DC Velocity - August 2015

s p ec i a lr ep o rt

Douglas Battery

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TAKING CHARGE

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32 DC VELOCITY AUGUST 2015 www.dcvelocity.com tivity,” says Jason Mathers, senior manager for supply chain logistics at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), an advocacy group that partners with companies to find ways to reduce their environmental impact.

“The goal is (to figure out) how to
run a variable volume through a
distribution center,” Mathers says.

“These are very dynamic environ-
ments. You want to be able to scale
up how you use equipment to meet
peak demand, but you don’t want
your system optimized for peak flow
when it’s the slow time of year.”
When it comes to energy-saving
strategies, Mathers speaks from experi-
ence. Through its Climate Corps pro-
gram, EDF matches business school stu-
dents with companies on 10-week fellow-
ships to find energy savings that benefit
both the environment and the bottom
line. Companies that have enlisted these
specialists to identify savings opportuni-
ties in their warehouses include Adidas
AG, Coinstar, Mondelez International
Inc., Target Brands Inc., and Recreational
Equipment Inc. (REI).

The results can be jaw-dropping. For instance, in 2013, Office Depot Inc. brought a Climate Corps intern into its retail and supply chain operations in Boca Raton, Fla., and identified potential long-term savings opportunities of $6 million in its building systems and operations alone, thanks to annual electric savings of 32,000,000 k Wh and an annual reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 16,000 metric tons.

Not all companies will uncover savings of this magnitude, of course, but that’s not to say they shouldn’t give it a try. They might be surprised by how much waste they can root out. “There are ener-gy-efficiency opportunities just waiting to be found,” says Mathers.

So how do you go about identifying those opportunities—and where does your WMS fit in? What follows are four ways to leverage the power of software to cut both warehouse costs and your carbon footprint:

1Buy electricity at off-peak rates. A large warehouse can cut its electric bill by participating in a demand response program with its local utility, Mathers says.

As any power company can tell you, the cost of producing electricity varies widely across days or even hours, such as when a producer has to fire up additional generators to meet peak demand or when low rainfall causes a hydroelectric dam’s production to drop. The price we pay for electricity, however, does not fluctuate in most places (except in regions that have deployed smart meter technology).