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Sustainability for Supply Chain
Since the supply chain covers a product from its initial stage of being a raw material to the final delivery of end user. It is pivotal that attention is paid to the supply chain to ensure a better adoption and development of sustainability. Nonetheless, it is also important that sustainability incorporate issues and flows that extend beyond the core of supply chain management such as product design, manufacturing by-products, by-products produced during product use, product life extension, product end-of-life, and recovery processes at end-of-life.
Product Design
There are various techniques such as life cycle assessment that can be used in making decisions on the design of the product. These techniques will enable to increase the life of the product along with minimizing the damage to the environment.
Manufacturing by-products
It is important to utilize cleaner process technologies so as to reduce as well as eradicate by-products. This would be an extension of product design as well a firm’s commitment to continuous improvement and innovation.
By-products produced during product use
The process of product sustainability is not only an element of design but also of product management. There is a large potential for profit as well several opportunities present in extended producer involvement and responsibility. This has facilitated the need for the provision of a product as a service or for manufacturers to provide a series of services to support the sale of the original product.
Product life extension
Companies are increasingly looking for ways to enhance the life of the products so as to increase customer satisfaction, build on brand value as well as avoid the depletion of resources. It is a challenge for the manufacturers to develop offerings that depicts more of the product value. Although certain manufacturers have availed the benefits associated with product life extension. Original Equipment Manufacturers have failed to take advantage of this opportunity which has led to lucrative businesses areas such as remanufacturing.
Product end-of-life
The nature of the product at its end stage is determined by the steps taken in the earlier stages. The first stages of product design have a lasting impact on how the product can be reused, remanufactured, recycled or disposed of. Certain end products may be difficult to dispose of due to their toxicity content. It is therefore essential that policies are developed which focus on producing more environmentally favorable modes of product end-of-life disposal.
Recovery processes at end-of-life
The recovery of used products is increasingly becoming a growing trend in the supply chain process. There have been numerous academic researches which focus on design considerations for product recovery networks. These studies highlight that an increased focus on sustainability in the supply chain is related to increased brand value and reduced costs. However, issues such as remanufacturing, recycling, etc put an additional level of intricacies to the existing supply chain design as well as lead to new sets of potential strategic and operational issues. This will not only result in an increase in cost but may also increase the uncertainties associated with the recovery process.
