Supply Chain Transparency and Sustainability

 Whats important in Supply Chain 

Why Supply Chain Transparency And Sustainability Are So Important Right Now

AUTOMATION ROBOTS SUPPLY CHAIN SUSTAINABILITY TRANSPARENCY

Apr 04, 2023, by Ron Margulis,   with further expert comment

Robots were everywhere last month at ProMat, a major material handling trade show, along with were autonomous guided vehicles, artificial intelligence, inventory and network optimization software and mobile technology.

Extended supply chain transparency and sustainability were frequently discussed in educational sessions and on the show floor.

Nearly three-quarters of supply chain leaders are increasing their supply chain technology and innovation budgets this year, according to the 2023 MHI Annual Industry Report, released at ProMat in collaboration with Deloitte. The report titled “The Responsible Supply Chain: Transparency, Sustainability, and the Case for Business” indicates that solutions for improved supply chain transparency and sustainability are getting top priority.  .. ' 

Digital Twins Could Help Society Solve Key Sustainability Challenges

 Digital Twins Could Help Society Solve Key Sustainability Challenges

By design products & applications, September 7, 2022

The transformative potential of digital twins could have a profound influence on how society addresses global sustainability challenges, but more inclusive, reliable and responsive computer simulations are needed to support these efforts, say researchers in a study recently published in 'Nature Sustainability' journal.

"Digital twins can enable the creation of scenario-based 'what-if' simulations to inform planning and operation decisions. However, challenges do exist and close attention must be paid to addressing these barriers, with a focus on inclusive design, accessibility and diversity," said Catherine Richards of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the U.K.'s University of Cambridge ... 

"Digital twins have the potential to be used for the aim of achieving ambitious sustainable development targets, such as the goals laid out in the United Nations SDGs,” said Catherine Richards of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the UK Cambridge ... 

From design products & applications   

Amazon EcoVistas

 Like the idea that this is addressing a system rather than just one, or a few simplistic measures.  

Amazon EcoVistas to Guide Sustainable Dam Siting

The Engineer (U.K.), February 18, 2022

Researchers at the nonprofit Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, an organization dedicated to understanding how ecosystems work, have developed a computational tool to guide sustainable hydroelectric dam siting in the Amazon River basin. The researchers developed the novel Amazon EcoVistas framework to analyze proposed dam projects collectively, for energy generation and environmental impact, by analyzing river flow, river connectivity, sediment transport, fish biodiversity, and greenhouse gas emissions. The algorithm was able to ascertain the "Pareto-optimal frontier," the combination of hydropower projects that minimizes environmental harm for any given level of aggregate hydropower output, for 158 current and 351 proposed dams. ... 

Sustainability of LEDs

This came up in a project done during the earlier days of LED adoption.  Good piece here that makes  the case.  Another landfill scenario?

LED Technology Isn't All That Sustainable
Declan Barrett, SCB Contributor in SupplychainBrain

It’s now accepted among the business community that light-emitting diode (LED) technology is here to stay. It generates significant energy and cost savings, and represents a quick way for companies to positively impact their energy consumption and move toward a more sustainable future.

On the face of it, forming a business case for LED technology can seem very straightforward, as companies are usually replacing conventional, high-wattage lighting — requiring bulbs to be replaced regularly — with low-wattage, maintenance-free LED fittings.

Return-on-investment calculations for LED technology are frequently referred to among industry players as “no-brainers,” because companies generally recover the capital cost of making the transition in less than three years.

However, there are three big catches. Companies have to remember that this isn’t a one-shot deal, and finance departments are currently finding this out the hard way.

Maintenance

The first catch is maintenance, or lack thereof. It’s true that LED fixtures are maintenance-free, but that’s because they have no serviceable parts. They have a finite lifespan, composed as they are of pieces of electronic equipment much like a flatscreen TV.   .... "

Computational Sustainability

A new subfield of using computer based modeling and methods.



Video introduction:   https://vimeo.com/351182289

Carla Gomes of Cornell, discusses "Computational Sustainability" (cacm.acm.org/magazines/2019/9/238970), a Contributed Article in the September 2019 CACM.

" .. These are exciting times for computational sciences with the digital revolution permeating a variety of areas and radically transforming business, science, and our daily lives. The Internet and the World Wide Web, GPS, satellite communications, remote sensing, and smartphones are dramatically accelerating the pace of discovery, engendering globally connected networks of people and devices. The rise of practically relevant artificial intelligence (AI) is also playing an increasing part in this revolution, fostering e-commerce, social networks, personalized medicine, IBM Watson and AlphaGo, self-driving cars, and other groundbreaking transformations. .... "

Sustaining Machine Learning in the Enterprise

Talk on surveys and look at trends reported on in an O'Reilly conference.  Well done, with results that are practical for strategic and operational choices in the enterprise.   I like that the connection to classic analytics is still important.   My only issue is there is not enough mention of how these results will be maintained under changing context.  Essential so that things that are correct today, will remain so.   A twenty minute video:

Sustaining Machine Learning in the Enterprise

Drawing insights from recent surveys, Ben Lorica analyzes important trends in machine learning.

 ... Ben Lorica is the Chief Data Scientist at O'Reilly Media, Inc. and is the Program Director of both the Strata Data Conference and the Artificial Intelligence Conference. He has applied Business Intelligence, Data Mining, Machine Learning and Statistical Analysis in a variety of settings including Direct Marketing, Consumer and Market Research, Targeted Advertising, Text Mining, and Financial Engineering. His background includes stints with an investment management company, internet startups, and financial services. .... "

Sustainability Through Service

Today's Service Sciences Talk.

ISSIP SIG Education & Research is Prof. Adi Wolfson, Green Processes Center, Shamoon College of Engineering, Beer-Sheva, Israel.

Title of his presentation is “Sustainability through Service.”  Slides here.

http://ijctonline.com/ojs/index.php/ijct/article/view/883O   Link to related paper.
http://www.sce.ac.il/eng/staff.php?cat=0&incat=&segel_id=11 Link to Adi Wolfson

Unilever Brand Experiences

Short piece in The Hub on the Unilever Brand experience.  Regarding such topics as sustainability. I followed and reported on Unilever as a competitor and technology innovator for a number of years. See external posts on Unilever in this blog, link below.  (Via Walter Riker)

Resource Revolution

 In McKinsey:   Good overview of the challenge.  The emergence of a resource revolution to feed the technological changes created by innovation.  Lots of needs, and new allocations will be required.  " ... The resource revolution represents the biggest business opportunity in a century. However, success requires new approaches to management. Companies that try to stick to the old “2 percent solution” (just improve performance by 2 percent annually and you will be fine) are going to become obsolete quickly. Businesses that can deliver dramatic resource-productivity improvements at scale will become the great companies of the 21st century ... " 

Crafting a Sustainable Career

In the HBR Blog.  (This apparently now requires a free registration)  Some thoughts about how to establish a long term career.  At first I had a problem with the too often used 'sustainable' label,  but I liked the thoughts expressed.  I did some of these things over my long term career, should have done more.  Still working.

New: Visual Footprint Resources App

Ken Karakotsios was the author of the remarkable SimLife genetic playground game.  He worked with us to build agent based simulation models that were used for years in the enterprise to understand product demand.  Now he has written an iPad App that can be used to understand resource usage and development.  I have had the pleasure to use it in Beta.  I particularly like its highly visual interaction and displays, which have given me ideas for visualization in my own design work.  See the Sankey diagram at right.  Likely also a good App for kids as it utilizes simulation, visualization and a timely subject. Follow along in his blog to understand its capabilities.  More examination of it will follow here.

" ... After three-plus years of research, designing, coding and testing, Footprint USA has been officially released!  

Footprint USA is an iPad app for adults and kids interested in learning more about using our planet's resources responsibly to build the future we really want. It combines tons of data with an interactive simulation to show the interrelationships among things like energy, food, land, water, and how we use our time and money.  It links the choices we make, individually and as a society, with the quality of life we get and the resulting impact on our planet. You can find it in the iTunes app store here.   You can also read more about it in my blog.

I am very grateful for all the support from my friends, family, and colleagues as you shared your ideas, time and patience to help make this a reality.  Thank you! ... " 

Risks in Supply Chains

Indeed, this was one of the key issues that were included in consulting I did in supply chain management and design a few years ago.  " ...  Supply chain experts say managing risk is essential to assuring long-term viability in the face of challenges posed by weather, politics and other factors. Establishing systems and standards for measuring sustainability across the supply chain is essential to this effort. ... "  

Unilever Seeks Open Technology

In CGT:  Unilever seeks technologies that will support sustainable growth.  " ... Unilever put out an open call for cost-effective innovation on three technical challenges it wants to solve to meet sustainability goals: It is looking for an environmentally friendly way to break down fat deposits on clothes and hard surfaces, a way to reduce sugar by 30% in ready-made tea without affecting taste and a water-soluble way to stabilize natural red color used in fruit and dairy in a cost-effective manner throughout shelf life. The company put out the call after the success of an online platform launched in March to seek submissions for other technical challenges ... " 

Smart Homes using Augmented Reality

The integration of sensing technologies to lead to sustainable buildings.   A technical paper.  A good example of the integration of sensing and focused smart technology.

Greening the Supply Chain

A Wharton special report on practices for sustainability and greening the supply chain.  Best practices and future trends.

P&G's Free Sustainability Analysis Tool

P&G is making a spreadsheet based sustainability tool freely available.  More here. " ... The Excel-based tool, launched last year, enables companies to measure and interpret key environmental sustainability metrics across their supply chains and identify progress as well as opportunities for improvement. It measures absolute or intensity improvements in nine key metrics including energy use, water use, waste disposal and greenhouse gas emissions on a year-to-year basis, P&G says.  P&G estimates that the scorecard has led to nearly $1 billion in bottom-line operational savings from reductions in energy, water, waste and CO2 at its facilities over the past ten years.... " 

How Procter Fosters Green Innovation

P&G Fostering green innovation:

" ... Procter & Gamble has launched a major green-innovation campaign with a goal of selling $50 billion in sustainable products by 2012, says Len Sauers, P&G's vice president for global sustainability. To do that, the company has tasked its 9,000-strong R&D team with creating products that combine impeccable environmental chops with a strong mainstream appeal. "The key is to develop products that enable this mainstream market to be sustainable without any inherent trade-offs," Sauers says. "There can be no decrease in performance or increase in price." ... "

Sustainability Impact on Supply Chain Workshop

This looks to be very interesting, if you are in the Cincinnati area consider attending:

Sixth Annual Workshop on Hot Topics in Supply Chain Analytics, Practice, and Technology
Sustainability's Impact On The Supply Chain
Come hear supply chain experts discuss paths to supply chain sustainability. Learn approaches to build and benefit from green practices within the supply chain. Share knowledge and experience with industry leaders.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2010 at TechSolve Inc. ( http://www.techsolve.org ) 6705 Steger Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45237

Speakers from:
Ethicon Endo-Surgery, GE Aviation, P&G, SAP, and TechSolve.
Registration: Seats are limited! There is a $25 non-refundable registration fee, payable online by credit card. The registration site is http://www.techsolve.org/events/ . Questions? Contact Tricia Burger, tricia.burger@uc.edu, 513 556-7140. ... '

Large Company Sustainability

I was recently asked what P&G was doing in the area of sustainability. Their positions, commitments, reports, video and background information can be found here.