Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies - March 2008 - (Page 40)

2007 SmartWay Excellence Award Winners The selection of SmartWay Excellence Award recipients is based on actual emissions reductions and fuel savings achieved. Criteria also include the types and variety of strategies and technologies implemented and the overall environmental performance of the organization. Innovation, creativity, and general promotion of sustainability and SmartWay also are considered. 2008 winners will be announced at the fall meeting of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. The 2007 winners are: Freight Carriers Contract Freighters (CFI) CSX Transportation John Christner Trucking Knight Transportation Langford Meijer Metropolitan Trucking Orlicks P.A.M. Transportation Services Quad/Graphics Roehl Transport Schneider National Smithfield Transportation Co. Swift Transportation Co. TransAm Trucking Wal-Mart Logistics Companies Alliance Shippers Exel Limited Brands Logistics Services National Logistics Management that we needed to be involved in mitigating that,” says Hancock, who notes that 90 percent of Whirlpool’s corporate environmental impact occurs during its products’ use. The company helped develop the Energy Star appliance standards in 1979 and has continued to drive product improvements. Energy efficiency of its home appliances has improved by 70 percent since 1972, Hancock says. In the supply chain, Whirlpool has focused on three areas: reducing the company’s manufacturing footprint; eliminating redundant or inefficient warehouses and making remaining facilities greener; and transportation efficiency. The company has worked hard to streamline its network since acquiring Maytag in 2005, Hancock says. “Through 2009 we will have closed more than 100 facilities, which represents 31 percent of our total facility space. That improves our carbon footprint because we are moving from an inefficient network into a more efficient network,” he says. As part of that network redesign, the company is building more than 10 million square feet of new warehouse space this year and next. “Each of those facilities is being built with sustainability as a core part of the design,” Hancock says. The company also is working to improve transportation efficiency. All shipments from factories and about 70 percent of shipments from DCs move as full truckloads, Hancock says. “We have stratified our inventory to move the product as few times as possible to maintain the level of availability necessary to be competitive,” he says. Additionally, Whirlpool encourages its transportation partners to eliminate empty miles. “Last year, for the first time, we put all of our freight into the same bid— inbound, redistribution and outbound,” says Hancock. “This gave our trading partners the ability to optimize their own networks without our telling them to optimize Shippers IBM Corp. Johnson & Johnson JCPenney Kimberly-Clark Corp. Lowe’s Cos. Michelin North America Office Depot Sharp Electronics Steris Corp. Affiliates American Trucking Association Cascade Sierra Solutions 4 State Trucks North Central Texas Council of Governments Superior Financial Group around us,” he says. “They can use our freight to create backhauls for themselves, and we think this will eliminate a significant number of deadhead miles.” Whirlpool also is using more intermodal. “If we can get more freight on a train, it will not only minimize our carbon footprint, but also eliminate congestion in the cities where we deliver,” says Hancock. New Hampshire-based Stonyfield Farm, which has had 19 consecutive years of double-digit growth, has introduced a variety of green initiatives since being founded in 1983, mostly around production of its organic dairy products. In 2006, the company conducted a full eco-audit that included the supply chain. This led to the creation of mission action plan teams or MAPs, says Ryan Boccelli, director of logistics. “We made a strategic and comprehensive effort to engage Stonyfield Farm employees in the company’s mission to improve the environment and reduce GHG emissions,” he says. Last year the transport group focused on optimizing lanes and truck utilization, shipping all orders complete “and other basic stuff that is not rocket science,” Boccelli says. Maybe not, but it created a big bang nevertheless. “By getting our employees to focus on the efficiency of our business, we reduced the carbon footprint of our transportation network by 40 percent in 2007,” he says. Not satisfied with that, the company will add fuel conscious RydeGreen equipment to its fleet this year. It also is working with Ryder to analyze its supply chain network. “We want to see where is the best location for our plants and DCs, not only to meet customer delivery expectations, but also to lower our carbon footprint,” Boccelli says. He adamantly contends that pursuing green is good for the bottom line. “The initiatives that we have undertaken have not only had a great positive impact on the environment, they have saved Stonyfield a lot of money,” he says. “We are seeing about a 14 percent decrease in costs year over year. That’s a message that we want to get out—doing what’s right for the environment and shareholder value are not mutually exclusive.” That realization is key to making a business case for sustainable practices, says Dan Sanker, CEO and co-founder of CaseStack, a 3PL provider based in Santa Monica, Calif. “Companies will adopt these 40 MARCH 2008

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Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies - March 2008 Editorial GL & SCS Exclusive FastForward Up Front The Green in Green Think Inside the Box Have a Second Look Can't Happen Here Opinion: Stay in the Black as Your Workforce Fades to Gray Opinion: Four Critical Steps to Managing Change in the Supply Chain Industry Voices

Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies - March 2008

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