basictraining
let us not forget the possibility of a few slam-dunks.
Impressive easy points that will help set the stage for the
more challenging undertakings that could follow. You need
to look at the obvious, in which pioneers have already
demonstrated that one can traverse a terrain peopled by
hostiles and return with no arrows in the back. What follows
is a list of topics to consider. Though not all will be applicable to your operation, they are worth close examination.
▪ Alternative power sources. Wind, either in towers or
roof-edge devices. Solar, in panel farms, rooftop installations, or individual device support. Of course, a reliable
supply of wind, or sunshine, is a prerequisite.
▪ Alternative fuel/propulsion sources. Lift trucks, delivery
vans, auto fleets. Hybrids, electrics, natural gas, propane,
fuel cells.
▪ Recycling (outbound). There’s more here than simply
baling corrugate. For instance, there’s paper. Plastics of
many types. Metal—cans, scrap, whatever. Substituting
paper for plastic. Swapping out reusable items for disposable (considering the time/cost of cleaning the reusables).
▪ Reuse. Packaging. Refurbished pallets. Used equipment
in non-mission-critical applications. Repackaging for
resale. Recycled (inbound) content in materials, decor,
packaging, filling material. Reclaimed (or sustainably harvested) wood.
▪ Lighting. Possibly the easiest option of all. New bulb
technology. Motion-sensing activation in offices, pick
zones, and irregularly used locations.
▪ Insulation. How much simpler could it be? Walls. Roofs.
Cooler summers and warmer winters. Turning down the
thermostat only goes so far in environments where real
people have to work. Sealing up or limiting air escape is a
related action, running a gamut from tubes of caulking to
purpose-designed dock blankets and door seals.
▪ Energy management technology. (See above.) Imagine
the money savings involved in a 500,000-square-foot facility using available technology that saves a single homeown-er hundreds of dollars a year.
▪ Landscaping. Do you really need the watered, fertilized,
manicured green grass? Are there native plants that would
be sufficiently attractive?
▪ Network design. Are your facilities located so as to allow
you to make maximum use of the least expensive transport
modes and minimize more expensive options? Are the customer service demands that dictate network design legitimate, or negotiable?
▪ Transportation modes and frequency. What would be the
cost and service impacts of shifting bulk product and materials movement to rail? Of consolidating LTL movements
into less-frequent TL shipments? Of cracking down on the
use of expedited service? Of taking a hard look at parcel
usage and rates, considering USPS and LTL alternatives?
▪ Recovery. The extraction of reusable content from used,
returned, or surplus products, either for resale to third parties or for reuse in manufacturing. Precious metals, high-value commodities, or hazardous substances.
THE TRUTH
We confess. The reality of this exercise is more difficult than
we would like. And there’s more than we’ve been able to
outline above. But it’s a start to a long journey that is
inevitable. The shift to a “reduce, reuse, recycle” way of life
is inescapable. Happily, it will force holistic thinking about
“cradle to cradle” product responsibility in both manufacture and distribution. It will require creativity in process
design, and it will demand alignment of green supply chain
practices with corporate objectives.
It’s a new world. Some are well on their way to playing by
new rules. The rest of us need to get on the green bus—or
get left behind. By the way, the origin and meaning of “
nincompoop” have been much debated, with some thought
that the word is a corruption of another language’s phrase,
such as non compos mentis. Whatever the origin, the universal meaning is some level of fool. Sounds right to us. ;
Art van Bodegraven, practice leader at S4 Consulting, may be reached at (614)
336-0346 or avan@columbus.rr.com. You can read his blog at http://blogs.dcve-locity.com/the_art_of_art/. Kenneth B. Ackerman, president of The Ackerman
Company, can be reached at (614) 488-3165 or ken@warehousing-forum.com.
