strategic capacity management

Merck Plans to Onshore Production in Virginia

Merck & Co., a US-based pharmaceutical company known outside the US as MSD, is investing $3 billion to build a 400,000 square-foot pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Elkton, Virginia.

The facility will be Merck’s center of excellence for small-molecule manufacturing and testing. The investment is a response to the call to bring back manufacturing operations and R&D domestically.

Incentives ranging from grants to economic development partnerships to talent accelerator programs also play a role in Merck’s expansion decision.

Video Spotlight:

By Anita Lee-Post, Ph.D.|2025-11-17T03:16:35+00:00November 16, 2025|Tags: capacity management, capacity planning, global supply chain management, globalization, onshoring, outsourcing, strategic capacity management|

Micron’s Two CHIPS-funded Fabs

Micron is building build two memory chip facilities, one in Clay, New York, and another in Boise, Idaho, with a $6.1 billion federal grant and $7.5 billion loan from the Biden administration.

The funding was made available through the CHIPS and Science Act established in 2022, which has the intent to bring back production of memory chips to the U.S., to stem dependence on foreign manufacturers.

The two facilities will add 26,500 jobs in manufacturing and construction as well […]

By Anita Lee-Post, Ph.D.|2024-06-02T18:17:09+00:00June 2, 2024|Tags: capacity planning, capacity requirement planning, strategic capacity management|

The Chronic Pain of Drug Shortages

Despite repeated warnings that critical drugs have been and will remain in short supply, corrective action has been painfully elusive.

A confluence of factors contribute to the persistence of the problem. These factors have been identified multiple times over the years, but addressing them and their effects on patients’ health requires overall system changes that call for full congressional and business cooperation. The current blog does not cover the policy changes needed for improvement; they are beyond its scope. However, it […]

By Corinne M. Karuppan, Ph.D.|2023-04-03T19:59:23+00:00April 5, 2023|Tags: bullwhip effect, competitivness, continuous replenishment, flexible-manufacturing, inventory management, JIT, lead time, logistics, outsourcing, productivity, respsonsive supply chain design, safety stock, shortage, sourcing, strategic capacity management, supply chain management|

Furniture Glut in Silicon Valley

One man’s loss is another man’s gain.

The rise of remote work, an economic slowdown, and tighter access to capital have forced tech companies to retreat or disappear. The situation is especially dire in the San Francisco area where prime office space has been vacated. Once destined to the landfill, the barely-used furniture is now finding new homes thanks to resellers capitalizing on the excesses of a certain corporate culture and oversized operations.

Video Spotlight: Is Herman Miller […]

By Corinne M. Karuppan, Ph.D.|2023-03-18T16:54:05+00:00March 19, 2023|Tags: carbon footprint, competitivness, forecasting, job design, location, product design, strategic capacity management, sustainability, value analysis|