The Operations Room (@TheOpsRoom) profile picture

The Operations Room

@TheOpsRoom

The Operations Room is a forum for discussing current topics in OM written by Kellogg professors Gad Allon, Marty Lariviere and Jan Van Mieghem.

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Joined January 2010
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Paying for a place in line at Disney operationsroom.wordpress.com…
Paying for a place in line at Disney

Paying for a place in line at Disney

For a long time, one of my favorite service examples to discuss in class has been Disney’s FastPass system. In a nutshell, the program allowed guests to wait in a virtual line for a ride as o…

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Waiting on the water youtube.com/watch?v=NgIZbRg1… operationsroom.wordpress.com…
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Stuck in the middle of a canal operationsroom.wordpress.com…
Stuck in the middle of a canal

Stuck in the middle of a canal

One of the biggest supply chain stories of the past week has been the saga of the Ever Given, the ginormous container ship blocking the Suez Canal. Bloomberg has a nice podcast interviewing the hea…

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What service discipline is best for testing queues? operationsroom.wordpress.com…
What service discipline is best for testing queues?

What service discipline is best for testing queues?

First in, first out (FIFO) is the service discipline that we are all most familiar with. If I get in line at the cafe before you do, I get to place my order first. Simple. Fair. But is that the bes…

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Managing pricing without data operationsroom.wordpress.com…
Managing pricing without data

Managing pricing without data

Take a moment to appreciate the conundrum airline pricing managers currently find themselves in. In normal times, the main task of pricing managers and the revenue management systems they oversee i…

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Moving sales from the most profitable channel to the least profitable channel operationsroom.wordpress.com…
Moving sales from the most profitable channel to the least profitable channel

Moving sales from the most profitable channel to the least profitable channel

More on shifting shopping habits and how firms are responding. Specifically, we are again looking at the growth of online grocery sales. The Financial Times has a really nice story examining why th…

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Boohoo, corona, amd supply chain ethics operationsroom.wordpress.com…
Boohoo, corona, amd supply chain ethics

Boohoo, corona, amd supply chain ethics

To state the obvious, it’s bad when your brand gets associated with a phrase like “modern slavery.” That is just the situation that British retailer Boohoo finds itself in. To bac…

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Still empty supermarkets operationsroom.wordpress.com…
Still empty supermarkets

Still empty supermarkets

Some interesting images from the Wall Street Journal (From Flour to Canned Soup, Coronavirus Surge Pressures Food Supplies, Jul 12). First up a look at supermarket out of stocks. Note that this gra…

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Shrinking variety operationsroom.wordpress.com…
Shrinking variety

Shrinking variety

A recurring theme in how the pandemic has changed operations has been that firms are limiting variety. If a firm is having a hard time keeping up with demand surges and shifts, then a basic step is…

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Will pick up last past the pandemic? operationsroom.wordpress.com…
Will pick up last past the pandemic?

Will pick up last past the pandemic?

One of my favorite examples I have learned from doing this blog is Chronodrive, a French chain specializing in pick up groceries. Specializing in the sense that this is all that they do. It makes f…

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What to do with excess clothes youtube.com/watch?v=yXTctIM6… operationsroom.wordpress.com…
How the effects of the pandemic move up the supply chain operationsroom.wordpress.com…
How the effects of the pandemic move up the supply chain

How the effects of the pandemic move up the supply chain

The novel coronavirus have impacted many business as governments imposed lockdowns and consumers were just generally reluctant to spend. But in a global economy, those effects are not just local. A…

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Carbon-neutral logistics operationsroom.wordpress.com…
Carbon-neutral logistics

Carbon-neutral logistics

Today’s post has nothing to do with the coronavirus. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. The story comes from the Guardian and concerns a coffee roastery in the UK trying to have …

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What happens to all the beer left in bars? operationsroom.wordpress.com…
What happens to all the beer left in bars?

What happens to all the beer left in bars?

Much like Tom T. Hall, I like beer. And much like other industries, brewers have had to adjust as consumers habits and tastes have changed as bars and restaurants closed. As the Wall Street Journal…

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Spying on Trader Joe’s operationsroom.wordpress.com…
Spying on Trader Joe’s

Spying on Trader Joe’s

OK, another story about pandemic driven lines. But this one has a twist. Yes, the virus is forcing lines to form outside of stores, but what would you give to be able to see the line before you lef…

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Operating strategies that have hindered business during the pandemic operationsroom.wordpress.com…

Operating strategies that have hindered business during the pandemic

Two stories today. Both revolve around operating strategies that complicate adapting to the pandemic. One’s about IKEA, the other is about sex toys. Yes, sex toys. We have almost 900 posts on…

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Poka-yoke and pandemic office layout operationsroom.wordpress.com…
Poka-yoke and pandemic office layout

Poka-yoke and pandemic office layout

As the country re-opens, there is the question of how workers can return to offices. How can firms be sure that employees follow appropriate social distancing? Office furniture maker Allsteel has s…

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Brits and queues! operationsroom.wordpress.com…
Brits and queues!

Brits and queues!

The British are famous for queuing. The stereotype has them as embracing orderly waiting their turn. But what if it’s waiting to vote in Parliament? The powers that be in London have decided …

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What’s next for just-in-time? operationsroom.wordpress.com…
What’s next for just-in-time?

What’s next for just-in-time?

The Financial Times has an interesting set of articles on how the ongoing pandemic impacts supply chains (Trade Secrets: Supply Chain Disruption). These hit on things like toilet paper, firms pivot…

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Call centers and Covid operationsroom.wordpress.com…
Call centers and Covid

Call centers and Covid

There are some things that simply cannot be solved with an online FAQ. And if you have a question that needs to be answered or a technical problem that needs to be resolved, that likely means you n…

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