Articles 1 to 10 of 37
Expedited Shipping, Done Environmentally
A case study on the green redesign of the U.S. Postal Service's expedited shipping products shows the importance of supplier collaboration in meeting sustainability requirements and keeping cost increases at bay. "One of the big issues with sustainability initiatives is cost, but the Postal Service was able to complete this green project and remain cost-neutral," says Phil Carter, a professor of supply chain management at the W. P. Carey School and executive director of CAPS Research. Private businesses can learn a lot from the Postal Service's example.
A Roadmap for Sustainable Supply Management
Achieving environmental sustainability for supply management is a goal which may also help boost firms' overall competitiveness in these fretful economic times. But despite the hype surrounding everything "green" these days, many companies wishing to embark on environmental sustainability programs do not know where to begin. Before you set up strategies and tactics and develop metrics for supply management environmental sustainability, define what environmental sustainability means to your organization, says management Professor James Hershauer. A new report from the W. P. Carey School's CAPS Research helps companies learn to define, understand, create, measure, and test their supply management environmental sustainability plans.
Buyers Beware: Your Supplier May Be Your Next Competitor
When executed correctly, strategic sourcing -- a multi-faceted approach to purchasing contingent on types of goods and services -- yields many benefits for both buying companies and their suppliers. But, by ignoring the complexity of strategic sourcing and focusing only on cost reductions, some aerospace buying companies have unintentionally turned their suppliers into competitors, according to new research by W. P. Carey professor of supply chain management Thomas Choi and his former doctoral student, Christian Rossetti.
No Firm Is an Island: Why Buyers Should Probe a Supplier's Network
For any shopper who noticed how the price of hamburger and lettuce jumped after gas prices soared last year, this should come as no surprise: Buyers eventually feel the pinch when their suppliers' expenses surge. The reason? Buyers and sellers operate within networks that exceed the one-on-one, buyer-seller bond. That's why Thomas Choi, a professor of supply chain management at the W. P. Carey School of Business, thinks supply chain professionals would be wise to look beyond the supplier to its supply network. Without it, he argues, buyers are not examining all the factors affecting the strength and reliability of the suppliers they choose. Such shortsightedness leaves buyers vulnerable to supply troubles and missed opportunities.
Chinese Puzzle: Examining the Implications of Chinese Product Recalls, Part 2
In light of recent product recalls, this question nags: Has Chinese product quality actually deteriorated, or not? Opinion is split. Some argue forcefully that Chinese products have suffered in recent years, or at the very least, were never of high quality in the first place. Others believe the country is being unfairly singled out -- victimized, in a sense -- simply because it happens to be the world's leading manufacturer at a time when product recalls in general are on the rise. Responding to an academic forum published in the journal, Management and Organizational Review, experts at the W. P. Carey School offer insights.
Chinese Puzzle: Examining the Implications of Chinese Product Recalls, Part 1
In the summer of 2007, after a tumultuous year in which millions of Chinese-manufactured toys and other products were recalled for reasons ranging from high lead content to choking hazards, Chinese officials launched a massive campaign to restore worldwide confidence in the "Made In China" label. However, China's efforts to prevent product recalls haven't seemed to do much, and the roots of the problem -- or even a basic understanding of its scope and causes -- have yet to be defined. W. P. Carey professor of international management Anne Tsui recently organized an Editor's Forum in which leading business scholars examined the problem from various disciplines and perspectives. In a two-part series starting today, Knowledge@W. P. Carey will use the Management and Organization Review (MOR) forum as a jumping-off point to explore some of these questions, and attempt to answer them, through the expert analysis of W. P. Carey faculty and researchers.
Using Metrics to Enhance Purchasing
Detailed metrics not only help purchasing departments measure and analyze performance -- they provide data that can spur organizational and procedural changes, and help companies proactively prepare for the unexpected.
Podcast: The Nickel and Dime Approach -- Are Those New Airline Fees a Smart Strategy?
As higher fuel costs gobble up airline profits, the carriers are imposing new fees on passengers in an attempt to make up the difference. William A. Verdini, chairman of the supply chain management department of the W.P. Carey School of Business, wonders if this is a smart strategy.
No Anniversary Party for Controversial Cross-Border Trucking Program
Congress and President Bush appear to be on a collision course over U.S.-Mexico trucking, but most likely trucks will continue to traverse the border, fostering the flow of international commerce, according to Arnold Maltz, a professor of supply chain management at the W. P. Carey School of Business. At issue is a small but controversial one-year pilot project that has allowed Mexican trucks to travel throughout the United States, although most of such travel has been in the border states. The pilot project ends September 6, and strong opposition to its continuation has been expressed in Congress by Democrats concerned about American jobs and highway safety, and by Republicans concerned about security and immigration issues.
Fugitive Denim: Globalization Tales of the Traveling Pants
What do you look for when you buy a pair of jeans? Color? Cut? Designer label? Price tag? One thing is certain: Even if you buy what you think is the same make/label/origin, year after year, it is an entirely different item with a brand-new geographic story. If you want to get a handle on the facts and fancy surrounding this ubiquitous icon of American consumerism, check out Rachel Louise Snyder's "Fugitive Denim: A Moving Story of People and Pants in the Borderless World of Global Trade." Chances are, you'll never buy a pair of jeans again without recalling the amazing stories contained in her book.
