The Sustainable Logistics Direction of the Company - Essay Example

Case study about UPS Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 IV. Sustainable logistics at UPS 3 a. Expand on the ment ‘Logistics is sustainable’ on the UPS home page 3 b. Identify the sustainable logistics direction of the company 4 References 9 IV. Sustainable logistics at UPS a. Expand on the statement ‘Logistics is sustainable’ on the UPS home page Logistic is the widely used to the term of transportation, storage and the inventory management of the products which moves from the raw materials to the consumer of the products. But the core of the process is delivering economic and social sustainable growth prospect for the firm and is the key determinant for the business performance of the company. Until recently the main focus on the logistic system is mainly concerned towards the economic development of the system however in recent time it is widely concerned with the environmental and social cost involved with the process. Companies are focusing on the distribution system for providing a sustainable growth for the firm by understanding the adverse effect of the different environmental factors involved with the system which contributes significantly to global warming (McKinnon et.al, 2010, p. 3). Understanding sustainability is the major issue in the modern trend of the business which is very well implemented by UPS in their business process. UPS believes its sustainability as the core driver of their business. It not just about their care towards the different processes but it is the major requirement for their sustainable growth. It is the commitment of the firm not only towards the customers but also towards the employees of the firm. It is believed to be their responsibility towards the planet earth along with the community on which the company operates their business (UPS-f, n.d.). Over the years UPS is constantly craving new ideas and programs for better sustainability efforts. The company consistently improved its business operations and invested in greener shipping projects and also into effective logistics system to serve more efficiently to the customers of the company. UPS donated huge time on training and development of its employees and tried to focus on providing opportunities to the people to match with the need of the organization and the community at the same time. The company incurred a huge investment of $325 million into the training program of which 54 % is concentrated towards the development of safety training for the logistic system. UPS promoted about 1,168 employees to the company management in the year 2010 for a strong building of the base for the company. The carbon neutral small package service from the company gives a great competitive advantage for the firm to differentiate its service from the other player of the market. UPS is also involved into donating $1 million towards the support program for the Haitian relief effort. With the corporate responsibility and sustainable approach the company gained enough reputation to be the Official Logistic Partner for the London 2012 Olympic and the Paralympic Games to be conducted in coming year. UPS provided about 400,600 employments around the globe and build a strong workforce for the company along with corporate social responsibility practice of the firm. The company’s Climate Leaders goal has achieved an exceptional performance with about 6.1 percent reduction in emission of CO2 in the year 2010 which aided the company to reach to a sustainable growth accumulated with other factors in the competitive environment of Logistics (UPS-g, n.d.). b. Identify the sustainable logistics direction of the company Green logistics is the modern logistics program from the company for a sustainable growth in the market. Logistics is the integrated form of management for carrying products through effective supply chain management system. This logistics system comprises of several steps from the raw materials to the production and distribution of the products through transportation, storage and inventory system and material handling. The main objective for the firm is to integrate all these activities together to meet the demand of the market and meet customers’ expectation at the minimal cost possible. In earlier time these cost is mainly related to reduction of money involved in the business but the modern and future trend of logistics system is towards the maintenance of the environmental factors along with the reduction of air pollution, accidents, vibrations and noise of the society (Green Logistics, 2010). UPS is implementing strategies to for the reduction of cost through various means of the business for attaining the green logistics system in the long run. Earlier the company carries goods through various means and vehicles but the modern trend of the company is concentrating towards efficient use of vehicles with electric vehicles for alternate use of energies with the help of technologies. UPS invest a huge amount on technologies and processes for finding more efficient use of materials and development of infrastructure to maximize the use of fuel and deliver products in a more effective manner. The software utilization of the company to find the appropriate route for delivery, electronic invoice system, carbon neutral shipping option and eco friendly packaging system, all are focused towards the sustainable goal of the company. With the integration of UPS software shipping system many companies take the advantage for automated shipment process and clearance system and billing. This helped the companies to develop a cost effective production system by saving paper and money from the business process. Customers always doing the same in the business but UPS are constantly developing new ideas to implement in its business processes for a more sustainable growth in the long run (UPS, 2011). The carbon neutral packaging system from the company helps to reduce the contribution of Carbon Dioxide to the environment for developing a sustainable growth commitment. The collaboration of the companies with UPS helps to reduce the Carbon Dioxide impact for the shipping of goods and materials. A small fee from the different companies goes directly to the development of the carbon neutral project from UPS. Through these types of projects the company constantly contributes to the development of a sustainable quality growth for the future with reduction in the impact to the environment. On every activities of the company, UPS constantly monitors and evaluates its operation for the betterment of the future (UPS-a, 2011). The supply chain of the delivery process and the network system of the company is optimized from every operation for better efficient connectivity. For a more effective supply chain management the company can work with other businesses to find the best way to connect with the needs of the customers. In the competitive environment for building a strong base in the market environment proper supply chain system is one of the vital requirements for firms. The Greening Supply Chain concept of UPS helps the company to make the best of the energies of the firms by utilizing the resources in an efficient manner. UPS works in collaboration with the companies to save energy and reduce the carbon content from the various logistics approaches. The company optimizes the processes involved from transportation and distribution and implement strategies for the clients to reach the goal of the company with a more tactful and efficient supply chain system (UPS-b, 2011). The strong deeply rooted network system is another strong reason for the sustainable growth of the firm and improving the quality from a long period into the market. The environment efficient network system which constantly looks for reduction of fuel consumption and pollution control, though providing an on-time delivery is due to the sophisticated network system of UPS. The route mapping technology helps to minimize the cost from the whole system with lower fuel consumption, resulting to lower emissions and producing a cleaner air of the society. UPS also operates with the largest fleet which uses alternate fuel and act in an environmentally responsible way with its operations globally (UPS-c, 2011). With the motto of conserving the resources the company has supported the cause of using sustainable packaging materials for its customers. The clients of UPS at the same time take a competitive advantage in the market with the use of eco friendly packaging system which not only reduces the requirement of packaging but at the same time help the environment for a sustainable development process. UPS qualifies the eco responsible program for the companies by evaluating their shipping process. If any company fails to qualify UPS takes the responsibility to support the process for sustainability (UPS-d, 2011). Carbon footprint being the top priority for UPS, all the model and transportation system of the firm involves efficient use of resources and fuels to balance the act of speed along with green needs for the society. UPS uses ship, rail, truck, and aircraft for moving goods which gives the flexibility for the customers to move their products in a cost effective and speedy delivery with lowering carbon emission from its different transportation system. Combination of the integrated system gives an effective usage of the network of the company and minimizes fuel consumption. The online system of the company gives better use of technology for faster and efficient tracking system of the orders and the shipping process. It also save the wastage of papers and electronic tracking gives a better control of the services from the company. UPS provides the assurance and confidence for carrying goods confidently for the customers on whom the customers can rely upon along with the development of sustainable growth in the competitive environment (UPS-e, 2011). References Green Logistics. (2010). What is Green Logistics? Retrieved on: September 07, 2011 from http://www.greenlogistics.org/index.htm. McKinnon et.al, A. (2010). Green Logistics: Improving the Environmental Sustainability of Logistics. Kogan Page Publishers. UPS. (2011). Do More. Use Less. Retrieved on: September 07, 2011 from http://thenewlogistics.ups.com/swf#/scale/decision-green. UPS-a. (2011). UPS carbon neutral. Retrieved on: September 07, 2011 from http://www.ups.com/bussol?loc=en_US&viewID=categoryView&contentID=ct1_solg_cat_decision_green. UPS-b. (2011). Supply Chain. Retrieved on: September 07, 2011 from http://www.ups.com/bussol?loc=en_US&viewID=categoryView&contentID=ct1_solg_cat_decision_green. UPS-c. (2011). Our Network. Retrieved on: September 07, 2011 from http://www.ups.com/bussol?loc=en_US&viewID=categoryView&contentID=ct1_solg_cat_decision_green. UPS-d. (2011). Eco Responsible Packaging Program. Retrieved on: September 07, 2011 from http://www.ups.com/bussol?loc=en_US&viewID=categoryView&contentID=ct1_solg_cat_decision_green. UPS-e. (2011). Ship, Track, Package, and Pay. Retrieved on: September 07, 2011 from http://www.ups.com/bussol?loc=en_US&viewID=categoryView&contentID=ct1_solg_cat_decision_green. UPS-f. (No date). Our Commitment to Sustainability. Retrieved on: September 07, 2011 from http://www.sustainability.ups.com/Sustainability. UPS-g. (No date). Highlights. Retrieved on: September 07, 2011 from http://www.sustainability.ups.com/Sustainability/Highlights. Read More