Strategic Capacity Planning

European Cities Debate Christmas Lights in Energy Crisis

European cities are torn between lighting up for Christmas as usual in markets and shopping districts or cutting back to conserve energy amidst the crisis caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Often, these markets and shopping districts see peak tourism levels during the holiday months, affecting not only shopkeepers, but also hotels, restaurants, and other surrounding businesses.

Video Spotlight:

Festive displays light up Europe despite crisis (Dec 1, 2022, AP Archive)

This post is based on the US […]

By Lisa M. Spencer|2022-12-20T19:43:26+00:00December 21, 2022|Tags: capacity planning, supply chain, supply chain disruption, sustainability|

Transportation Woes

We have previously discussed on the blog how the COVID-19 pandemic and the supply chain challenges that accompanied it wreaked havoc with California ports. New sources of supply chain challenges are on the horizon. Multiple transportation methods may see disruptions this winter—rail, barge, ship, and truck.

The rail strike appeared to have been averted, but that may have been premature. Six of the 12 unions approved […]

By Ross L. Fink, Ph.D.|2022-11-30T22:47:18+00:00December 1, 2022|Tags: cargo container, logistics, railways, shipping, shortages, supply chain management, transportation, trucking|

The Strategic Importance of Effective Capacity Management

The adage goes that effective (and efficient) supply chain management extends from “a supplier’s supplier to a customer’s customers.”

Manufacturers are all rushing to “win” the race to electric automobiles. With this comes literally thousands of new and unique parts, of which suppliers may not have the production and/or engineering capacity to meet.

According to Opsahl, “The capacity of a supplier to launch new stuff…isn’t so much dependent on machine tools and production capacity as it is on human […]