pandemic – 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|

Tupperware Faces the Bullwhip Effect

The demand for companies like Tupperware has risen and fallen with the peaks of the pandemic.

Early in the pandemic, demand for plastic food storage containers increased, leaving shelves empty. As restrictions ease, fewer people eat in, leaving Tupperware with excess inventory. Besides taking downtime at selected factories, Tupperware is working to add more omnichannel options, to sell through its inventory backlog.

Shortages of raw material, increased raw material prices, and the unpredictable nature of pandemic-related restrictions, are factors which have made […]

By Anita Lee-Post, Ph.D.|2022-01-25T17:04:55+00:00January 25, 2022|Tags: aggregate planning, backlog, bullwhip effect, chase demand strategy, forecasting, pandemic, shortage, supply chain management|

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|