Managing Inventories – OM in the News

Ford Slows Battery Expansion for EV Market

A myriad of challenges—both external and internal—are leading automotive giant Ford Motor Company to delay construction of its second electric vehicle (VH) battery plant in Kentucky.

Ford has previously announced two large-scale EV battery plants in Kentucky, with start date of 2025 and 2026, respectively. The first Kentucky EV battery plant is on schedule, but the second plant’s opening is now pushed out with no specific start date.

“Given the dynamic EV environment, we are being judicious about our production and adjusting […]

By James Kirby Easterling|2023-12-06T06:45:24+00:00December 6, 2023|Tags: capacity management, downstream suppliers, efficiency, expansion, forecasting, prediction, supplier relationship, upstream suppliers|

Retail Inventory Levels: Stabilized In Time for the Holidays

Retailers over the last few years can relate to the fairy tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Over the past few years, retail companies such as Walmart, Target, Kohl’s and Abercrombie & Fitch battled inventory levels that were too low, too high, and now (hopefully) just right.

They faced multiple years of lower inventory levels driven by pandemic challenges including reduced production, port congestion, driver shortages, and labor constraints.

Those low-inventory years were followed by higher inventory levels due to reduced […]

By James Kirby Easterling|2023-12-01T19:33:02+00:00December 1, 2023|Tags: allocation, cargo container, inventory management, lean, logistics, pandemic, supply and demand, supply chain disruption, transportation|

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|

Short-Term Housing Rentals Lead to Housing Shortages

Housing availability has plummeted while housing costs have skyrocketed for residents of Florence, Italy, in the wake of popularity for shorter rentals via platforms like Airbnb.

The housing shortage leaves lower income Italians and students particularly hard pressed to find affordable housing. In the absence of action by the central government, the city of Florence has taken matters into its own hands, banning new short-term residential leases on sites like Airbnb. Other cities around the world have faced similar problems.

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By Lisa M. Spencer|2023-10-27T04:12:23+00:00October 27, 2023|Tags: aggregate planning, capacity planning, inventory management, shortage|