It's hard to wrap your mind around the concept of sustainable innovation and the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) of the OECD is a nice way to think about it. So what is sustainability? Well, it is how you use the earth's resources and what you will leave your grand and great grandchildren! Sounds simple and rhetorical butContinue reading “Sustainable Innovations : the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) approach of OECD”
Category Archives: Food industry
Unsustainable Food Packaging Innovation: Shrink wrapped peeled bananas
When Billa Supermarkets in Austria decided to unpeel bananas and shrink wrap them there was enough consumer outrage against the German owned Billa supermarket to withdraw the unsustainable food packaging innovation. It also turns out the Billa Supermarkets call themselves environmentally conscious and the unpeeled bananas became a matter for Facebook protest right on theContinue reading “Unsustainable Food Packaging Innovation: Shrink wrapped peeled bananas”
Sustainable innovation in the supply chain: over 2 kilos of trash/person/day
According to the EPA in 2010 each person in the US put out Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)- popularly known as garbage/trash equal to 4.43 lb or over 2 kilos per day. If you look at the number of garbage cans on the weekly trash collection days- you know that the number has not decreased andContinue reading “Sustainable innovation in the supply chain: over 2 kilos of trash/person/day”
Supply Chain rationalization means fewer jobs in small businesses
At a recent conference an entrepreneur at the $25 million sales level mentioned that all the bigger organizations preferred to deal with $100 million level firms for purposes of supply chain rationalization. Quite understandable, but this does affect employment in US small businesses. Let's see how: Supply (procurement) managers buy goods and services that mustContinue reading “Supply Chain rationalization means fewer jobs in small businesses”
Innovation and US jobs: two types of opportunity- of iPhones and frozen yogurt
Given the substantial interest in previous posts about how innovation creates jobs here are some more thoughts on exactly how these jobs can happen. But first about innovation which is at its most basic level is: doing something new. The newness can be huge like when the iPhone was introduced or can be just openingContinue reading “Innovation and US jobs: two types of opportunity- of iPhones and frozen yogurt”
When Leverage becomes Bottleneck items in the Kraljic Risk-Value Matrix: don’t forget the service
The Kraljic Risk-Value Matrix is a great way of thinking about the B2B buying (i.e. supply management, procurement) and B2B marketing process. And its really important to remember to remember the service elements of the both leverage and bottleneck items.Why? Because the Kraljic model came about at a time where manufacturing and products was allContinue reading “When Leverage becomes Bottleneck items in the Kraljic Risk-Value Matrix: don’t forget the service”
Campbell’s Soup focuses on millennials with Moroccan Style Chicken Soup
Sounds like Chicken Soup for the soul– but this time the 140 year old Campbell's Soup is trying to reach millennials for whom mere Chicken Soup is not enough. Leading the transformation at Campbell Soup is CEO, Denise Morrisson who had spoken at the Yale Conference last year. Millennials (Gen Y) are far more openContinue reading “Campbell’s Soup focuses on millennials with Moroccan Style Chicken Soup”
Paypal mobile payments for McDonald’s France can open up vast Indian retail opportunities
Paypal is testing mobile app payments for McDonald's in 30 restaurants in France. If it works, then there might be a roll-out to over 30,000 McDonald's worldwide. The number 30,000 sounded really small so here is a reality check. How many Starbucks are there in the world? Under 17,000 worldwide ,or just over half theContinue reading “Paypal mobile payments for McDonald’s France can open up vast Indian retail opportunities”
Online video gaming becoming free as digital content doesn’t need the gym business model
The gym business model requires a monthly membership fee because there are only so many treadmills and ellipticals. Online video gaming followed the gym model to huge success but things are slowing down because someone who plays multi-player online (MMO) games can really engage in a couple of games and paying a fixed $15 aContinue reading “Online video gaming becoming free as digital content doesn’t need the gym business model”
Outsourcing transfers the perishability risk to the provider
As outsourcing becomes an important issue in the US Presidential elections- it's interesting to look at the perishability risk of services and how the provider or vendor takes over managing that risk. But first about perishability in services. Services have been differentiated from goods in terms of service characteristics that include intangibility,perishability,inseparability and variability. TheContinue reading “Outsourcing transfers the perishability risk to the provider”