Several of us have commented over the past few days on Dell's announcement that it is closing the Austin desktop PC manufacturing operation.  Perh…

Semiconductor fabs are interesting operations.  You invest a billion or so into the most advanced manufacturing technology available, then it becomes…

Is "fair" economically rational? Yes, I know that's something of a bizarre question, but having just spent a couple weeks embedded in so…

Lean-oriented people are aware of the power of visual controls and systems.  Charts, metrics, andon lights, and even the simple act of going to the ge…

When we talk about outsourcing problems we're generally referring to U.S. companies having problems with product outsourced to China. When we talk…

It's been eighteen months since we predicted that companies chasing low labor costs to China would eventually have to strap on the sneakers and gl…

Sometimes my fellow bloggers have just a little too much time on their hands. A hat tip to Tyler Cowen over at Marginal Revolution for this mind-bendi…

11:48am - My email software, configured to check email every 5 minutes, receives the following: United Airlines - As one of our best customers, your…