covid-19 – OM in the News

Excess Retail Inventory

The COVID-19 pandemic has had lasting disruptions on inventory levels and supply chains for retail stores.

A combination of changes in demand for certain items based on being quarantined, as well as disruptions in shipping and production, led to inventory shortages. In many cases, inventory was delayed and arrived late and out of season.

Demand then changed due to a re-opening of the economy. This fluctuation resulted in combinations of shortages and excess inventories.

Now, add in the inflation on essential items, such […]

By Ross L. Fink, Ph.D.|2022-06-27T22:16:11+00:00June 30, 2022|Tags: covid-19, forecasting, inventory, inventory management, pandemic, retail|

Could We Have Forecast COVID Test Kit Demand?

Demand for home COVID tests is on the rise, but stores are out of stock.

After reducing capacity when COVID trended down in the summer of 2021, rapid test manufacturers are ramping up production in response to the Delta and Omicron variants and the increased caseload in recent months.

The FDA recently authorized more emergency use authorizations for home test kits, including ACON Laboratories’ FlowFlex, which it hopes will double availability of kits for U.S. consumers.

However, many are standing in long lines […]

By Lisa M. Spencer|2022-01-08T06:30:24+00:00January 15, 2022|Tags: capacity planning, covid-19, forecasting, pandemic, product life cycle|

Why Murata’s Plant Closure Did Not Disrupt Supply Chains

Previous OM in the News posts have discussed shortages of semiconductor chips caused by the leaning of supply chains. Supply chain disruptions of even a few days can lead to shortages if companies run too lean. During the pandemic, planning for supply chain disruptions has assumed increasing urgency.

Murata Manufacturing supplies about 40% of the world’s multilayer ceramic capacitors. MLCCs are used in everything from smartphones, appliances, cars, to data centers. The company closed its Fukui plant for […]

By Anita Lee-Post, Ph.D.|2021-10-31T07:26:44+00:00October 30, 2021|Tags: aggregate planning, chase demand strategy, coronavirus, covid-19, lean production, pandemic, supply chain disruption|

Can Starbucks Stave Off PSL Shortages?

A previous OM in the News post discussed how the food supply chain is experiencing shortages. Starbucks has joined the list of companies experiencing supply chain issues.

Shortages have resulted from spikes in demand as customers move towards a new normal, coupled with lingering COVID-19 pandemic issues impacting transportation and production. Almost every industry is affected. As reported in a previous post, computer chips used in almost every electronic product are in short supply. Other shortages […]

By Ross L. Fink, Ph.D.|2021-10-25T03:41:01+00:00October 24, 2021|Tags: covid-19, inventory management, limited time offering, shortages, supply chain management|