Process Analysis – OM in the News

Peloton Manufacturing Cycles to the U.S.

Peloton has selected Troy Township, Ohio, as the location for its first factory in the U.S. to build bikes and high-end treadmill machines.

The factory will have one million square feet of manufacturing, office, and amenities space. More than 2,000 jobs will be added to the area. When the new factory is up and running by 2023, Peloton will become less dependent on its third-party manufacturers in Asia to produce home fitness equipment to meet surging local demand in the U.S..

By Anita Lee-Post, Ph.D.|2021-10-14T21:31:29+00:00October 14, 2021|Tags: capacity planning, facility location, insourcing, location, outsourcing|

Bite Ninja Uses Remote Gig Workers to Take Faster Food Orders

During the pandemic, finding employees has become difficult. The fast food industry has been hit especially hard by a shortage of employees.

Many restaurant workers have left the industry for reasons including better pay, fewer health risks, and more stability. Additionally, enhanced unemployment benefits in the U.S. have kept many workers out of the workforce.

Bite Ninja offers a new approach to help alleviate the employee shortage. This service uses technology to allow workers to take orders at drive-thru restaurants remotely. Workers […]

By Ross L. Fink, Ph.D.|2021-08-31T05:28:37+00:00August 31, 2021|Tags: capacity, gig economy, scheduling, service design, service processes, technology, waiting lines|

Changing Mandates Affect Aggregate Planning For Cruise Lines

Cruise companies have awaited and processed ever-changing reopening mandates from the CDC for months. Some, like Norwegian and Carnival, plan to move cruises away from U.S. departure ports to other countries whose requirements are already in place and are less restrictive.

The first cruise ship to depart from the US in fifteen months, Celebrity Edge, left port in late June, and returned after a five day cruise. More cruise ships are set to depart over the summer. Royal Caribbean has announced […]

By Lisa M. Spencer|2021-07-05T19:52:19+00:00July 5, 2021|Tags: aggregate planning, covid-19, forecasting, location, pandemic, sales and operations planning|

The Automat Returns

Under the category of “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” is the return of the Automat.

The original Automat opened in Berlin in 1895. America’s first Automat was opened by Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart in Philadelphia, in 1902. Their Automat chain, Horn and Hardart, grew in popularity, with over 100 restaurants in New York City by the 1950s.

Restaurants served home-style comfort food. Many even had a wall of pies, with hot coffee being one of their […]

By Ross L. Fink, Ph.D.|2021-05-26T18:42:33+00:00May 28, 2021|Tags: assembly line, contactless payment, delivery, facility location, forecasting, inventory management, make to order, service processes, waiting lines|