Gaming Supply Chains

From Youtube.com: Consoles take a complicated route to get from us – all the way from being minerals in the ground to being assembled in factories across the world. A close look at how this happens reveals ethical and logistical difficulties worth talking about. Varying labor laws, outsourced work, and even worker reluctance make factories hard to inspect for good working conditions. Further down the chain, the raw minerals used in consoles often come from war-torn regions such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, where local militias seize control of the mines and use them to raise funds to propagate their brutal civil war. The electronics industry has gotten better about rejecting conflict minerals, but it’s far from perfect. Microsoft and Sony are part of industry organizations to track and reduce abuse along supply chains, but Nintendo has only made small steps and simply refuses to collaborate with the rest of the tech industry to help solve this problem. Console manufacturers can still do more by putting a bigger focus on supply chain audits, voicing support for laws that would improve nationwide standards, being vocal to draw attention to these issues, and giving factories a bigger lead time for product launches. As consumers, we need to understand the impact our demand for launch day console availability has on pushing more unsafe labor practices and consider whether a small price increase (perhaps as little as $5) to guarantee that our consoles were manufactured without conflict minerals would really be too much of a price to pay.

Supply Chain MBA Videos and Information:

• ASRS system installed at Pepsi Bottling Company – Before going back to get my MBA I worked for Revlen as an ASRS Manager.  ASRS systems never came up at my MBA Program but just a good thing to know.
• Become a Supply Chain Rockstar
• Bullwhip Effect 101 – Definitely a supply chain concept people should know.
• CEO Videos – Here is something that is priceless.  Videos from great CEO minds such as Sam Walton, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Ma, Jeff Bezos…
• Introduction to Strategic Management – Understand Strategic Management, also research Business Strategy which will provide the same information.  This is a very important topic in MBA Programs.
• Negotiation Skills Top 10 Tips – Improve your negotiation skills.  A great deal of Supply Chain is procurement. To be a procurement professional you need negotiation skills.
• Procurement and Strategic Sourcing
• Supply Chain Management: The Beer Game – The Beer Game is what we played during orientation when I went back and got my MBA.  Everyone in the MBA program played the Beer Game, not just the Supply Chain MBAs.  Also see the Bullwhip Effect.
• SWOT Analysis: How to perform one for your organization. – SWOT is something all MBAers will most likely do in one way or another.
• Videos about Amazon – Here is an assortment of videos about Amazon.  Amazon is an amazing supply chain company.  Learning about Amazon will greatly improve your supply chain knowledge.
• Videos about Walmart – Walmart constantly came up at my Supply Chain MBA program.  Walmart has done great things in the past with their supply chain and doing great things in the future.