Q&A: Can I/T Help with Ethics / Green in Supply Chains
We’ve discussed these last couple weeks ethics and ‘Green’ concepts in Supply Chain.
Let’s look now from a different perspective: How does technology / information systems help companies become socially and environmentally responsible? Give examples.
Companies can become more responsible both socially and environmentally through the use of IT systems that collect supplier and buyer information. In today’s global economy, carbon emissions from long-distance shipping have gone out of control. Companies could gather information from databases of suppliers to focus on buying locally as much as possible. Not only would this be an environmentally responsible action, it would be socially responsible in that it would bolster their local economy, keeping currency circulating in their local economy rather than pouring it into far away, foreign suppliers. Additionally, companies could closely monitor their environmental impact throughout every process in their operations with the use of technology. This would give them crucial information regarding the most critical actions they could take to become more sustainable.
I think one of the most simple and responsible solutions that comes from companies using technology and informations systems is simply waste reduction. By not having millions of papers constantly used to track, file, and store for years on end- companies become more aware of their environmental impact. This not only improves operational efficiency, but helps save trees other natural resources in the process.
IT has proven to open doors and minds in business. Companies can take advantage of this power by using the technology to reach more people about green initiatives and efforts. It can also help identify suppliers and buyers that are applying those green initiatives and can help establish communication between those parties. Lastly, IT can help to automate processes that otherwise were done in an outdated form that were wasteful.
I think that IT can play a tremendous role in developing green supply chains. For example, sensors and the Internet of Things can provide vision to data that humans were previously blind to. The technology could be used to monitor and record truck emissions during logistical processes. Having the ability to see this data will allow companies to measure the direct effects of any green initiatives they put in place regarding the trucks. Additionally, IoT can be used to monitor equipment, and detect failures before they happen. This has potential to prevent disastrous malfunctions that can result in horrible environmental effects.
I think that the most effective role that IT can play in a green supply chain is the incredible leverage of data that it provides. First of all, different IT initiatives can eliminate physical waste by transferring from paper communications to electronic versions; and second I believe that an analysis of the large amount of operational data available to different firms will help them to eliminate redundancies and reduce other emissions and harmful environmental practices.