Video case study - A start-up that needs a beancounter
This super little short video from BBC Scotland introduces story of a start-up in Edinburgh that is having to add extra capacity to met increasing demand from its main customer. A sweet story of success amid the prevailing economic gloom
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What happens inside the Amazon warehouse at Christmas
A terrific 2-minute video here that takes us inside the Amazon distribution centre at the busiest time of the year - the weeks before Christmas. Perfect for illustrating technology in operations!
Video Case Study - Inside the Pizza Factory
A fantastic video on the BBC site from a couple of weeks back which takes us on a guided tour of the Goodfellas piiza factory in Ireland. This 3-minute clip is superb for illustrating automated production in action and perhaps also for introducing quality control. Just wait till you see how they get the pepperoni onto the pizza.
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Capacity utilisation: Honda Swindon closing for 50 days
Across the world, car companies are finding ways to come to terms with the credit crunch. The US giants are looking for support from the federal government in Washington. Other famous names are finding some way to scale back production.
But cutting production and operating below full capacity is expensive. Students who are familiar with the idea of lean production know that this policy is potentially wasteful and inefficient. So what’s behind Honda’s announcement that it plans to cut production at its plant in Swindon, which will close for 50 days next year?
read more...»Video case study - Tourist town reinvents its economy
A nice little case study here about how a popular tourist destination is changing its economic mix - moving away from traditional industries such as tourism and fishing to embrace the digital creative sector.
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Revision Quiz - Customer Service
This revision quiz provides 10 questions on customer service topics.
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Revision Quiz - Quality
This revision quiz provides 10 mcq’s on the topic of quality management.
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Revision Quiz - Operational Decisions
This revision quiz is on operational decisions. Each time you take the quiz, you get a selection of 10 mcq’s on topics such as capacity utilisation, unit costs and stock control.
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Revision Quiz - Using Technology in Operations
This revision quiz looks at some applications of technology to support production and operations.
Revision quiz - Working with Suppliers
The importance of a business working effectively with suppliers is now featured in several business studies specifications. Here is a quick revision quiz that covers the key points.
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Video case study - Nissan
Like other car manufacturers, Nissan is having to cut production output in the face of declinining demand. However, Nissan has a clear idea about what it wants to do with its employees whilst the production line remains silent…
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Cutting costs for a railway by switching the engines off
This short video piece on the BBC website is a great example to use when explaining how innovation can help a business cut operating costs…
read more...»Capacity management in action at Toyota
Students learn in operations management that one way of increasing the production capacity of existing fixed assets is to add an extra shift to the working week. Here is a good example of this action in reverse…
read more...»Here’s a business that wants energy prices to rise
Those of you who are aged 35 or less probably won’t remember the Miners Strikes and the rapid decline of the UK’s mining industry. It is easy to forget that Britain still has a coal mining industry. So I was interested in news from UK Coal about how rising energy prices are benefitting their business and future investment decisions…
read more...»Working with suppliers - Matalan applies the squeeze
A good example to use in AQA AS Unit 2 (working with suppliers). Discount retailer Matalan has made itself unpopular with a group of small business suppliers by imposing another price cut…
read more...»Cutting capacity to weather the housing slump
There was a great example last week of how to cut fixed costs and capacity to meet a sudden decrease in demand…
read more...»Start-ups and small businesses abandon their traditional offices
An interesting article in the Times is really useful for the “location” topic in the new AS Business Studies specifications…
read more...»High oil prices encourage supply-chain re-think
With crude oil prices remaining at or around $140 per barrel and transportation costs soaring, global businesses are having to take a long hard look at their supply-chains - how they get their products to market. The Financial Times carried this good piece on changes at a true industrial giant Proctor and Gamble.
“Soaring energy prices are forcing Procter & Gamble to rethink how it distributes its products, with the world’s biggest consumer goods company shifting manufacturing sites closer to consumers to cut its transport bill.”
The rest of the article is here - when reading it try to find three examples of how the business is looking to absorb the effects of the steep rise in shipping costs.
Leaner Food in Supermarkets
Supermarkets can seem like a temple to abundant food, but the less palatable flipside is the amount that goes to waste. Billions of dollars’ worth of food is dumped each year because of retailers’ inefficiency. This matters: not just because wasting food is bad, but because food prices are so high at the moment, firms have the extra incentive to act because of the immediate impact on their profits.
read more...»Beijing Bound for the Black Cabs
A great example in the news today of the potential for joint ventures to provide substantial growth opportunities for a business operating in a mature domestic market.
read more...»Mr Dell comes back to Dell. What’s different this time?
Terminal 5 - a useful 2 minute video clip for your students
Here is a useful, short video clip from Reuters that covers the operational problems that occured on the opening day of Terminal 5.
read more...»Avoiding the risks that lead to shattered lives
I was in the tutor2u food manufacturing division (my kitchen) stirring some delicious home-made bacon broth when a piece on tonight’s Five Live news caught my attention. It featured a representative from the Health & Safety executive discussing new legal requirements for business owners and led onto a discussion about how complying with health and safety legislation actually generates a good return on investment for a business.
read more...»Invest during a recession - the message from Sir James Dyson
An interesting two-minute clip from the excellent Jeff Randall Live on Sky News today. Sir James Dyson reflects on the lessons he learned when he set up Dyson right in the middle of the last UK recession.
read more...»Capacity utilisation in focus as the credit crunch tightens
Every day brings bad economic and business news from the US economy as the implications of the credit crunch take effect. Here is an example of a major manufacturing business taking pre-emptive action to reduce capacity in the face of falling sales.
read more...»Fudges finds its niche
Here is a great example of a food manufacturing business that has reinvented itself to successfully exploit a niche for luxury food products. The video link would make a great lesson starter resource and there is lots of business studies content that can be drawn out through discussion and further research.
read more...»Lean manufacturing - BBC In Business
Peter Day’s superb In Business radio programme has what promises to be a really useful feature on applying the ideas and philosophy of lean manufacturing into the service industries that now dominate the economy. Well worth recording for AS & A2 students.
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