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“ Do you use suppliers in China for raw materials , or local suppliers , for example ?” he asks . “ There will be a price difference for sure , but also a huge sustainability difference , because one will probably involve air transport . Planning can help with making sustainability decisions like this .”
Sustainability measures are sometimes cast as being bad for the
We encourage customers to think of sustainability data as being like a currency
DIGITAL BUSINESS PLANNING bottom line , but Vallejo says that being green and making money “ often times actually go hand in hand ”.
He adds : “ For example , I ’ ve worked with a customer whose supply chain was set up with what ’ s called international direct ship . They were manufacturing electronic devices in China and packaging them ready for air shipment to the US market .
“ The business benefit of this is a two-day lead time from production to arriving in the US . The disadvantage is the huge environmental footprint of air versus sea transport .”
Vallejo says that in situations like this , business planning helps balance transportation volumes with customer service and availability .
“ We helped this company balance profitability , sustainability , and customer
68 June 2022