Chi's Profile

Great article Anonymous!

For me, the most interesting part of the article is the fact that the government had to give UTX a tax incentive in order for them to keep the Indiana plant open. What this signals to me is that governments with protectionist trade policies will have to do more, and provide more incentives to companies to prevent them from moving their plants to countries with more open trade policies. How sustainable is this? Will the government always have to give companies “sweetened deals” as you mentioned?

From UTX’s perspective, I agree with you that keeping the Indiana plant was primarily about optics. I would also argue that it made some economic sense as they were still able to reduce the workforce and replace it with automation. Currently UTX continues to quietly lay off workers at the carrier plant and other plants in the US [1]. This signals to me that the company never actually changed its plans to outsource and automate jobs, but rather accepted the deal from Donald Trump last year to avoid a PR disaster.

[1] http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/ct-biz-comment-trump-carrier-jobs-20171130-story.html

Great article! This is a very interesting topic, and an issue that UK vehicle manufacturers continue to grapple with.

The fact that it is taking so long for the UK and the EU to come to an agreement on the terms of the UK’s separation from the union is causing a lot of anxiety. After five years of continuous growth, new car sales have begun to fall due to uncertainties over how Brexit will affect the UK automotive industry [1]. The UK government is trying to help by supporting manufacturers of vehicle assembly components. For example, the government sponsored a 246 million pound competition to support the battery supply industry [2],, but I am not sure how much of an effect it will have.

JLR, as well as the other UK car manufacturers have a long and difficult road ahead of them as they work to understand the full extent of Brexit’s impact on their businesses, as well as if they can remain competitive globally.

[1]”Brexit uncertainty blamed as uk car sales fall for fourth month” The Guardian Newspaper https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/aug/04/brexit-uncertainty-blamed-as-uk-car-sales-fall-for-fourth-month – Accessed December 2017
[2] “Profiting from Brexit: McLaren shifts supply chain back to the UK” The Financial Times https://www.ft.com/content/28787548-8c82-11e6-8cb7-e7ada1d123b1 – Accessed December 2017

While we wait for electric vehicles to take over the world, GM should continue to focus on making its current non-electric vehicles more green.

Very interesting article Jason. I was very surprised to learn that electric ride shares will be 4 times cheaper than buying a new car in the very near future (as soon as 2021!). While I agree that there is a shift consumer tastes in the automotive market, I believe it will still be a while before we are all driving electric vehicles. It will certainly be a while before we are driving autonomous cars.

Making these vehicles available globally means that public charging stations will have to be built throughout the world. This will require significant capital investments. Additionally, many emerging markets do not have the capabilities for maintaining electric vehicles.

With regards to autonomous vehicles, I agree with HBS 2019’s argument that a lot of consumers still have a desire to own a car, perhaps because they live in an area where public transportation is not readily available, or perhaps just as a show of wealth.

This is a very interesting article. I agree with the point you made about the need for Adient to focus on technological advancements. This is the only way that they can attract customers in order to get those long-term contracts you mentioned. Customers would need to feel comfortable enough with Adient’s ability to innovate in order to make such commitments. Adient recently broke ground on the biggest automotive seating prototype facility in India, which it plans to open in 2018 [1]. It seems the company is taking your advice, KW!

In the macroeconomic environment, I would suggest partnerships with other parts of the automotive supply chain, such as companies that build safety systems or interior trimmings (e.g dashboards).

[1] Cision PR Newswire “Adient breaks ground on india’s largest ever automotive seating prototyping and testing facility in state of the art upgrade of its Pune technical center” https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/adient-breaks-ground-on-indias-largest-ever-automotive-seating-prototyping-and-testing-facility-in-state-of-the-art-upgrade-of-its-pune-technical-center-300556693.html – accessed December 2017

Great article MC. I agree with Isabel Khoo that one of the most important ways that Planters can address the issues you have outlined is through research and development. With some experts predicting a peanut butter drought by 2030, [1] the company may not have a choice if it intends to continue in the peanut making business. The biggest concern is if science and research can catch up with climate change.
One thing that planters has done well is to partner with other companies through the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform, which is a forum for member companies to discuss and share best practices within their industry, and help promote sustainability throughout the supply chain. [2]”

[1]”Why There May Be A Peanut Butter Shortage By 2030, The Weather Channel [https://weather.com/science/environment/news/peanut-butter-drought-shortage-climate-change-2030] – accessed December 2017
[2]Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform [http://www.saiplatform.org/about-us/what-we-do] – accessed December 2017

This was a very interesting write-up. It is amazing how many industries Amazon has been able to disrupt in the last few years. I wonder which industry it will take on next!
You made great points about how slow the healthcare industry is in catching up to digitization, and the fact that customers tend to be loyal to their suppliers. I believe these two points will make it very difficult for Amazon to truly disrupt this industry.
Although Amazon can steal market share on basic healthcare supplies, it will likely be difficult for amazon to compete with Owen’s and Minor when it comes to large specialized items such as cardiology equipment, or drugs that may require special handling. As such I think there is still opportunity for Owen’s and Minor to “fight back” as you mentioned. Owen’s & Minor needs to stay ahead of the industry by embracing digitization, and building a strong digital platform. The company can also leverage customer loyalty by offering special discounts on basic medical supplies to the customers that purchase the major equipment for them.