A smart business operation is a sustainable business operation

The best companies view Smart/Sustainable business operations as an opportunity to contribute to global citizenship goals, but above all as a compelling avenue to creating competitive advantages. Improving sustainability throughout their business processes from design, supply, production and fulfillment give those companies an edge over less-sustainable competitors. To fully reap the benefits, companies need to incorporate sustainable values into the supply chains, manufacturing processes, packaging, transportation and logistics.

Smart Supply Chain

Sustainability and corporate citizenship/responsibility are global principles and a business requirement. Consequently the demarcation line between productivity and sustainability is disappearing. Sustainability has now become a major source of differentiation. Most Company Executives see sustainability as a strategic priority but benefits will only be yielded from making supply chains more sustainable.

Business managers who are charged with the responsibility to improve the sustainability of their supply chain operations have new opportunities to modernize their organizations and processes. But making the necessary decisions demand a deep intimacy with the pros and cons of every choices across, cost, profitability and sustainability in their supply chain.

This session will provide participants with practical solutions and examples to:

• Conceive and execute a sustainable strategy
• Reshape the organization
• Design products and services with sustainability at their core
• Actively drive down their supply chain carbon footprint
• Seek the most pragmatic solutions to their environmental challenges
• Choose solutions, systems and processes that deliver the best possible return on capital
• Deploy greater analytics throughout the Supply Chain life cycle
• Measure the results and return on investment
• And ultimately benefit from a holistic view of sustainability across the supply chain

Smart Manufacturing

Smart or Sustainable manufacturing “is designing and producing a product or a service in a way that comprehend the entire product’s life cycle and its full impact surrounding the use and reuse of raw materials and auxiliary materials, impact on the environment and impact on the surrounding community. The goal is to be able to manufacture in a way which is so sustainable that it is able to continue far into the future.” Sustainable manufacturing includes the manufacturing of “sustainable” products and the “sustainable” manufacturing of all products. Industrial activity is one of the largest contributors to global emissions, responsible for 23% of total emissions in 2002 (9.2 GtCO2e). It uses nearly half of all global electrical power generated, industrial motor systems using the majority (65%) and by 2020, motor systems will be responsible for 7% of global carbon emissions.

ICT could play a significant role in mitigating global carbon emissions from motor systems and industrial process optimization, up to 970 MtCO2e in 2020. Though mostly invisible to us, these devices are critical to the manufacturing sector and, as this industry expands, so does energy demand. Motors can be inefficient as they operate at full capacity, regardless of load. A motor is “smart” when it can be controlled to adjust its power usage to a required output. There is a lack of information about energy consumption in motor systems and where savings can be made within a factory. ICT’s main role in the short term, therefore, will be to monitor energy use and provide data to businesses so they can make energy and cost savings by changing manufacturing systems.

This session will provide participants with practical solutions and examples to:

• Understand what is envisioned as sustainable manufacturing
• Re-think manufacturing to make this critical business process sustainable
• Understand the techniques, tools and Solutions for manufacturing design and development
• To standardize, account and monitor
• Transform their manufacturing processes for their business benefits in a sustainable way
• To effectively communicate sustainability performance to internal and external audiences

Smart Transportation and Logistics

The transport sector is a large and is responsible for 14% of global emissions. The majority of logistics emissions come from transport and storage. Optimizing logistics using ICT could result in a 16% reduction in transport emissions and a 27% reduction in storage emissions globally. The need to run more efficient logistics operations is increasingly important. "Smart logistics" comprise a range of software and hardware tools that monitor, optimize and manage operations, which helps reduce the storage needed for inventory, fuel consumption, mileage driven and frequency of vehicles travelling empty or partially loaded. ICT-driven applications across logistics could achieve a reduction in total global emissions of 1.52 GtCO2e.

ICT can improve the efficiency of logistics operations in a number of ways. These include software to improve the design of transport networks, allow the running of centralized distribution networks and run management systems that can facilitate flexible home delivery services. Specific levers include intermodal shift, or moving to the most efficient type of transport, eco-driving, route optimization and inventory reduction. There are a number of specific technologies that could already enable more efficient logistics.

This session will provide participants with practical examples and solutions to:

• Re-think their logistics processes
  • Optimise and control inventory to reduce vehicle miles in delivery or returning stock to the manufacturer
  • Model and optimize distribution network design throughout supply chain design
  • Track efficiency against business performance

• Standardize, monitor and account
  • Tag and track inventory, stock and other items throughout the supply chain
  • Information systems to understand optimal routes and vehicle’s efficiency behavior
  • Information systems to provide the driver with real time information about the vehicle’s efficiency and behaviour
  • Real time fleet tracking

• Transform their transportation and logistics processes
  • Vehicle and load management systems
  • Reverse logistics to allow the back-loading of vehicles on the network
  • Apply systems thinking from production to consumer to end of life
  • Protocols for system interoperability
  • Route optimisation standards and software