Green Logistics

Warehouse layouts were changed and its proprietary warehouse software adjusted to help forecast inventory demands The improved inventory model called for inventory to be managed as follows: (1) High demand inventory based on past sales and forecasts is retained at multiple distribution centers (2) Drop shipment where after searching Amazon’s inventory it searches inventory of manufacturer and wholesaler transferring the customer’s order to the wholesaler or manufacturer to complete the customer’s order (3) The third inventory mechanism is to allow vendors and retailers to offer products on Amazon’s website. One of the benefits of this inventory sourcing is that the customer is able to compare prices and make selection about price and delivery options after comparison. Additionally, in tapping into this three prong inventory system, the

Cooperated with partners and leaders in the field of supply chains and transport, the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Logistics and Transportation started to conduct research on the supply chain. The report “Beyond Supply Chains Empowering Responsible Value Chains” analyses the impact that supply chain practices has brought to business, society and environment, and explores the issue how shared value can be made through better supply chain decisions. The report identifies “a set of 31 proven supply chain practices which provide companies with a blueprint of where they can gain both commercial and socio-environmental advantage (both environment and local economic development)—driving a triple advantage” (). In addition, the report “provides a framework for evaluating the potential value at stake behind each of these practices, and an implementation framework for

Sustainable Supply Chain – working with and influencing suppliers to manage and reduce the environmental and social impacts of their operations and of the products and services they provide to Telstra.

Companies around the world are focussing on incorporating sustainability policy and practices in their supply chain (Ageron et al, 2011). The topic of sustainability has been of great interest for the last decade and businesses have adopted a certain level of commitment towards sustainability practices (Hassini et al, 2012), yet some business tycoons suffer in developing an effective supply chain model.

The global supply chain delivers goods to consumers in a complex system designed around speed and efficiency. This dynamic network is becoming stressed as the transfer paths and production of materials grow globally. Anna Nagurney a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, confirms, “Added stress can wreck local and national economies. The entire world is at the tipping point.” When analyzing issues within the supply chain there is more at stake than just economics. Timothy M. Smith from the University of Minnesota, looks at the environmental consequences of supply chain disruption in his article, Climate

* Turning the supply chain into an efficient one by contacting top retailers, filling the blank spaces in the supply chain and reducing cost

In selecting and managing merchandise inventory, “each inventory item must be scanned, described, classified and linked to search options” on the company’s website (Article). This requirement leads to a change in the database whenever inventory items are added or removed from the shelf. IT staff must locate and remove obsolete and discontinued items from the current database and then annotate and add them to the backup system to assist in profitability evaluation, forecasting, and making future manufacturing decisions. The feature of providing diverse selections of products to customers in e-tail businesses makes merchandise inventory selection and management more complex than in brick-and-mortar businesses. Moreover, information technology is considered to be the backbone of the virtual storefront in e-tail corporations because almost all activities, especially in pure e-tail businesses, are

A common way of decreasing the amount of inventory a business holds on a daily basis is implementing a just-in-time inventory process. A Just-In-Time inventory system means that the business gets the materials for a product, as they are demanded. “The electronic data

Also, by allowing suppliers manage inventory the number of intermediaries is reduced in the supply chain, increase common chain visibility and reduce overall inventory levels along it. Other terms for VMI are continued supply. However, the provider takes on more responsibility with this initiative, because it determines inventory levels and frequency of office to maintain continuous availability without depleted inventories and to implement VMI, must be provided to supplier sales data via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), other electronic means, or via traditional human agents at

Vendor-managed inventory (VMI) is an inventory management system in which the supplier undertakes the responsibility of maintaining inventory for the retailer and makes sure that there won’t be any stock out situation. VMI is a coordination mechanism which has been gaining a lot of attention. The replenishment orders for the goods are no longer rendered by retailers, it is the supplier who manages the replenishment orders, time and quantity. It originated with the realization that vendors could efficiently control the flow of goods from raw materials to the final consumer, and the buyers could enjoy reduced stock levels and increased service levels. The advantages of VMI partnership include reduction of costs not

(1) The supply chain managers should address the sustainability issues and should look at the entire supply

Chris Fraser, President, Supply Chain International, VF Brands is faced with a challenge to create a competitive advantage for the company by making its supply chain more efficient and robust in terms of speed to market, material utilisation, lower inventories, less work in process and lower cost to quality. VF’s coalitions were pleased with the quality and reliability of service they received from sourcing. VF had driven down cost by continually expanding their supplier base to ever lower cost locations enabling VF to hit corporate margin targets of 10-15%. At his juncture, Fraser and Green began exploring the next possible actions to take for making the supply chain more efficient.

VMI is an important co-operation initiative where the supplier (vendor) is authorised to manage inventories at customer locations (Waller et al. 1999, Cetinkaya and Lee 2000 cited in Ståhl Elevander, Sarpola and Mattsson). The purpose of this coordination between the supplier and the retailer is to increase sales and to increase profit and minimize inventory costs, being cautious with under stocking as well.

Supply chain sustainability is increasingly recognized as a key component of corporate responsibility. Managing the social, environmental and economic impacts of supply chains, and combating corruption, makes good business sense as well as being

Based on sustainable development of green logistics in China and the countermeasures (2007), China is especially vulnerable to climate change due to its complex climatic conditions, a fragile ecological environment, a massive population and frequent natural disasters. Insufficient per ca-pita resources and very sharp contradictions between development and environment force China to further develop a cycling economy. Green logistics is an important tool for sustainable development.