Is the term green logistics an oxymoron Essay

The project plan is to import sustainable goods with an alternative supply chain. As a logistic coordinator at Eileen Fisher, I

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.

However, in Global Supply Chain Management, there is also a need to protect the environment, although for more selfish reasons. Businesses need to be environmentally friendly because people around the world are catching onto the fad of “going green” and want products and companies that boast that. By having sustainable product development and sustainable transportation methods, business are both protecting the environment and attracting more consumers. This is an interesting point because one would not think that a book about best business practices would attract a business towards being more environmentally friendly, but the book is clear that that is what is

In reverse logistics, the design, control, and operation of a recovery value system will reflect the whole life cycle of a product. This is the concept of closed-loop supply chains, in which zero-waste is achieved in the “forward flows of materials (from suppliers to end customers) and the reverse flow of products (post consumption) back to the manufacturing or distribution supply chains” (Book p.151-152). Reverse logistics supports closed-loop supply chains and coordinating the chains to achieve (or maintain) competitive advantage. A fragmented chain, where each member is only focused on its own processes, is considered a key Supply Chain Management problem. It is not wise for Sandvik to fragment, or decouple the forward and reverse supply chains.

being more sustainable and profitable are present at each stage of supply chain, including material

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.

Transforming a supply chain into a sustainable network is not an easy thing to do. Amongst the existing obstacles that Johnson (2004) gives us is the considerable size of this network: all along the differents ranks of suppliers that constitute the upstream of the chain, it is very hard to track the original source of the material and to broadcast best practices all accross that path. Furthermore, the lack of legal framework for labor conditions and environment preservation in developing countries makes it the more difficult to enforce

It focuses on the development of supply chains that have minimal footprint on the environment. Buyers have the responsibility of choosing suppliers that conduct environmental ethics and are environmentally conscious. (C Sisco, 2010)

Supply Chain Sustainability (SCS) has been recognized as a key generator of business value and an important element of strong corporate responsibility performance. Throughout the management of environmental, social and economic impacts, and the encouragement of good governance practices, the main purpose of SCS is to create, protect, and grow long-term environmental, social and economic value for all stakeholders involved in bringing products and services to market. By doing so, the potential benefits could be brought by SCS would be impacts on value creation levers such as pricing power, cost savings, and market share….

Purpose – The authors perform a large-scale literature review and use conceptual theory building to introduce the concept of sustainability to the field of supply chain management and demonstrate the relationships among environmental, social, and economic performance within a supply chain management context. Design/methodology/approach – Conceptual theory building is used to develop a framework and propositions

However it generalizes “point of consumption” to “a manufacturing, distribution or use point” and “point of origin” to “a point of recovery or point of proper disposal.” In this way we give margin to return flows that were not consumed first (for instance, stock adjustments due to overstocks or spare parts which were not used). We employ the expression “point of recovery” instead of “point of origin” since flows may go back to other points of recovery than the original (e.g. collected computer chips may enter another chain). Besides this, “point of recovery” stresses the distinction we want to make between reverse logistics and pure waste management activities. Furthermore, we include the reverse direction through the term “backward flows,” to exclude what can be considered as forward recovery. For instance, when a consumer gives his/her personal computer to the neighbour. In summary, the definition of Reverse Logistics has changed over time, starting with a sense of reverse direction, going through an overemphasis on environmental aspects, coming back to the original pillars of the concept, and finally widening its scope. For other discussions on the evolution of the definition of reverse logistics, we refer to Rogers and Tibben-Lembke (2001) and to Fernand´ez (2003).

Walmart has the scale and resources to invest in a premium research and development center in partnership with a top university (known for its supply chain programs) like MIT or Michigan State University, to leverage country’s top brains and conduct research in developing pioneering sustainable solutions for all the levels of supply chain. Previously the suppliers have been burdened with the task of researching, developing and adopting green methods and materials. However suppliers do not operate on the same scale as Walmart. Therefore they lack the necessary resources to develop or access innovative techniques that would enable them to transition to sustainable standards, without incurring huge upfront costs. Through its research center Walmart can leverage and develop solutions that would enable the suppliers to improve efficiency and also comply with the strictest sustainability standards required by

The concept of logistics has evolved over time in response to factors such as changes in the business environment. Grunnet (1996, p.32) notes that the focus was inventories in the 1950s, distribution in the 1960s, production in the 1970s, purchasing/production/sales in the 1980s, and business process in the 1990s. Logistics can be defined as that part of the supply chain process that plans, implements, and controls the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption in order to meet customer’s requirements.

However, logistics in China is in its infant period. Hence, there are some problems, for example, immediate economic benefits to the enterprise and ecological and social benefits faced, which results in negative environmental issues in China. It is worth noting that there is a need for the sustainable logistics system ,inhibiting cause harmful to the environment while forming a modern logistics system that can promote economic. There must be a combination of sustainable development and logistics applying the principles of sustainability in green logistics. Nevertheless, there are still many people who are not aware of green logistics and even suspect the necessity of establishment of green logistics.