Supply Chain by the Numbers for Week of April 1, 2011

Supply Chain by the Numbers

- April 1, 2011

PrIcing Geiger Counters; Hershey Responds to Input Inflation; Apple Pays Dearly for New Display Panels; China Labor Costs Rising, but Less than Expected



$445.99
Price for a Digital Geiger Counter with wand as currently offered on the Amazon.com web site this week from a manufacturer called Images SI Inc. They are in stock, though drop shipped rather than being carried in Amazon DCs. Why are we featuring this tidbit? Because as SCDigest editor Dan Gilmore wrote this week, many companies may just need to equip their operations with Geiger Counters to ensure no products from Japan tainted with radiation don't enter their supply chains - and that may be hard to do. See Gieger Counters for the Supply Chain?

9.7%

The substantial amount by which candy giant Hershey said it was planning on its wholesale prices in a move to preserve margins in the face of spiraling commodity and oil prices. Hershey, for example, said this week that the cost of sugar has more than doubled in the past year -- and can no longer absorb the higher expenses. This in the same week that WalMart CEO Bill Simon said "inflation is going to be serious" in the next year. Watch out.


300-400%
The premium that electronics industry press said this week that Apple was likely paying new display panel provider AU Optronics Corp., as the company's existing supply chain struggles to keep up with demand for the hot selling iPad 2. One publication said that "It’s possible AUO was able to negotiate a very favorable rate in order to guarantee a significant percentage of AUO’s total output capability."




9-15%
Range of expected increases in Chinese labor costs in 2011, according to a study released this week by Standard Chartered Bank, which does much business in Asia. While that may seem high, it is actually down from the rise in 2010 and earlier expectations of perhaps 20-30% this year, following the strikes and wage increases China experienced in 2010.