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|

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|

Wendy’s Adds Loaded Nacho Cheeseburger

Wendy’s has added a Loaded Nacho Cheeseburger and Queso Fries to the menu.

The chef-inspired cheeseburger begins with a quarter-pound patty with poblano queso, crispy corn, tortilla chips, chipotle sauce, American cheese, lettuce, tomato on a jalapeno cheddar bun. The burger is designed as a “nacho platter” on a bun. It took Wendy’s over two years to develop the burger.

The Queso Fries required over 20 iterations to develop. This is the first time that Wendy’s has made a complimentary side to go […]

By Ross L. Fink, Ph.D.|2023-09-27T07:36:29+00:00September 27, 2023|Tags: forecasting, inventory management, product design, product development, supply chain management|