Category Archives: Domestic Business

Spring Is Here but Sandals and Shorts Aren’t

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MARCH 11, 2022
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Seasonal items are slow to hit store shelves at Luluemon

It is almost spring, yet many retailers are still waiting for deliveries of shorts, sandals and other warm weather gear, a sign that the supply-chain problems of the past two years haven’t abated. It is estimated that retailers will see average delays of one to two months on shipments this spring.

Retail chains, including Lululemon Athletica, Kohl’s, and Abercrombie & Fitch, said that supply-chain delays hurt holiday sales. Those problems are continuing well into the new year.

Macy’s said the chain is facing shortages of women’s shoes, handbags and toys. “There’s still a fair amount of supply-chain disruption when you think about between 60 and 70 vessels still anchored off Long Beach in L.A. trying to get in,” says the Foot Locker CEO.

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Good Reading, The Toyota Way

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OCTOBER 3, 2020

In the 1990s Toyota’s principles of production equipment became “simple, slim, and flexible,” which some people might interpret as “go slow and be cautious in adopting new technology.”  In today’s age of lightning speed in the digital world, Jeff Liker’s new book, The Toyota Way (Oct., 2020) says that would be a mistake. His message is: “adapt technology that supports your people and processes.” Where are real needs that technology can address to help achieve corporate goals? This is a question of pulling technology based on the opportunity, instead of pushing the technology because it is the latest fad. The key issue, writes Liker, is to avoid the temptation to buy and implement the latest gee-whiz digital tools, and instead to thoughtfully integrate technology with highly developed people and processes.

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