Perspectives on Various Issues of Interest

Keep Hanging...The Hunter Is Still Around

Examples of Steps taken towards Green Supply Chain

3M's pollution prevention pays (3P) program has prevented more than 2.7 billion pounds of pollutants; plus, nearly $1.2 billion has been saved, based on aggregated data from the first year of each 3P project. 3P has enabled the business to step pollution at the source - in its products and manufacturing processes - rather than removing it after it's created.

In March of 2008, Wal-Mart leaders announced the firm was able to reduce by 45 percent the amount of energy needed to operate a new prototype store. This is a tremendous bottom-line savings that also helps the environment.

Among other initiatives, Ford Motor Company will begin using soybean-based foam cushions in some of their cars, and Ford researchers are working to replace 40 percent of the standard petroleum-based polyol foam with soy-derived material. The use of soy polyurethane is estimated to bring about as much as $26 million in annual cost savings for the automaker - and the material is biodegradeable.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program for design, construction, and operation of high-performance buildings promotes performance in five key areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. The standard is creating opportunities for manufacturers to produce environmentally friendly construction products, such as the New York manufacturer that is working on organic insulation derived from mushrooms.

The development of fuel cell technology is driving use of alternative energy sources, such as biomass, wind and solar power, geothermal energy, hydropower, and ethanol. A fuel cell is, essentially, a battery that will eliminate the need for gasoline in automobiles. Drivers will be able to plug their cars into a specific electrical socket to charge the batteries within minutes. Look for automotive manufacturers to start mass producing cars run on fuel cells by 2010.

Several projects off the coast of Florida deal with harvesting energy from the ocean. The world's powerful sustained ocean current, the Gulf Stream, rushes by at nearly 8.5 billion gallons per second - and it never stops. Florida Atlantic University researchers say the current someday could be used to drive thousands of underwater turbines, produce as much energy as perhaps 10 nuclear plants, and supply one-third of Florida's electricity.

Source: Penfield, P. "Greening the Supply Chain." APICS Magazine, September/October 2008: pp. 41

Third Party B2B Services

Some innovative services, ranging from integration of data and content delivery to application functionality such as sourcing, procurement and supplier management.

- Elemica: A self-described network for the chemical industry, has tackled the thorny question of how best to meet the European Union's regulatory invoicing mandates as well as providing supply chain services.

- Exostar: Delivers supply chain services for aerospace and defense and has built a unique security layer that meets the strict criteria laid down by the United States government and those of other nations.

- E2Open: With its heritage in high-tech, is quickly moving into other industries such as retail. Offering services from B2B integration to planning and execution of supply chain activities, it has one of the broadest application footprints in the industry.

- Data Alliance: Focuses specifically on supporting supplier managed inventory (SMI) initiatives between trading partners. Given the complexities, scope and size of the retail supply chain it is natural to find an abundance of service providers for the SMI function.

- SPS Commerce: Provides integration services between B2B buyers and sellers, offering multiple connectivity options and data synchronization.

- ECVision: Supplies application functionality to support product life-cycle management, supplier management and supply chain visibility.

- Edgenet: Combines product, supply chain and marketing data to provide a guided selling experience for end consumers in a B2C environment.

- iCongo: Offers a complete suite of services ranging from catalog management and procurement to consumer storefront.

Source: Fontanella, J. "Bring in the third party." Inside Supply Management, Vol. 19, No. 10: pp. 34-35.

Four Versions of "Lean Six Sigma"

1. Traditional Six Sigma (TSS): It effectively integrates the Six Sigma business process reengineering and project management bodies of knowledge and has also been effectively tailored to financial services, healthcare and other specialized industries. As a result, it is no longer limited to typical brick and mortar manufacturing companies.

2. Lean Six Sigma plus (LSS+): Under the LSS+ model, Champions and Master Black Belts make a determination as to the type of problem under consideration and then determine the method best suited to the problem in terms of time, cost, quality and the predicted results. If a Six Sigma approach is warranted, a project is launched under the traditional define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) model. After the analyze phase is completed, however, the Champion and Black Belt could decide that lean tools might provide a more effective solution. On the other hand, if a lean approach is warranted, then the duration of the define, measure and analyze phase of the DMAIC process can be shortened. If the lean tools will provide an appropriate solution, the time involved in the improve phase can also be shortened.

3. Lean Six Sigma light (LSSL): This model entails use of the DMAIC structure, a limited set of Six Sigma tools (leaning toward the simpller ones) and the mainstream lean tools. This method can be effective on well-understood problems that have to do with the flow of product or work units through a multistep process. But the number and types of problems that can be solved with the LSSL method are limited to issues pertaining to flow of work or material and to solutions that can be brainstormed without detailed quantitative analysis.

4. Traditional lean (TL): The traditional lean model involves the use of a number of tools that have been adapted from the Toyota Production System approach. The TL model has proven quite effective when applied systematically to repetitive processes involving flow of material, transactions or physical product. The TL model usually involves some basic statistical methods, such as control charting, but the main Six Sigma tools, involving data analysis and quantifying root cause are uncommon. This method has proven most effective for operations that involve the production processing or distribution of work or product.

Source: Mader, D. P. "What comes after the low-hanging fruit? Making smart choices about lean Six Sigma applications." Quality Progress, August 2008: pp. 58-60.