|
April 25, 2008 
|
 | |
| Greener Products, Smarter Supply Chains | ||
|
SLM Home | Sourcing News & Ideas | Connections | Events | About | ||
Does Anyone Do Supply Chains Better Than Nike?
Is anyone more sophisticated about managing supply chains than Nike? I admit to being prejudiced after 11 years working there, but this is about the strategy of a major corporation and not about the work of any one person or team.
The most important takeaway from Nike's supply chain effort in Asia is that its shared effort. A supply chain is, or should be, a close relationship between business partners. They share strategy and goals. They share efforts toward those goals – and they openly share data. In a real supply-chain partnership, both partners participate in sustainability work and share responsibility for outcomes. This means you don’t need to send a supplier survey to see “how green” they are – you already know the people and their operation. The benefit? Nike and its suppliers are talking about real reductions in energy use and operating costs - complex work in any supply chain. That they can undertake the work is a testament to the partnership. Shared priorities, shared effort, shared benefit. Where do you start? Define a subset of “strategic suppliers” - those you know are critical to your long-term business goals. And rather than rely on impersonal vendor surveys, build real relationships with those suppliers through meetings and discussions about mutual priorities. ~Phil Berry, Lean Manufacturing Expert and SLM Advisor What do you think? Post Your Comment Here! Also This Week... HP Greens Air Freight from China, Earns Smartway Logo 
Hewlett-Packard is piloting the use of lightweight, recyclable-plastic pallets to ship its notebook PCs from suppliers in China. In related news, the computer giant has become the first company to earn the right to display U.S. EPA's SmartWay cleaner-transport logo on some of its products. Read more...
Guitar Center Cuts Truck Shipments by 50% 
Guitar Center cut the number of truck shipments from its distribution center in half last year thanks to efficiencies in product packaging and transport. The retailer of musical instruments and audio equipment banned the use of wooden pallets in 2006, optimizing space in trucks and saving 8,000,000 pounds of lumber and 70 million square feet of shrinkwrap annually. Read more...
Event-Industry Heavyweights Greening the Tradeshow Floor 
Two of the biggest event-services contractors in the industry, GES Exposition Services and Freeman, are meeting growing market demand for greener tradeshows - and remaking the market in the process. The two firms are leveraging their considerable buying power to press event suppliers to provide more environmentally friendly materials and services, Tradeshow Week reports. Read more...
Busch Theme Parks Serving Food on Biodegradable Dishes 
Busch Entertainment - operator of major U.S. theme parks including SeaWorld and Busch Gardens - is quietly retooling its entire foodservice operations to use biodegradable food containers and tableware made from organically farmed materials such as corn and bamboo, Chicago Tribune reports. The company is targeting a full conversion to biodegradable dishware throughout its ten-park chain by the end of 2009. Read more...
Macy’s Shifts to Recycled Paper Bags, Greener Packing Materials 
A month after Nordstrom unveiled a similar initiative, Macy's says it is switching to recycled-content paper shopping bags and recyclable packaging for its online shipments. Read more...
Aramark Switches to Sustainable Seafood 
Concessions giant Aramark has joined the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program to ensure that the seafood it serves comes from sustainable sources. The aquarium will work with Aramark on a new set of guidelines to purchase sustainable seafood for its U.S. foodservice operations, including businesses and school cafeterias, sports and entertainment facilities, and parks. Read more...
More Sustainable Sourcing News & Tools...  We want to hear from you! Post your comments or questions below any SLM news story and we'll feature the best of them here.(Note: You must be a registered SLM user to post. Not yet signed up? Click here!) |
Forward to a Friend!
Who's Coming to SB'08? Martin Melaver on Greening the Culture First 
Melaver Inc. has achieved a string of "firsts" in greening the real estate business, including the first LEED-certified all-retail shopping complex in the U.S., but CEO Martin Melaver says truly innovative, sustainable business projects begin at home. In this SLM interview, Martin explains how a single corner grocery became a pioneering - and extremely successful - real estate empire without losing its soul along the way. Read more...
Top Headlines from Other SLM Channels Vodafone Vows to Cut Carbon Emissions in Half Conferencing Tops List of Green Business Strategies, Survey Finds Dole Offsets Emissions from Costa Rican Bananas, Pineapples SunChips Factory Cuts Ribbon on New Solar Array Green Works Ads Keep Clorox Name at Arm's Length Green-Product Adoption Jumps 66% in Single Year, Says Wal-Mart Study New Hitachi Datacenter Touts Latest Energy-Efficient Technologies Consumers to Marketers: Don't Call Us "Green" Report: CIOs Being Frozen Out of Firms' Climate Strategies National Grid to Create "Carbon Budgets" for Business Operations Find Peers and Partners If you haven't already joined the fastest growing online sustainable business community, create a profile now and start connecting. Advertise on SLM! Become a Sustainable Life Media advertiser or sponsor and reach thousands of business leaders looking for product or service solutions to help them build their sustainability story. Click here to learn more. Have a story you want told? Send it to us! Solution Providers |
This work is licensed under a CreativeCommons License. Copyright Sustainable Life Media Inc. 2008
| Terms of Use | Privacy | Unsubscribe | Contact | How We Can Help | Partners |