On Demand News: 11/28/18

Balancing Supply Chain Sustainability

28 November, 2018 // In the supply chain, sustainability isn’t simply a matter of “profits versus planet,” argues Yossi Sheffi, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Director of the school’s Center for Transportation and Logistics.

In his recent book, “Balancing Green,” Sheffi provides a much more sophisticated and subtle view of sustainability without wading into arguments about the underlying science. Sustainability, Sheffi says, is really more an issue of people versus people. “It pits people looking for jobs and inexpensive goods against people seeking a pristine environment.”

Sheffi’s book shares case studies from a wide range of companies from Coca Cola to Siemens, outlining how each balances the demands of its various constituents against corporate priorities. For enterprises ready to address sustainability in their manufacturing, marketing and even public relations strategies, it’s a must read.

At Morgan, while we agree that there’s no single right answer for supply chain sustainability, we  don’t believe that it’s always an issue of trade offs and confrontation—one thing versus another. In our own efforts to transform supply chains with technology and analytics, we’ve seen countless examples where a sustainability improvement yields both better profits and a better planet.

Take for instance, an outsourced inventory ownership program for one of our Fortune 500 manufacturing clients. Once Morgan assumed responsibility for the client’s goods, we were able to improve visibility, regionalize distribution and shift transportation to slower, less carbon intensive modes. The result was transit savings, inventory reduction, significant balance sheet improvement—and a large-scale carbon emissions reduction.

In another assignment, we converted wide-ranging less than truckload (LTL) shipments to full trucks, again saving on emissions. And, in a third case, we replaced plastic pallet shrink-wrap with reusable shrouds for short-distance moves, which saved money, reduced dock work and diverted significant amounts of plastic from landfills.

The way we see it, finding the wins beyond the “versus” is part of achieving true supply chain transformation. That’s Morgan’s passion and our unique niche. If you’re ready to transform your supply chain beyond incremental improvements and easy trade-offs, we’d love to talk.

While You Were Shipping…

More Recent Stories You May Have Missed That Caught Our Eye

Happy Holidays, Drivers. Employers and Shippers? Not So Much. (Commercial Carrier Journal) The National Transportation Institute predicts driver wages will increase 11 to 11.5 percent compared to the previous year by the end of 2018. But that’s still not enough to attract new drivers to the biz.

Funding for Freight Entrepreneurs Remains Hot (Logistics Management) Scottsdale, Arizona-based Emerge scored $20 million from Greycroft Partners to scale its cloud-based private freight management platform. Emerge emerged from the experiences of two brothers who recently sold GlobalTranz, a 3PL, for more than $400 million.

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Freight Late? Blame It On Da Bears (Fleet Owner) A video analytics company finds that trucking accidents and drowsy driving go up the mornings after Monday Night Football games.