QMS & EMS London

A new MIT study on supply-chain risk shows no correlation between the total amount a manufacturer spends with a supplier and the profit loss it would incur if that supply were suddenly interrupted. This counter-intuitive finding defies a basic business tenet that equates the greatest supply-chain risk with suppliers of highest annual expenditure. When applied to Ford Motor Co.’s supply chain, the quantitative analysis by David Simchi-Levi of MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Systems Division shows that the supply firms whose disruption would inflict the greatest blow to Ford’s profits are those that provide the manufacturer with relatively low-cost components.

Restaurants and supermarkets could save millions of dollars by hanging on to bug zapper bulbs instead of tossing them every year as they normally do, a new University of Florida study has found. What’s more, the benefits could extend to the environment by keeping some of the bulbs’ mercury out of the waste stream.

Building a product is not the same as it was 10 years ago, and it won’t be the same 10 years from now. Business is evolving at a rate such that market leaders have no choice but to continually adapt to emerging strategies such as mobile apps, cloud computing, and big data to gain an edge over the competition. As relationships with global partners become more of a necessity as well as a focal point in business, the need for adaptation is undoubtedly a top-of-mind issue for those responsible for supply chain management.

8. NEXT STEPS Now what? Given all of the information in this guide, it might be hard to figure out exactly what to do, or do differently, on the proverbial Monday morning. Developing your skill in sustainable design will take some time, but there are plenty of ways to put these tools and techniques into practice immediately.

7. COMMUNICATING THE RESULTS Product development is a process that touches many parts of an organization and its various partners and customers. Sustainable design can generate innovative and attractive solutions, but they may never see the light of day unless the features and benefits can be communicated effectively. This section outlines some ways to communicate the value of sustainable solutions to several of the major stakeholders involved with most products.

6. THE SUSTAINABLE DESIGN STRATEGIES Looking at impacts in the context of lifecycle stages is a good way to measure them, but not as helpful when actually designing or redesigning; after all, sustainable design strategies often affect more than one stage. Let’s look at a few of the strategies that Tom and Priscilla employed during their redesign processes.

The previous sections have laid out the context of sustainability and described how to know it when you see it. However, all of that information is irrelevant if it doesn't enable action—the point of assessing and reporting environmental impacts is to give you information on how design choices affect the relative sustainability of one product compared with other options. This section and the ones that follow show how to put all of that information into action.