workers or temporary employees. These workers don't have as much opportunity to absorb a single company culture if they are in and out of various part time shifts, and leadership may not put as much emphasis on warehouse operations in their overall value system if their workforce is consistently rotating. It could be a disjointed culture, one where hiring is solely focused on ability to get the job done, not necessarily people that align with the company's goals and values.

Do you believe that the pros of this system outweigh the cons?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/warehouses-are-calling-in-the-gig-workers-1357c685?mod=logistics_news_article_pos1