Forecasting – OM in the News

Prescription for Pharmaceutical Shortages: Reshoring

Reshoring of pharmaceuticals is viewed by many as a critical issue for the safety and security of the American health care system.

Shortages of a wide array of drugs, including chemotherapy medicines, antibiotics, children’s fever medications, poison antidotes, and AD/HD medications, currently plague the U.S. supply chain and sometimes delay or prevent patients from obtaining critically needed supplies.

Video Spotlight:

Prescription drug shortages make treatment decisions difficult for doctors and patients (July 4, 2023, PBS NewsHour)

By Lisa M. Spencer|2023-11-05T04:44:51+00:00November 5, 2023|Tags: forecasting, outsourcing, reshoring, risk management, shortages, subcontracting, supply chain management|

Mars Introduces the M&M’s Halloween Rescue Squad

Too many trick-or-treaters knocking on the door? Or, maybe you ate more of the Halloween candy than you intended?

Mars went on a mission to save your Halloween!

In spite of spending a projected $3.6 Billion on Halloween candy, many people fear running out of treats on Halloween.

This is where the M&M’s Halloween Rescue Squad came into play.

After 3:00 pm on Halloween, the Rescue Squad offered to deliver Mars candy to homes, free, through a partnership with Gopuff, a delivery service. Only […]

By Ross L. Fink, Ph.D.|2023-11-03T06:16:54+00:00November 3, 2023|Tags: forecasting, inventory management, project management, single-period inventory model, supplier relationship|

Target Blames Organized Retail Crime for Store Closures

Target claims that looting, violence, and theft have forced the company to close several stores.

To what extent does organized retail crime actually contribute to store closures? In most cases, it is difficult to tell. Aggregate data point to a “healthy” shrink level, whereas big box stores have a different perspective on the matter, probably because they are easier targets and victims. Nevertheless, theft and shrink have multiple causes that should be addressed to improve performance.

Video Spotlight:

By Corinne M. Karuppan, Ph.D.|2023-10-12T14:33:09+00:00October 13, 2023|Tags: forecasting, inventory management, safety stock, supply chain management|

AI Inspired Beverages

Recently, Coca-Cola has introduced limited-edition beverages, hoping to appeal to a younger audience. These beverages have come in both a sugar and sugar-free version.

Past versions have included Ultimate aimed at gamers, Starlight inspired by space, Dreamworld, which tastes like dreams, and Byte, which is a “pixel” flavor. They have also partnered with artists Rosalia and Marshmallow on limited edition flavors.

The new limited-edition flavor, Y3000, was introduced in September 2023. Unlike Coca-Cola’s past limited-edition flavors developed using traditional methods, Y3000 used AI […]

By Ross L. Fink, Ph.D.|2023-10-06T02:55:01+00:00October 6, 2023|Tags: artificial intelligence, limited time offering, product design, product development|