Inventory Articles/ RFID

Here is a database of articles that I found on the internet which talks about many of the topics we have covered so far in class.
http://www.effectiveinventory.com/articles.html
I thought people might find this interesting but this is not the main topic of this blog.
The topic I wanted to talk about is RFID, after reading about the new advancement in RFID my interest became piqued. Why has RFID still not caught on? It was supposed to be the next great thing in inventory management but appears to have been stalled by high costs. As recently as a couple of years ago it was thought that Wal-Mart was going to require all of their suppliers to use RFID tags on all of their goods. Thinking about this topic I decided to look back at the main advantages vs. disadvantages of RFID. I was able to find a good blog/article that listed these at: http://www.inventoryops.com/RFIDupdate.htm . I will not bore you in this blog with the specifics, but as talked about below the situation boils down to cost. For anyone who is interested this link does a good job of updating you on the RFID situation. Also if you have any thoughts or feelings about RFID please comment.

New Advancements in RFIDs

The company Kovio, Inc. has recently announced a breakthrough in RFID technology. Their process uses ink-jet technology with silicon ink to "print" integrated circuits. They claim that their process can create RFIDs at a cost per item between $0.05 and $0.10. This price range is about $0.15 cheaper than the cheapest alternative.

Source: www.EETimes.com

RFIDs are used extensively in Inventory Management. The small circuits emit a specific frequency in the presence of an EM field. This frequency is then tied to an SKU number in a database for identification. Inventory tracking errors are almost completely eliminated with this system. RFIDs are usually only used in large quantities of items or on items with a large per unit price. If the price of RFIDs becomes low enough to tag every unit, then the reduction in tracking errors that have been seen in warehouses can be applied at an even more granular level and improve the tracking efficiencies of retail stores.

Questions for preparing test 1?

Anybody can give a hand?

1,Lecture note 3: page 60
100b=(b+h)% , which means 9999*b=h
Then in your example: b=9*h, which contradicts what is given above
9999*b=h.
Where does it come from? Experience?

2. Lecture note 3: page 107
Combine orders from different items into a single shipment.
Does it affect the total cost? TC=c*D+K*D/Q+h*Q/2

3. Lecture note 3: page 115
3*100=300>
Where does 3 come from? Did you approximate it from integer number of 150/60?
I think it should be x=150*100/6=250.

Oil Inventory Crisis

I saw an interesting documentary on MSNBC about the gas and oil crisis around the world. It wasn't until I sat down to blog today that I realized that this crisis deals very heavily with the topic of inventory management. A few weeks ago in Atlanta there was a major gas crisis. This crisis was largely to do with demand being much larger than supply. This crisis caused even more panic among consumers which then caused a bull whip effect which prolonged the gas crisis.
The documentary titled "the hunt for black gold", talked largely of the depleting inventory of oil around the world. The United States accounts for somewhere around three to four percent of the population yet they consume twenty five percent of the world's oil. Many experts believe that this is do to the growing economies in China and Russia which are also beginning to deplete the world's oil inventory.
So how can inventory management help this oil crisis? I'm not sure if inventory management can help a resource that has a growing demand and a depleted supply. However if anyone reads this and has any ideas of how inventory management can help this problem please share.

Inventory Managment and the Economy

As I read the news over the past few weeks, it occurred to me that the "credit crisis" could have a strong effect on how companies handle their inventories and in return effect the price of consumer goods. Those companies that require short term loans to purchase their inventory in large quantities for quantity discounts might have to order smaller quantities based on how much capital they have on hand. These cost increases would then be passed along to the consumer. If you take into account the devaluation of the dollar, the increased taxes from bailing out Wall Street, and the large hits many 401(k)'s have seen lately; American consumers have a lot to be worried about these days.