Page 6 - Demo

6|July 2020
Slippery rock Gazette
The Last Frontier
Training & Education
The Law of Supply & Demand
Continued from page 4
As stated in a previous ar- ticle (Pricing Your Products, November 2019):
The price of your products is determined by your custom- er’s perception of value and availability.
Value has to do with the worth of the product relative to its price. Availability has to do with how quickly the product can be ac- cessible by the consumer. Smart producers will understand and be responsive to both these condi- tions. When pricing is reasonable and quality is good, the producer who can serve the market most rapidly will get the business.
Beware of the Bull Whip Effect
Supply Chain Scientists have identified what is called “The Bull Whip Effect” which rec- ognizes that minor changes in demand can cause dramatic ef- fects on the supply chain as com- panies try to gauge the change while maintaining capacity and inventory necessary to meet the demand.
Let’s say on a hot weekend there’s a sudden and unexpected increase in the demand of cold beer at convenience stores. On Monday morning the managers of those convenience stores will increase their orders beyond nor- mal levels to replenish their in- ventories and in anticipation of continued higher demand. The distributors serving those stores will also experience diminished inventories and will increase or- ders to the manufacturers. The manufacturers, seeing unex- pected demand on their products,
will ramp up production and over- time costs to meet the needs and in anticipation of continued strong orders. The effect on the manu- facturer can be dramatic. The ul- timate loser of this business reality is the manufacturer.
This story is described in further detail in The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge. The concept has been expanded into a Supply Chain simulation exercise called The Beer Game, which allows students to experience the impacts of The Bull Whip Effect and to learn how to prevent it.
Having taught this concept during my tenure at Clemson University, I believe the principles of this phenomenon are applicable to the granite processing industry. No doubt, there will be pent-up de- mand for your products across the entire supply chain.
Supply Chains always overre- act. Some are better than others, but they all experience increased
scenarios rather than reacting to the most recent order volume is a much better approach.
Supply Chains are sensitive structures. Each element is both dependent and responsive to every other element. The current coro- navirus pandemic has enormously disrupted the supply chain of every item we consume. Both supply
impacts as the demand signals travel upstream. The solution is better communication and less ex- aggerated replenishment decisions as supply chain elements try to protect against stockout conditions only to build excessive inventories at increased costs.
Countertop manufacturers and all their suppliers should ex- pect pent-up demand to hit their order departments in the coming months. This reaction can cause the Bull Whip Effect in the entire supply chain. Planning for various
and demand signals have been dis- turbed across the globe.
Enormous pent-up demand has already begun to emerge in many market areas. Every product line can expect significant challenges in navigating the return of a strong economy in the months to come.
For more information on Supply Chain Science and how to be prepared for the com- ing resurgence of the economy, contact Ed Hill at Synchronous Solutions, 704-560-1536, www. SynchronousSolutions.com .
IFyou have been paying at- tention, you may realize that there is only one continent left in this series: Antarctica. I admit I was dreading this one a bit because as far as I knew, with the exception of some research stations, there wasn’t really any- thing there. For the most part I was right, but I was a little bit
wrong, too.
I was looking for one BIG stone thing to define Antarctica like the Parthenon in Greece, the Taj Mahal in India, Mt. Rushmore in the US, or Angkor Wat in Cambodia. There is nothing like that there. Nothing big or ancient in stone that could make us stare in awe, wondering how the peo- ple who came before us did what they did. There are a lot of uncon- firmed rumors of pyramids, stone cities and other such artifact on Antarctica, but it is mostly just wishful thinking, rumor and spec- ulation. The fact that Antarctica
Sharon Koehler
Artistic Stone Design
cairns is the Charcot’s cairn built in 1904. It commemorates the first French expedition to Antarctica which was led by Jean – Baptiste E.A. Charcot. It is located in Port Charcot, Booth Island, Antarctica.
Other stone projects on this fro- zen land are the Huts. The 2 most well-known are the Larsen Stone Hut aka Paulet Island Hut, and the Scotia Bay Hut. The Larsen Stone Hut was built in 1903 after the Norwegian ship the “Antarctic” captained by C. A. Larsen sank in Wedell Sea. Twenty men in lifeboats made their way to shore on Paulet Island where they built the stone hut. The Scotia Bay Hut aka Omond House was also built in 1903 but on Laurie Island. It was built by the Scottish Antarctic Expedition team led by William S. Bruce.
Charcot’s cairn, Port Charcot, Booth Island, Antarctica.
is over 96 percent ice-covered, with some as much as 2 miles thick makes it difficult to con- firm such things.
However, if you change your mindset just a little bit, what you do find are many smaller things that seem impossible to be built or survive the harsh conditions of this frozen continent. Antarctica has approximately 92 historic sites and monuments. Not all of them are stone or even stone re- lated but many of them are.
Antarctica has many cairns. Cairns are defined as a conical pile of stones built as a landmark, monument or marking a grave site. One of the most famous
There are some even lesser known stone projects that are still considered historical sites. For instance, the Khmara’s Stone, which is located at the Mirny Observatory at Mabus Point. It memorializes Ivan Khmara who died in Antarctica in 1956. Or, Hanson’s grave at Cape Adare. There is a boulder at the top and then white quartz stones outline the rest of Nicolai Hanson’s final resting place. This all happened circa 1899 – 1900.
Please turn to page 7