INFORMS Resoundingly Human podcast, connects you with the incredible people who bring operations research and analytics to life. Started Aug 2018.
Influencing consumer decisions is a priority for retailers, and in this quickly growing digital age it’s becoming more important to understand how and where to target them. Already, consumers’ every click is being tracked to see what products they like and dislike. And yes, that means even you're being followed. So how do retailers track and use that information to increase sales?
A mantra is posted everywhere at Amazon’s fulfillment center in Kenosha, Wis.:
Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
Indeed, employees at the distribution hub 65 miles north of Chicago appear to be working hard—certainly maintaining a brisk pace—as they pick and pack orders near wheeled robots and display screens. A network of conveyor belts whisks sealed boxes toward cargo bays, where a worker hand-fits the boxes into trailers.
Popular stores such as Macy’s, Old Navy, Gap, Kohl’s, and American Apparel have closed hundreds of stores in the past few years. Given the rapid rate of store closures, the future of physical retail is in question. How can brick and mortar stores compete with online retailers like Amazon?
Richard Larson had to confront himself. He spoke of a moment when he literally looked into the mirror — "that's it," he thought. It was time to read what he wrote.
Jeff Cohen
Chief Strategy Officer
INFORMS
Catonsville, MD
[email protected]
443-757-3565
An audio journey of how data and analytics save lives, save money and solve problems.
With seemingly no limit to the demand for artificial intelligence, everyone in the energy, AI, and climate fields is justifiably worried. Will there be enough clean electricity to power AI and enough water to cool the data centers that support this technology? These are important questions with serious implications for communities, the economy, and the environment.
It’s college graduation season, which means over 4 million seniors will graduate in the next few weeks, flooding the job market with new candidates. One area that has shown high potential for the right candidates is artificial intelligence and machine learning. Both disciplines are part of the larger data and analytics career path.
Drugs being explicitly developed to treat rare diseases are getting more expensive.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as the new secretary of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s de facto healthcare czar. He will have influence over numerous highly visible agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, among others. Given that healthcare is something that touches everyone’s life, his footprint of influence will be expansive.
The recent US-China agreement to temporarily reduce tariffs is a major step for global trade, with tariffs on US goods entering China dropping from 125% to 10% and on Chinese goods entering the US decreasing from 145% to 30% starting May 14. While this has boosted markets and created optimism, key industries like autos and steel remain affected, leaving businesses waiting for clearer long-term trade policies.
With sweeping new tariffs on Chinese-made products set to take effect this summer, Americans are being urged to prepare for price hikes on everyday goods. President Donald Trump's reinstated trade policies are expected to affect a wide swath of consumer imports, including electronics, furniture, appliances, and baby gear. Retail experts are advising shoppers to act before the tariffs hit and prices rise.
Twenty years ago, few people would have been able to imagine the energy landscape of today. In 2005, US oil production, after a long decline, had fallen to its lowest levels in decades, and few experts thought that would change.
In the case of upgrading electrical and broadband infrastructure, new analysis from the University of Massachusetts Amherst reveals {that a} “dig once” strategy is almost 40% more economical than changing them individually.