Buy Dung Cake on India Amazon and eBay? You Got It Delivered

(12/28/2015) ECommerce's growth is outstanding this shopping season in the US. In India, online shopping also has extended to some commodities that you may think is the last thing to be sold online: Cow dung cakes. Don't make judgement yet. Cow dung cakes are still an important energy source for many Indian family for cooking. My mom told me that it does not smell bad at all. Maybe they are even labeled 'organic?'

Go to 7-11 to Pick Up Shipments

(04/08/2016) Do you know now you (American citizens) can file their tax returns at 7-11? "Though the partnership with 7-Eleven might seem odd at first, for those who don’t have a bank account or credit card, this provides an option for them to pay their taxes with cash."In this aspect, finally, the US is catching up with 7-11 operations in Asia.

(11/13/2015) Now the convenient stores may provide another services to customers: picking up shipping packages. 7-11 in the US and Canada now add storage lockers for people who prefer to pick up their shipments. This logistics service provided by convenient stores might be new to American consumers, but it has been very popular in Asian contries for many years. Most people in Asia live in cities has no front yard that can 'securely' guard the shipping packages.

The following is a video (in Chinese) from a foreign backpacker explaining how he use 7-11 in Taiwan shipping stuff to another city.

This is another video (in Chinese) showing that shippers/receivers can use mobile app tracking their packages that are sent to the convenience stores.

Sony Discontinues Betamax Cassette Production

(11/10/2015) Most people (including me) may not know Sony's Betamax cassette still exist, but this news just posts its epitaph. Sony's Betamax was a revolutionary video recording technology that is considered superior in term of video quality than rival VHS technology. Because Sony insisted Betamax to be sold exclusively by Sony, their rival united together and supported another standard -- VHS -- and eventually toppled Betamax's dominance in video cassette market. One amazing part is that, when the rest of the world has let go Betamax long time ago, Japan is still very nostalgia towards Betamax.

Japan is a very unique market in technology. It has its own ecology, regulation and standards. As a result, the technology's catchup in Japan's market often follows a different path. For example, fax machine sales is still 'relatively strong' in Japan compared to most developed countries in the world. Seeing from the perspective market development, Japan is almost like a " Galápagos Archipelago" compared to the rest of the developed countries. The Betamax production is just an example. Those once big Japanese technology companies worked so hard to please their native consumers (Japanese), they totally missed the bigger market outside of Japan. In this aspect the cellular phone market is another example (NYT news). Washington Post has a good report on this aspect. Will Japan lead the next big wave of technology innovation like Internet in the U.S. in the 1990's? I doubt it.

Technology Literacy and Generation Gap

(11/10/2010) This is an amazing news report on the generation gap and technology literacy that impact our society.  A car dealer hires high school students to explain potential car buyers on how to operate the technological dashboard now embedded in new vehicles.  Can you think of an even more creative way to give teenagers an opportunity to earn extra money and learn business?

"Treat or Trick" App for Parents

(11/08/2015) Do parent need to search on Google map to see where is the best neighborhood to take their kids in Halloween? There is an mobile app -- Treatster (which is made by Target) for that.

"The site, created with 360i, allows parents to up-vote the best areas by tagging their locations as a "treat." The more "treats" a location has, the larger its pumpkin will appear. Kristi Argyilan, senior VP-media, guest engagement and measurement at Target, said the site is about the joy and excitement of Halloween and "allowing guests to engage in [the] holiday in the way that they naturally would. ... They're tweeting, and they're posting on Facebook. [The mobile site] is really about delighting kids and family when they go trick or treating.""

UPS Pay Penalty for False Delivery Claims With 17 States

(10/21/2015) Have you ever waited for UPS driver at home for delivery, they didn't show up but the online tracking said "they tried to deliver but cannot be done?" I experienced several times of "no show" of UPS's (same as USPS) online shipping. I don't want to blame 'lazy drivers.' But I think UPS's business culture must allow this to happen pretty often. Now they have to pay for their "over promise and under delivery." But $4.2 millions of penalty? That is ridiculously low.

Student Amazon Shipments Clog Dorm Mailroom?

(10/21/2015) It is a small news with a big implication: future generation's shopping habit is changing. Amazon provides free Prime membership to college students and it's working really well. Now the college dorms find it is overwhelmed by students Amazon online shipments (not just from Amazon, of course). It should be a serious warning sign for other brick-and-mortar retail stores. If Walmart, Target and BestBuy don't improve their online shopping environments and experience, they may not be relevant in the future.

Digital Camera x.0?

(10/08/2015) From the time the first digital camera launched in the market place, we know it's going to change the whole game. After that, the quality of digital camera has improved a lot, more pixels, stability and anti-shock, low-light shooting, time-lapse, and 4K video etc. The simple point-and-shoot cameras now are almost encroached by smartphones. The newest Apple iPhone 6s and Google's Nexus 6 both have very powerful digital camera functions. Now many digital camera makers have to move up to SLR (single-lens reflex) camera market for survival.

Will these digital camera makers find a short period of peace in the SLR market? I guess not. Three years ago, there was a light field technology developed by Lytro that allows users to refocus after pictures are taken. However, due to clumsy and awkward design and bad marketing, Lytro didn't have any big impact on the market. Though, Lytro now reposition themselves and launches a new Lytro Illum, which at least looks more like a digital camera. I am not sure if Lytro Illum will make a difference.

Personally, I think this new one may shake the SLR camera market (one day?). A new company called "Light" combines 16 cameras into one device, Light L16. Their technology will allow users shoot really high quality digital photos, and it looks very similar to the point-and-shoot digital camera that was our darling years ago but now sits in our drawer. I think this will be a big deal. One catch: it's not launched yet, a new product will be available in 2016 summer.

 Light L16 videos

Light 16 professional review

Fortune Evaporation May Kill Nicaragua Canal

(10/02/2015) Do you remember that Japanese bought Rockefeller Center in NYC in 1990? Many American thought then Japanese would take over USA then. This is another example of free-fall. The Nicaragua Canal maybe just a mirage reflecting from this Chinese tycoon's dream.

Top Five Gadgets That Will Go Absolete

(9/9/2015) Ten years ago, I started working on my dissertation -- multifunction product design and offering strategy -- and predict multifunction products will replace many single function products (well, a no brainer). As some products (like digital personal devices, PDA) are gone forever, these five are new ones on CNET's list: personal fitness monitor, point-and-shoot camera, GPS, game console, and dumb light balls (I am not sure on this one).

On Yelp, Doctors Get Reviewed Like Restaurants — And It Rankles

(8/6/2015) Do you have an experience waiting at a doctor's office for more than a hour? And when the doctor comes and apologizes, all you can say is "It's OK, I understand" because you cannot leave without their treatment? Hospital's waiting line management is probably one of the worst if patients do have a chance to rank. Now people can go to Yelp to complain about it. To some degree, I would agree with one doctor's comment "ranking on doctor's waiting line management, but not on how doctors treat patients professionally."

However, knowing how a waiting line system is mostly influenced by service time uncertainty (the time spent on a patient can varies from several minutes to several hours, which is mostly beyond doctor's control and cause a wide range variation) in healthcare, I also understand the improvement won't be easy. It's very unlikely that we can educate patients to understand the complexity of a waiting line system (most OM/SCM programs don't even cover in their undergraduate curriculum), so it's administrator's responsibility to make it right.

It Took A Musician's Ear To Decode The Complex Song In Whale Calls

(8/6/2015) I heard this touching story of whale's singing from NPR today. I am surprised to hear that scientists use 'data analytics' to decode the song of humpback whales's singing. You will see 'visual representations' used in her methodology in decoding whales' songs. Not only that, scientist Payne found the whales' song evolved over time. "But over time, some parts of a group's song gradually change, too — in rhythm, pitch and duration — as the whales listen to each other, and together take up variations that eventually become a new tune."

Morning Edition's audio file

Jeep Cherokee Owners File Lawsuit Against Fiat Chrysler, Harman After Hackers Wirelessly Hijack Vehicle

(8/5/2015) This is one of times that "less is more." High-tech cars now are subject to WiFi hijack.

No WiFi technology in the car, please. I don't even want those technology package or upgrade at all. More technologies in the car, more mechanical problems will send the car to the repair shop.

Should UPS worry about Amazon's Drones?

(7/29/2015) I think worrying Amazon's Drone flyers will replace UPS in the US exaggerates its potential impact. How many houses will be able to be delivered by Amazon Drone fryers? How heavy could a flyer carry? What's the dimension it can carry without worrying balancing issues? How geographic density can Amazon build operating offices to handle drones?
      UPS drivers delivery and pick up packages in Milk Runs, which mean UPS can drop off can pick up maybe 100 times along all its way for an 8-10 hour shift. Can Amazon Drone do that? Or it always needs to return back to the center to do the 2nd, then back again for the 3rd delivery? All drones' back flights are empty loads. How many trips can Amazon fly in one battery charge? City might be good for Amazon? But the air space in the city is congested and difficult to navigate and the rent and facility cost will be expensive. After thinking of these issues, I think UPS has not much to worry about YET.

Cracker Rage Costs United Airlines $550,000

(6/25/2015) Last week, United Airlines Flight 971 flying from Rome to Chicago made an emergency landing in Belfast. Around 270 passengers are forced to sleep in the airport terminal because Belfast has not enough hotel to handle so many passengers. This type of air traffic disruption became more common recently and most of them are caused by unruled behavior of passengers. This episode was the same. However, after investigation, we found that the cause was because a male passenger demanding extra crackers several times and become a safety concern. The cost of this landing is estimated to be around $550,000.

Amazon 'Improve' Product Reviews

(6/24/2015) Based on Dimensional Research’s survey in 2013, 90% of consumers say buying decisions are influenced by online reviews. Another survey also indicates that about 88% of consumers trust online review as much as personal recommendation. It's not surprising that many companies try to influence their own product or competitor's product review on the internet.

Amazon now announces their new updated review rating system. Amazon will give 'more recent,' 'more helpful' reviews higher weight to counter those illegitimate (complaint on shipping delay) or fake reviews that confuse consumers. But let's wait and see the mouse and cat chasing in the next round. Fake reviews won't die easily.

Mulberry Harbor -- Evidence of the Importance of Operations Management

(6/6/2015) When I teach the first class of Operations and Supply Chain Management, I always ask students whether they play war game. The origin of modern operations and supply chain management is from warfares, especially from World War II. Watching some D-day special program on TV today, it mentioned Mulberry Harbor played a critical to the success of D-Day. In this site, you can see how Mulberry was constructed.

Airlines try to save time with speedier boarding process

(6/2/2015) If you fly with several different airlines, you will notice the processed that airlines use are very different. Southwest does not assign seats and board passengers by A/B/C groups that passengers compete (with extra payments) on their seats. Other airlines that assign seats normally have different boarding groups, among them some board passengers in the front first, some board passengers in the back first. You may wonder what is the operational logic behind their processes. Now, Southwest and Delta are trying new approaches to improve their boarding process. If you are their frequent flyer, check if their new process makes a difference.

Southwest Gives Old Airplane Seats New Life

(5/25/2015) Sometime being nice just needs to be creative and it costs nothing. Southwest Airlines's old chairs were destined to landfills when they have done their services. By soliciting creative utilization of its usage, now the real leather from old Southwest Airlines chairs becomes free shoes and soccer balls for some kids in poor African countries.

 

The Packaging Can Just Sell Products

(5/5/2015) There are several creative packaging examples that can just sell the products. They look suggestive, right?

Interesting Statistics of this Teaching Blog

(4/2/2015) Once in a while, google sent me a statistics of viewership. Well, it's just my personal teach depository, I know there are not many viewers. But I seem to have a bunch of Russian followers? Who are they?

RUSSIAN HACKERS!

The issue is there is no authority on the Internet can really fix anarchy problem  of the Internet.

Amazon Dash, Will It Be Successful?

(4/2/2015) I just heard about Amazon Dash today, that was a not-so-successful product. But check Amazon Dash out, it has built-in microphone for voice searching, barcode scanner, and WiFi function, you can scan or search and let Amazon know what you need. Amazon just launched new Dash Buttons, it covers more than 200 popular brands and products with free Dash Buttons available to its PRIME members.

Will this concept of smart-shopping be successful? From its concept, it is a very powerful tool for manufacturers, especially for big brands. But some smartphone applications has similar capabilities: scan barcode, search where to shop online or locally. They could not make a big splash so far. But I think an application or device from Amazon and Walmart like this "Dash" button may really change the way we shop in the future. Isn't it scary? Now the firms not only know what you buy, they even know how fast you use their product.

Why Group Brainstorming Is a Waste of Time

(3/31/2015) Do you feel the same as this author? Brainstorming is wasting your time? It may be. However, when the whole team has no idea to start, you always need a process like brainstorming to start with. Don't expect too much or take it too seriously.

Frontier's New Reservation System Is A Disaster

(3/13/2015) You booked a flight and it turns out the waiting line on the reservation system is 'significantly' different from the actual flight time? Well, that's what happened in the Frontier Airlines' new reservation system. If you keep them wait a little bit longer, it is not a big deal (yet). But if you mess up their connecting flight or miss several days of passenger's vacation trip?

The key issue was the testing before launching the new system. How can their process improvement got so wrong which focus only on their internal system integration but forgot the consistency of the "moment of truth" -- which is the interaction between the passenger and the company's system?

I am appalled see that the solutions they respond is like this:
"The airline says that all issues with the system should be resolved by today, but in the event that doesn’t happen, the company posted a few tips for consumers on its Facebook and Twitter pages.

           Suggestions from Frontier included clearing your cache and using Google Chrome, as it apparently works best for FlyFrontier.com"

(3/25/2015) There is another problem in Frontier. This time, passengers are stranded on the plane for 18 hours due to a series of mechanical delays and crew issues. I can understand the mechanical delay. But after 12 hours of delay on the plane, and Frontier could not foresee lack of crew problem? That is a failure of risk management.

MOOC Wave #2 Coming?

(3/13/2015) When several ivy league universities like Harvard, Stanford and MIT jumped into the MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) bandwagon three years ago, many predicted that our traditional college systems can be in trouble. But the impact is not that big, so far. Today, the New Work Times has an article arguing that the technology and online education ecosystem is not there yet now, but it may come soon.

I think I agree with the author on the point that the technology and online education ecosystem is not there yet now. But I don't think an "Open Badge" can change the tide at all, at best, it generates some ripples. The real problem for students finishing an official degree through MOOC is the "advising process" that will accompany students in their course selection and scheduling. That is, if someone is interested to claim (s)he earns an Business Analytics degrees, there should be one or several curriculums that guiding students through this process. The curriculums have come from some well recognized associations. For example, for the business school, AACSB (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) can be one of such organization to set up such curriculums for various business degrees. Without such a supporting system, not many self-motivated students will be able to figure out the path.

Microsoft Excel Is Crucial To Making More Money

(3/8/2015) According to Burning Glass Technologies (a labor research company) from WSJ, they found that the most important basic knowledges for middle-skill jobs are: spreadsheet and word-processing software such as Microsoft Corp.’s Excel and Word, or the software from SAP and Oracle."

"Positions that require basic digital skills tend to pay 13% more than jobs that require no digital chops: median pay of $22.66 per hour versus $20.14 per hour."

Western Australia Mining Cities Go Busted with Iron Ores and Coals

(3/8/2015) It's really like a dream (黃粱一夢) for several mining cities in Western Australia. Just several years ago, these cities are booming like crazy when China had a huge appetite for importing raw materials (iron ores and coals) from commodity-rich Australia. How crazy was that booming you may ask?  "Truck driving and cooking jobs offering $100,000 a year." It was that crazy. Now, many office spaces are up for lease and temporary workers are forced to return back to their countries since the jobs are gone. As far as we can see the economic outlooks of China, there is no recovery in a near future. The iron ore's price has dropped below $60 per tonne, which is never seen for 11 years in the global market. That is why several mining companies have to mothball their mines.

For city like Perth Australia, I feel that maybe it's better this had never happened. Now the mining bubbles left the city unemployed workers (native or foreign), empty buildings, and dwindling tax incomes. A big hangover from the booming party.

Buildings in Perth Australia are almost ready, but the business is gone.

Many companies probably regret they had won mining permission or jumped in the bandwagon.

Future Transportation in the US Is Not Pretty

(2/5/2015) The Department of Transportation in the US released US's future traffic report and it does not look good at all. Here is a quick summary from Popular Science. Think your commute is bad now? It can be worse.

BTW, US DOT warns about Climate Change's impact on transportation.

Fire Tablet Bad News from Amazon Shows The Importance of Real Retail Channel

(2/4/2015) Amazon's Fire phone was a failure (causing $170 millions of write-down on its book), but its predecessor - Fire Tablet was not. Well, at least, before the Fire Phone was launched. Just within 5 years after the first generation of iPad was launched, the global tablet sales has entered its "mature stage." In 2014, the tablet sales dropped for the firs time (still before Tablet is 5 years-old), even Apple's iPad has 17.8% of sales drop. But once the biggest contender of iPad -- Amazon Fire Tablet -- had a even bigger drop of 68% in 2014, almost 70% of in sales. How can that be? This news has a very good analysis: Amazon's Fire tablets are only available on Amazon and very limited channels. But many smaller brands tablet maker had encroached a good chunk of the market share: 35.2% and was the 'only group' that saw tablet sales growth in 2014. $40 after gift card for 10" Android tablet (see captured picture below), How can Amazon's Fire beat this price? Can Bezos dodge this miscalculation again?

Internet Hype

(2/3/2015) When will I get 15 minutes of publicity like Andy Warhol said? Who knows?
Can you justify why who are the dancing sharks for Katy Perry becomes a talking point of NFL Superbowl? Their names now become search keywords. If they dress like normal backup dancers, will we notice them?

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Skymall Goes Bankruptcy

(1/23/2015) For many travelers, Skymall magazine used to be the stuff people read when they forget to bring some books to read during the flight. For me, Skymall magazine is the source of many crazily customized tool and gadgets and useless one-function-dedicated innovations (like "a Darth Vader toaster or a paper towel holder with USB ports"). However, just after two years that on-board Wi-Fi are available on commercial plane, this magazine says goodbye to flyers and files bankruptcy. It is an end of an era.

For those who will miss the crazy invention on Skymall, this is your last chance to review "top 10 innovations that we never need.' I do think their demo room should become a public museum.


World News Videos | ABC World News

Useless Invention Coming back

(1/17/2015) Selfie stick is one of the most popular new devices in 2015 CES due to the popularity of mobile devices. There is even a booth selling various type of selfie sticks (see picture below). However, this type of product was invented early in the early 1990's and was voted as one of the most useless product in 1995. If you are old enough, you probably remember Apple's Newton (launched in 1991) handheld device that failed. There were really born in the wrong time (生不逢時), right?

Selfie Stick is popular in 2015 CES show. Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/there-are-whole-booths-filled-with-selfie-sticks-at-ces-2015-1