25 Investigates: Tips to navigate soaring cost of toys this holiday season
BOSTON — The nation’s supply chain crunch is driving up the cost of just about everything. Now, you can add toys to the list.
We are drowning in numbers, and we no longer understand what they mean. Every day, headlines bombard us with figures meant to inform: billions in spending, trillions in debt, percentages signaling growth or decline. But for most of us, these numbers blur together. They register as “large” or “small,” but almost never as real. And that is more than a math problem. It is a civic one.
INFORMS has awarded Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) its 2026 Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Advanced Analytics, Operations Research and Management Science, for reengineering how global cloud infrastructure is planned and delivered, applying advanced analytics and AI to orchestrate complex fulfillment decisions across its rapidly expanding data center network.
In the rush to adopt artificial intelligence, many employers are now requiring that employees use AI tools. As you’re using AI, be intentional and selective. It’s critical that you know yourself. Research published in Management Science found that AI is most valuable for people who understand their own abilities and limitations. Assess yourself, so you can factor this into your process for incorporating AI into your work.
An audio journey of how data and analytics save lives, save money and solve problems.

Jeff Cohen
Chief Strategy Officer
INFORMS
Catonsville, MD
[email protected]
443-757-3565
Explore our resources for multiple topics including:
BOSTON — The nation’s supply chain crunch is driving up the cost of just about everything. Now, you can add toys to the list.
The White House went live Nov. 3 with a supply chain dashboard intended to shed light on the current disruption.
The challenge to a $1 billion New England transmission line is raising concerns about how the region’s largest state will now reach its clean energy targets, underscoring the obstacles facing large infrastructure critical for renewables and President Biden’s decarbonization efforts.
BOSTON — December holidays are still weeks away, but if your child has a wish list, you might want to start checking off those items soon.
Anyone who has flown over the past year knows that face coverings are required in airports and on commercial flights. This has become the standard for air travel. Yet a mandate is only as good as its compliance and enforcement.

OR/MS Today is the INFORMS member magazine that shares the latest research and best practices in operations research, analytics and the management sciences.
Access OR/MS Today Magazine
Analytics magazine showcases articles and research reports based on big data, AI, machine learning, data analytics and other new-age technologies.
Access Analytics Magazine