logistics – Page 4 – The OM Blog by Heizer, Render, & Munson

OM in the News: The “Amazon Effect” on Logistics

A growing number of companies are paying to track in real time everything from truckloads of pork chops to shipping containers full of exercise equipment. Logistics providers, retailers and suppliers are inking deals with software firms that use location data and weather and traffic information to monitor shipments and alert customers to events that could hold up delivery, such as a loaded truck sitting in a yard for more than an hour.

The need for these services is growing as retailers and shoppers demand faster, more-precise delivery. Many Amazon customers have become accustomed to reliable 2-day shipping, forcing other retailers to offer similar service. Businesses are making new demands of their suppliers as they trim inventories and reduce supply-chain costs. Last month, Wal-Mart said it would penalize companies that made deliveries too late or too early. “It’s the Amazon effect—customers are putting more pressure on their supplier to know where their product is,” said a supply chain analyst with Gartner.

Pork producer Smithfield Foods hires more than 230 trucking companies to ship about 1,000 truckloads of product in the U.S. a day. “Managing that is an awful lot of phone calls,” said the firm’s VP of supply chain. Smithfield’s on-time delivery rate improved to 94%, from 87%, after it began tracking truck freight with software.

With this article in The Wall Street Journal (Aug. 30, 2017), we see that some businesses are using delivery speed as a way reach competitive advantage, as illustrated in Figure 2.4 in the text.

Classroom discussion questions:

What are other OM strategies for competitive advantage?
Name some of the leading software providers that help track shipments.

OM in the News: UPS and the Golf Cart Controversy

UPS already uses golf carts in Florida, as seen with the author and his local driver

“United Parcel Service uses jumbo jets, hybrid electric vans and, sometimes, drones to deliver nearly 5 billion packages each year,” writes The Wall Street Journal (June 30, 2017). But a push into a less glamorous transportation method—golf carts—has touched a nerve with drivers in one of its home bases. UPS can now use golf carts to deliver packages in Kentucky– thanks to a new state law allowing delivery drivers to use the vehicles on public roads. The company is using retrofitted golf carts to complement its fleet of brown delivery trucks primarily during the winter holidays, when daily volumes can rise 2/3 from normal levels.

But union leaders argue that having the vehicles share the road with cars and trucks puts workers at risk. They also object because at UPS golf cart drivers earn less than traditional truck drivers.

The golf carts, which are modified with a flatbed or pull a trailer containing the packages, are driven by part-time workers. The carts generally don’t go faster than 15 mph and are only allowed to operate in residential areas and on public roadways with a posted speed limit of 35 mph or less.

Controlling costs is a major issue at both UPS and FedEx, which have taken steps to optimize driver routes through routing systems, automate more sorting facilities and deliver more packages to drop-off points like stores. UPS has a number of unique delivery methods to accommodate local quirks, including horse-drawn carriages on Michigan’s Mackinac Island and gondolas in Venice, Italy.

Classroom discussion questions:

What are the advantages of this new logistics tool?
Disadvantages?

OM in the News: The Last Mile at Peapod Can Make or Break the Supply Chain

Conveyor belts and sorting areas at Peapod’s warehouse in Jersey City.

“Delivering food requires military precision,” writes The New York Times (June 25, 2017). People expect their food to arrive at specific times. Delivering perishables is much trickier than delivering T-shirts, books or pretty much anything else people can buy online. The biggest challenge is that groceries must stay cold for hours at a time. But there are other complications. Bananas and apples give off fumes that can hurt loose leaf lettuce, so they can’t be stored too close. Tomatoes lose flavor when they cool to below 55 degrees. Milk always has to be packaged upright.

All the complexity adds costs in an industry where profit margins are already thin. Numerous start-ups have failed in grocery delivery, making groceries the last frontier of online shopping. Even Amazon, which has perfected its logistics, hasn’t mastered the art of profitably delivering perishable food in metropolitan areas. But it just made a big bet, purchasing Whole Foods in a $13 billion deal that will give it access to 400 stores in major population centers — places that may have walk-up apartments, limited parking, and other urban obstacles.

Every second counts. Grocery delivery companies like Peapod have to calculate exactly how long each individual order will take, and monitor traffic patterns and accidents for any disruptions their trucks may face. At Peapod’s warehouse in Jersey City, a 400,000-sq.ft. facility that services NY and New Jersey, 425 people bustle in and out of the meat room, the produce room, a rotisserie room filled with rotating chickens. Workers load items into bright green temperature-controlled bins called “totes.” Once perishable items make it into the tote, the clock starts ticking. Peapod has 19-21 hours to get totes to customers, and everything has to stay at the right temperature that whole time. A break in the cold chain on the way to a customer means even the healthiest-looking berries can rot.

Classroom discussion questions:

What are the major OM issues a firm like Peapod faces?
How does Peapod differ from Amazon?

OM in the News: Amazon’s Drive to Revolutionize Logistics

Amazon’s new initiative could help the company overcome one of its biggest logistical complications and costs: delivering packages quickly. Amazon is navigating the use of autonomous vehicles including trucks, forklifts and drones to move goods, reports The Wall Street Journal (April 25, 2017). In addition, driverless cars could play a broader role in the future of last-mile delivery, enabling easier package drop-offs. “Amazon has a plan in place to shake up the entire supply chain as we know it today,” says one industry analyst.

There have been early signs of Amazon’s interest in autonomous-vehicle technology. The firm just won a patent for coordinating autonomous vehicles in a roadway. Over the past few years, Amazon has been building out its supply chain and logistics network, aiming to deliver more of its own packages. It also envisions transporting goods on a large scale for other companies, one day competing with delivery giants UPS and FedEx.

The company is leasing 40 planes and has bought thousands of branded truck trailers. Tractor trailers have long been considered a likely first target for implementing widespread driverless technology, in part due to how regularly they drive the same stretches of highway–so Amazon is very interested in autonomous trucking. Humans have a 10-hour limit when driving, but a self-driving truck could drive through the night. Instead of taking 4 days to drive coast to coast, it will take a day and a half.

The biggest portion of Amazon’s spending and energy has gone toward another type of autonomous means of transport: drones. That 2013 initiative is further along and is expected to continue to be the major focus of the company. Drones could communicate or pair up with driverless vehicles, for example, to coordinate deliveries.

Classroom discussion questions:

Describe Amazon’s driverless ideas.
Why does the firm want to get more involved in transporting goods?

Video Tip: Watching UPS’s Drones Deliver

A drone-equipped UPS van, seen from above — A drone-equipped UPS van

“Both the drone industry and federal regulators are years away from actual legal drone deliveries in the U.S.,” writes USA Today (Feb. 21, 2017). But that’s not stopping UPS from testing possibilities, both to get the visual of a drone with their logo out in front of the public and to see what works. The firm this week ran a test of a truck-launched drone delivery system for rural areas in Lithia, Fla. The drone-equipped vans would only be used on rural routes, says UPS.

Imagine a triangular delivery route where the stops are miles apart by road. The van-top drone would allow a UPS driver to make one delivery at the lower-left of the triangle, after launching a drone that would autonomously fly and deliver to the top of the triangle. While the drone is making its delivery, the driver would continue to the next stop, make another delivery by hand, and the drone would then rendezvous and recharge on top of the UPS truck.

UPS’ aim isn’t to replace drivers but to make them more efficient by allowing one driver to more quickly and efficiently deliver to several homes near one and other. The drone is fully autonomous. It doesn’t require a pilot. So the delivery driver is free to make other deliveries while the drone is away.

UPS estimates that reducing the distance its truck drive by just one mile per driver per day over one year could save the company up to $50 million. Rural delivery routes are the most expensive to serve, due to the time and vehicle expenses required to complete each delivery.

Here is a very short video your class will enjoy!

OM in the News: Amazon Explores an Uber for Trucking

“With an eye toward moving deeper into the $800 billion trucking industry, Amazon is quietly building an app that matches truck drivers with shippers,” reports Business Insider (Dec. 15, 2016). The app would work the same as Uber but would be for truck drivers to find shippers that need goods moved. The advantage for Amazon is that it would eliminate the need for a third-party broker, which typically charges a commission of 15% for doing the middleman work. (This is a great article to share with your students when you discuss the Uber Technologies, Inc., case in Chapter 1).

The app will offer real-time pricing and driving directions, as well as personalized features such as truck-stop recommendations and a suggested “tour” of loads to pick up and drop off. It could also have tracking and payment options to speed up the entire shipping process.

This is part of a larger plan by Amazon to become a full-scale logistics company that controls the entire delivery cycle. Over the past year, Amazon has purchased thousands of trailer trucks and dozens of cargo planes while launching new “last mile” services like Amazon Flex that take packages straight to the end customer.

The new service would put Amazon squarely in competition with numerous companies in this space, such as Convoy, Trucker Path, C.H. Robinson, and J.B. Hunt. Unlike its competitors, Amazon has an advantage in not having to worry about demand from the shipper’s side. To make an “Uber for trucking” marketplace work, you need demand from both sides of the equation — shippers and drivers. Amazon already has a giant shipping network and a rapidly growing package volume, so theoretically it shouldn’t be hard to find a load match for the drivers on its platform.

Amazon’s Minneapolis office is expected to have more than 100 engineers by next year working on this project, which is considered confidential. The opportunity is huge. Roughly 84% of freight spending is on trucking, and truck driving is the most common job in 29 U.S. states, but it’s a market that’s been slow to adopt new technologies.

Classroom discussion questions:

Is this a core competency of Amazon?
Why is Amazon entering this market?

OM in the News: Amazon Takes Flight

Christmas is always Amazon’s busiest period and in 2016 it is gearing up to deliver 220 million packages between Black Friday and Xmas eve in the US alone. This time though, reports The Financial Times (Dec. 20, 2016), the logistical challenge will be helped by Amazon’s new fleet of 767 cargo jets. Some 15 of those planes are already in operation, with 25 more set to be delivered next year. Perfecting its shipping network is key to Amazon’s e-commerce business, which has never generated much profit. Amazon spent a record $4.2 billion on shipping in the 4th quarter of last year, and that figure is expected to grow this year.

While Amazon flights are mostly moving goods from one Amazon warehouse to another — and the company still relies on UPS, FedEx and the USPS — the growth of its new cargo fleet underscores that Amazon is serious about becoming a big presence in air freight. Over the past few years, Amazon has expanded its logistics capabilities and taken more hands-on control, adding not only planes but also truck trailers and fleets of urban drivers. This is a costly strategy, and one that carries fresh risks if things go wrong.

This holiday period will be a test of new systems, new process, new relationships, and a test of the labor markets. In previous years delayed packages could be blamed on the carriers, but that will apply less as Amazon takes matters into its own hands.

The rise of e-commerce has led to a surge in mailed packages — something that all carriers will be struggling to deal with this season. And we are still at the front end of a dramatic shift (without much historical data) in the way consumers behave. Faced with that uncertainty, Amazon is betting that its own networks will eventually prove cheaper and more reliable than the alternatives.

Classroom discussion questions:

Is Amazon moving away from its core competence?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the new fleet?

OM in the News: Amazon Revamps its Logistics Chain

“Amazon,” writes The Wall Street Journal (March 10, 2016), “is taking to the air with a fleet of planes, part of a broader effort to reduce its inflated shipping costs.” The Seattle retailer plans to shuttle merchandise around the U.S. using 20 Boeing 767 aircraft. Amazon has also taken steps to reduce its reliance on carriers such as UPS and FedEx by building out a ground network of couriers and new warehouses near urban centers for faster and cheaper delivery. The new logistics chain would give Amazon control over roughly 15% of the packages it ships annually.

“Amazon clearly wants to grow, and they need capacity to do so,” said an industry expert. “UPS and FedEx are hesitant to build it out solely for one customer.” The firm has been planning an in-house logistics network for years, but the project took on added urgency when customers received gift orders late after the Christmas holiday in 2013. Amazon blamed the carriers for the embarrassing episode.

Amazon feels UPS’s traditional hub-and-spoke system is growing obsolete and is a particular liability during the crucial holiday selling season. The effort is already visible. White delivery vans with Amazon’s logo are an increasingly common sight, and customers say they are receiving more packages directly from uniformed Amazon deliverymen. The online retailer has added thousands of semitrailer trucks for delivery between warehouses and is experimenting with citizens making deliveries. Over time, Amazon is likely to turn its delivery network into a business in its own right, charging other shippers to ferry packages and drop off merchandise.

Classroom discussion questions:

Evaluate Amazon’s new strategy.
What are the advantages of third-party logistics (3PL)?

OM in the News: Is Fast Shipping Fast Enough?

Everlane, an online clothing and accessories brand, offers one-hour shipping in New York at no extra charge and in San Francisco for $2

“Free shipping isn’t enough any more,” writes The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 28, 2016). Online shoppers want fast shipping, too, and their expectations of an acceptable delivery window are shrinking. The new demands are largely a result of Amazon Prime, rival retailers say. Tens of millions of Amazon Prime members pay $99 a year and get unlimited 2 day shipping on millions of products, from snow boots to dog food. Now, the retailing giant is upping the ante, offering same day shipping in some markets. Other retailers, whose default shipping option is often 5 business days or more, are scrambling to keep up. Customers for the most part are no longer willing to pay extra for expedited delivery.

With shipping an increasingly expensive part of the business equation, operations managers are looking for cost effective ways to ship faster. They are building more distribution centers, fine tuning ship-from-store logistics and devising more creative delivery options. “Amazon kind of set the path for everyone with Prime. People just expect things faster,” says a luxury competitor. Cole Haan offers free 2 day shipping to online shoe shoppers who spend more than $250. Nearly 1/4 of customers either meet the threshold or pay $15 extra for 2 day shipping. Next month, Gap will narrow its free shipping window to 5-7 business days, down from 7-9 days. To shave off those 2 days, the company is relying on new technology to better manage logistics and routing.

Even just a few years ago, online shoppers were content to wait a week or two. Last year, the average delivery time for online orders was 4.1 days, down from 4.6 days in 2013. To speed up their delivery times, retailers are putting product closer to customers. Some of the biggest companies have a distribution center within a 10-hour drive of anyone in the country.

Classroom discussion questions:

What are the advantages and disadvantages of adding distribution centers (see Figure 11.3 in the text)?
Why does a shoe company, like Cole Haan, offer expedited shipping?

OM in the News: Amazon’s Relations With UPS Are Showing Strain

As the clock counts down to Christmas, workers at United Parcel Service are busy hustling packages along loading docks and conveyor belts at its Louisville, Ky., hub—part of a costly, intricate system built in part to cater to Amazon.com, its biggest customer. “But the symbiotic relationship between the two giants has come under increasing strain,” writes The Wall Street Journal (Dec. 23, 2015). Rising package volumes and costs have Amazon seeking alternative delivery routes—shifting the online retailer’s role from key ally to a potentially disruptive competitor.

Amazon has held talks with air-cargo companies to lease airplanes and build its own onfreight operation. The company is already using its own trucks, drivers and a fleet of couriers for the final and most-expensive leg of an order’s trip. It has been making its own deliveries in certain high-density regions and relying more heavily on the U.S. Postal Service. Eventually, it hopes to get drones to drop packages into backyards. “Amazon’s interest is not in doing what may be good for UPS,” said an industry expert. “Their interest is in getting control over logistics.” This year, Amazon spent over $1 billion with UPS, a 5-fold increase in the past decade. The average cost to handle a parcel was about $8 last year, up from $6.50 in 2000.

Amazon was a factor in UPS’s last two back-to-back Xmas snafus—each of which cost UPS an unexpected $200 million. Two years ago, Amazon overwhelmed UPS with hundreds of trailers of last-minute Xmas orders– and then pushed UPS to help underwrite millions in customer refunds. At Amazon, plans to handle more of its own parcels have recently accelerated, as it fears that UPS’s hub-and-spoke system is growing obsolete. Amazon has poached more than 40 UPS supervisors, managers and executives in the last 3 years.

Classroom discussion questions:

What are the advantages of Amazon building its own logistics system?
The disadvantages?

OM in the News: Amazon Moves to Uber-Like Service for Deliveries

Amazon is moving to Uber-like delivery services

“Aspiring delivery drivers take note: Amazon wants you,” writes the Chicago Tribune (Oct. 11, 2015). The e-commerce company has launched Amazon Flex, which will pay $18 to $25 an hour in exchange for delivering packages for Amazon with your car and smartphone. “Be your own boss: deliver when you want, as much as you want,” says its website. The service, available in Seattle, is coming soon to Chicago, NYC, Baltimore, Miami, Dallas, Austin, Indianapolis, Atlanta and Portland. Amazon Flex is the latest player in the “gig economy,” which also includes ride-booker Uber and on-demand delivery service Postmates.

Amazon Prime Now’s 2-hour delivery is free, and 1-hour delivery is $7.99. Shoppers can track the courier using the Amazon Prime Now smartphone app. “Amazon Flex will allow us to ramp quickly to meet customer demand, which is super helpful in a business like Prime Now where we see interesting peaks in volume,” says the firm’s spokesperson. “It could also be helpful during the holiday season, or during sales like Prime Day, where we experience sharp peaks in delivery volumes.” Amazon now uses carriers like UPS and the U.S. Postal Service.

Drivers can choose any available 2-, 4- or 8-hour blocks to work the same day. In the future, Amazon Flex said it might offer opportunities to deliver on bike or on foot. Deliveries can be picked up at a nearby location. “You’ll receive items to deliver in a local radius, based on length of the delivery block you signed up for,” says Amazon. Besides providing hourly pay, Amazon Flex is offering insurance to participants during the time they are delivering. The insurance includes $1 million in commercial automobile liability coverage, and $1 million in uninsured motorist coverage.

Classroom discussion questions:

Why is Amazon revamping its logistics supply chain?
Will students be attracted to such jobs?

OM in the News: Bullet Trains and Freight Trains

Japan Railway’s maglev train set a speed record when it hit 366 mph near Mt. Fuji

Fortune‘s latest issue (June 15, 2015) contains two separate articles that tie together our discussion of railroads in Chapter 11, Supply Chain Management. The contrast between bullet trains and freight trains in the U.S. is evident. The 1st article, “Super Fast Trains on a Roll Globally”, notes that over the past decade, China has built the world’s biggest high-speed-train network, with some 6,900 miles of track. Since the service was first launched in 2007, the number of passengers riding each day has risen from 237,000 to 2.5 million. To give you an idea of the scale, China is investing more than $128 billion in domestic railway construction in 2015–adding another 4,700 miles of passenger tracks this year alone. By comparison, the U.S. invests $1.4 billion annually in Amtrak. Amtrak’s Acela Express is America’s fastest train, yet its average speed is only 68 mph on the trip between Boston and Washington, D.C. The train does hit 150 mph along a few stretches of straight track.

In contrast, America’s freight rail industry is flourishing. The 2nd article, “Profit Engines on the Rails,” describes the 153-year-old Union Pacific, which is beating almost every other industrial company in the Fortune 500. The old-economy warhorse generates profits at a rate that rivals those of the best tech, pharmaceutical, and financial services companies. There are 3 reasons. First, Union Pacific’s central tenet is network planning, which mean that every outlay for new track, locomotives, or terminals must yield a return of at least 15%.

Union Pacific's dispatch center in Omaha, where workers direct as many as 1,000 trains per day across 23 states — Union Pacific’s dispatch center in Omaha, where workers direct as many as 1,000 trains per day across 23 states

Second, the railroad enjoys a big, and growing, cost advantage over trucks for long-haul shipments. Third, Union Pacific is an expert at constantly, relentlessly improving its efficiency. In a hugely capital-intensive business, that means increasing its volumes of freight far faster than it adds new employees, locomotives, and boxcars. Its capital expenditure has almost doubled, from $2.2 billion in 2006 to $4.2 billion in 2015.

Classroom discussion questions:

1. Why is the railway industry important to operations management?

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of shipping by railroad vs. air, trucking, and water?

Existing miles of high-speed rail
China	Europe	Japan	U.S.
6,917 miles	4,699 miles	1,655 miles	456 miles

OM in the News: A Radical Idea–Own Your Supply Chain

Ashley's plant in Arcadia, Wisconsin — Ashley’s plant in Arcadia, Wisconsin

Most manufacturing companies long ago outsourced their truck deliveries in the belief that outside experts could do the job more efficiently, reports The Wall Street Journal (April 30, 2015). But Ashley Furniture, the largest U.S. maker and retailer of furniture, has resisted that trend. It owns and operates about 800 trucks and delivers the vast bulk of its own products from factories to stores. “We think it is a core competency,” says the CEO.

Ashley employs about 3,000 people in transport and warehouse functions in the U.S., 1/4 of its U.S. head count. Its distribution centers feature racks specially designed to speed loading, and its managers arrange for trucks returning after they deliver their furniture to carry loads for other companies for a fee. About 80% of Ashley’s trucks are filled with other firms’ goods on the way back but Ashley aims to increase that above 90%

It has become very unusual for manufacturers to own transport fleets. Typically, switching to a third-party transport service leads to greater reliability and savings of at least 10%.

Trucks in Ashley’s fleet, from Volvo and Kenworth, average about 2.5 years old. The industry average is about 6 years. Providing drivers with comfortable seats, beds inside the cab and other amenities helps keep them loyal. Ashley also tries to keep drivers happy with predictable schedules allowing them to sleep at home frequently. Its drivers, dubbed Ashley Ambassadors, are also charged with building customer relations. In terms of delivery times and reliability, “they’re unbeatable,” says one furniture store owner.

Classroom discussion questions:
1. Why does Ashley control its own delivery supply chain?

2. What are the advantages of outsourcing instead?

OM in the News: Georgia’s Massive Distribution Centers

Hidden behind the green curtain of Georgia pine forests that surround the Port of Savannah (the nation’s 4th largest container port) are 45.3 million square feet of logistics, storage and distribution centers. Run by some of the most recognizable brands in the country — Walmart, Ikea, Home Depot, Target and Pier 1 Imports — the immense buildings are essential links in the flow of farm, construction and manufactured products streaming out of or into the country through the port, one of the country’s most modern maritime transport installations.

“Traffic, which includes everything from containers of frozen Georgia chicken parts heading to Asia and stuffed dog beds coming in from China, is about evenly divided between exports and imports,” writes The New York Times (March 25, 2015). (Incidentally, companies in the region are leery about opening the interior of their buildings to public view, partly because of the proprietary nature of some of the newer equipment used to move and ship products. Even the systems for storing freight and organizational warehousing techniques are tightly held, a reflection of steep competition).

The largest distribution center is the 2.5-million-square-foot facility owned by Schneider Logistics. Walmart operates a 2-million-square-foot center. Both are expansive enough to completely enclose two typical suburban shopping malls, or all the businesses in Savannah’s historic downtown. Demand for new warehouse and distribution space is intensifying with the economic recovery.

Another significant factor behind the flurry of activity is the expansion of the Panama Canal, a $6 billion project to add a third set of much larger locks to enable bigger container ships to navigate the maritime shortcut across the isthmus. The canal expansion, which is scheduled to open for commercial traffic in 2016, is expected to double the volume of goods making the 50-mile crossing each year to 660 million metric tons.

Classroom discussion questions:

1. Why are these firms building massive distribution centers and warehouses near Savannah?

2. What is the impact of the Panama Canal expansion?

OM in the News: U.S. Furniture Survivor Goes Global

When Ron Wanek started a furniture company in Arcadia, Wisconsin in 1970, his chances of becoming an industry giant looked remote, writes The Wall Street Journal (Mar. 6, 2015). Since then, most of the Carolina and Virginia manufacturers have been crushed by Asian competition. Wanek ’s Ashley Furniture Industries is now by far the biggest U.S.-based maker and retailer of furniture, with $4 billion in sales last year (twice as much as La-Z-Boy and Ethan Allen combined).

Ashley has thrived by churning out low-price furniture, including sofas for as little as $399, at factories in the U.S. and Asia. While American rivals dithered as imports surged starting in the 1980s, Ashley figured out what could most efficiently be made in Asia and what should be kept at home. The company operates what is widely viewed as the industry’s most streamlined delivery system to rush products into its 460 stores. The company now has plants and distribution centers in four states. About 60% of the furniture the company sells in the U.S. is American-made. The rest comes mainly from Vietnam and China. Ashley has 13,000 employees in the U.S., up from 8,000 a decade ago. In the same period, total U.S. furniture-industry employment shrank by 1/3 to 384,000.

Ashley has long focused on the logistics of furniture delivery. The company has its own fleet of 800 trucks, and deliveries to stores arrive in 2-3 days.That saves stores money because they can hold less inventory.

Ashley imports 70,000 shipping containers of Asian furniture a year. Rather than pay to send containers back to Asia empty, it arranges shipments of grain and animal hides. Ashley’s obsession with costs is relentless. Some furniture makers offer customers hundreds of fabric choices for upholstery. Ashley offers 1 to 6, depending on the chair. That slashes inventory and speeds production.

Classroom discussion questions:

1. Why has Ashley survived and prospered?

2. What lessons can be learned from Ashley’s OM function?