There is probably no shortage of individuals worldwide who would be willing to donate to Wikileaks. But it is the B2B payment channel that has the Wikileaks organization in trouble. B2B payment channel organizations like Visa,Mastercard,PayPal, Western Union and Bank of America have not been processing donations to Wikileaks since December 2010. The way on-lineContinue reading “B2B payment channel blockade may close Wikileaks – the importance of easy payment methods”
Category Archives: Risk
Hurricane Irene: understanding risk management and supply chains for the uninterested
Even if you are professionally uninterested in supply chains or risk management you should have heard of Hurricane Irene hitting the US East Coast including New York. The very unusual prospect of New York tunnels being flooded (with animation being shown on several TV stations ) has cancelled trains,airplanes and closed colleges and there isContinue reading “Hurricane Irene: understanding risk management and supply chains for the uninterested”
Directors want to spend more time on strategy, risk and talent says McKinsey Global Study
The Board of Directors of surveyed companies by McKinsey want to spend more time on Strategy,Risk and Talent than they are doing. According to the McKinsey study the the time spent on these things have not gone up since the economic crisis. So where is the problem? Most times the Board of Directors just goContinue reading “Directors want to spend more time on strategy, risk and talent says McKinsey Global Study”
Dealing with nuclear power risks
http://abcnews.go.com/assets/player/walt2.6/flash/SFP_Walt_2_65.swf The Los Alamos wildfare is making headlines as concerns rise about damage to the nuclear lab. Wildfires are more predictable (brush,dry,summer) than earthquakes as in Fukushima,Japan.The question that the rest of the world is asking is if Americans and Japanese are scrambling to deal with natural disasters and nuclerar installations then what aboutContinue reading “Dealing with nuclear power risks”
German E. Coli outbreak and regulating a global fresh food supply chain
The German E. Coli outbreak seems to be one of the first fresh food global supply chain problems that have come to the fore. Germany imports 40% of its cucumbers from Spain a total of 182,000 tonnes a year. Initially, German authorities blamed Spanish cucumber contamination for the deadly outbreak and now the Germans areContinue reading “German E. Coli outbreak and regulating a global fresh food supply chain”
B2B Marketers think “value” while Supply Managers think “risk” – the Risk-Value Matrix and Kraljic Model
B2B marketers think about providing value and innovation to their customers. These include existing customers and also new customers. How can our product or service add more value to the buying company’s business? is the question B2B marketers constantly ask themselves, their teams and their own organizations. Innovation is somewhat spurred by this organizational motive to provide “value” to its customers.
Where are the variations in healthcare costs? Family of four spending doubles in nine years
According to the Milliman Inc. "Milliman Medical Index -MMI " US families of four are paying double of what they paid($9,235) in 2002 today at $19,393. The family expenses have gone up by 7.3% from 2010 numbers that sure is more than double of the average US inflation rate.Left alone this increase is going toContinue reading “Where are the variations in healthcare costs? Family of four spending doubles in nine years”
One year anniversary of BP oil spill: Was it the Blow Out Preventer (BOP)?
Today is the one year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that had devastated the Gulf. Things look much better today but the mystery of the Blow Out Preventer (BOP) is not resolved as BP sues Cameron for the BOP failure. Cameron the BOP supplier claims that “Hydrocarbons had entered the riser well beforeContinue reading “One year anniversary of BP oil spill: Was it the Blow Out Preventer (BOP)?”
How did Lowe’s at Raleigh NC save customers from the tornado? Store manager as ship captain
At a DIY store like Lowe's or Home Depot all customers see themselves and others as experts of some sort. So as the tornado is at the front door and Lowe's managers are trying to get everyone to the rear of the store and safety, a customer yells that "this is no tornado" and peopleContinue reading “How did Lowe’s at Raleigh NC save customers from the tornado? Store manager as ship captain”
Southwest airlines: does aircraft maintenance mimic auto maintenance behavior ?
During the great recession (2007-2009) people became more conscious about repairing their cars since they were not going to be buying a new car soon. Airlines too slowed down maintenance to cut costs ,if you think about it in the context of the cracks found in the Southwest Airline planes. Consider this : individuals notContinue reading “Southwest airlines: does aircraft maintenance mimic auto maintenance behavior ?”