Alt fuels driving K-wave formation
Have you noticed how petroleum companies like Exxon-Mobile and Shell are talking about their research into alternate fuels or ways of using them that don’t cause pollution such as fuel cells? Those commercials are designed to make us feel good by reassuring us that something is being done to ward off the worst effects of […]
21 Most Admired Companies Making IT A Competitive Advantage
All enterprises, regardless of what they produce or the services they deliver, are really information businesses. The accuracy, speed and precision of IT systems means the difference between winning or losing customers, keeping supply chains profitable, and solidly translating new concepts into revenue-producing products and services. The world’s best-run services businesses have customer-driven IT as […]
Toyota: Rebuilding and Fortifying a Global Supply Chain (Part 1)
By now, all Spend Matters readers have heard about the massive impact the March earthquake and tsunami had on Toyota’s top and bottom lines (not to mention its employees and the employees of its suppliers). Such a tragic story does not…
Chatting Cars and Enterprise Software
Today’s big news is Salesforce Teaming up with Toyota to create a private social network where you can befriend your car and it will “tweet” you when it’s thirsty, need a checkup etc..etc..etc – see the details from @Krishnan’s post. The opportunities are really endless – more on that later. I have to get something […]
The Invisible Hand, The Earthquake/Tsunami, and The Toyota Prius
This Friday, we feature a story on a lighter but fascinating subject in the laws of supply and demand. Last week, I had the chance to talk to John Sternal, who runs communications for LeaseTrader, a site that serves as a secondary…
Did Toyota’s Lean Supply Chain Go Bad?
There’s been a lot of finger pointing in the press recently when it comes to Toyota?s suddenly accelerating escapades, which seemed to downshift into third gear with the accelerator floored (even to the point of a made-for-media car chase and forensi…
Are Toyota’s Suppliers in Collusion? Antitrust and the Automotive Supply Chain
Earlier today, the news broke that government officials in the US, EU and Japan recently searched the offices of a number of Toyota suppliers that may be involved in cartel-like activities. According to The Wall Street Journal?s summary, ?Investigato…
Supplier Management: Is the “Toyota Way” on the Way Out?
I’m pleased to report that after a weekend driving around in a Toyota Avalon, a model impacted by the recent acceleration recall, I’m alive and well. The same can’t necessarily be said about Toyota’s supply chain. According to a recent article in Sup…
Is Contrarian Purchasing a Good Savings Strategy?
Recent headlines about Toyota have no doubt been music to the ears of its major rivals — especially Ford and GM. From a giant recall for gas pedals that stick (making the Audi 5000’s sudden-acceleration PR woes look tame by comparison) to botched hy…
The Asian Auto Boom: Contrasting India and China
The first time I was in China, I was shocked at the level of interest there
in premium cars, often Western brands. Sure, there were the countless
knock-offs of older Western models, cheaply produced in China (my
favorite reminded me of the o…
