Supply chain excess – it costs!
Supply chain excess estimates range from $100 billion to over $1.5 trillion depending on the geographical region and various product categories. With new environmental restrictions being introduced by state and federal governments it is no longer feasible, or affordable, to procrastinate on reducing supply chain waste. While there may be some initial costs, green supply chains consume significantly less energy in manufacturing, transporting and warehousing vastly saving money in the long run.
Packaging sustainability – repackage, recycle
First, begin with examining all product designs. Where can material expenditures be reduced? Are there more energy efficient savings? What about different product packaging options?
Secondly, examine raw materials waste. Can any materials be recycled, or redesigned and be reused? With how technology has progressed a lot of waste, which was previously discarded, can now be recycled.
Reduce supply chain waste
Is there a way to efficiently decrease excess inventory? Certainly the internet and globalization have made it much easier in finding buyers for consumer products. But at the end of the day, a large volume of excess inventory indicates that the end-to-end supply chain remains largely inefficient.
It’s virtually impossible to completely eliminate all excess inventory, however, it can be substantially reduced by engaging with more efficient supply chain practices. By ensuring the best quantity of supply exists in the supply chain, while also building with quality products, a significant reduction will happen.
Implementation of waste minimizing programs have been successful in improving company products and reducing overhead costs. For example, Microsoft recently renovated their Redmond, Wash., campus with stellar energy efficient results. Through a combined effort of energy management, alarm management and fault detection, Microsoft expects to save more than $1 million per year in energy costs, with a payback of less than 18 months. In a statement released by Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Strategist:
“What we learned confirmed our hypothesis: Microsoft (and by extension, many organizations with similar real estate portfolios) don’t need to undertake capital-intensive retrofits to cut building energy costs. Instead, we saw buildings become dramatically more efficient by introducing software to harness and utilize the building systems already in use. By integrating powerful analytics that add intelligence to existing building infrastructure, our buildings got smarter, more efficient and less costly to operate.”
In all, waste reduction increases the quantity of finished goods that will pass quality green standards, while also, minimizing the waste of raw materials.