供应链管理英文原书第6版Discussion question answers - Chapter

Chapter17:SustainabilityandtheSupplyChain SupplyChainManagement,6e

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DiscussionQuestions

Whataresomebenefitstoimprovedsustainabilityofasupplychain?

Reducingriskandimprovingfinancialperformanceofthesupplychain

Attractingcustomerswhovaluesustainability

Makingtheworldmoresustainable.

Whataresomechallengesthatlimittheeffortputinbysupplychainstoimprovesustainability?

Whenitrequireseffortsthatdonotprovideobviousreturnoninvestmentforacompany

Insufficientreturnoninvestment

Customer’sunwillingnesstopayapremiumforgreenproducts

Difficultyevaluatingsustainabilityacrossaproductlifecycle

Oneofthebiggestchallengestobuildingsustainablesupplychainsisthatintheshorttomediumterm,animprovedfocusonsustainabilityprovidesbenefitsthataresharedbutcoststhatmaybelocaltoafirm.

Describethe“tragedyofthecommons”inthecontextofsupplychainsustainability.Whataresome“mutuallycoercive”mechanismsthatcouldbeimplementedtoencouragesupplychainsustainability?

Everycompanyandsupplychainfacesthechallengeofthetragedyofthecommonsasitoperatesinaglobalenvironment.Theymustcompeteagainstothersthatmaybeextractingbenefitsfromtheenvironmentalorresourcecommonswithoutspendingtomaintainthesecommons.Theymustcompeteinamarketwherecustomersoftenvaluelowcostandarenotwillingtopaythepriceofamoresustainablesolution,eitherintheformofahigherpriceorreducedconsumption.

Twopotentially“mutuallycoercive”mechanismsthatcouldbeimplementedare“cap-and-trade”andanemissiontax.With“cap-and-trade”therewouldbeconstrainedaggregateemissions,whichwouldcreatealimitednumberoftradeableemissionallowancesthatemissionsourcesmustsecureandsurrenderinproportiontotheiremissions.Withanemissiontax,eachentitygeneratinggreenhousegasesischargedataxproportionaltothesizeoftheemissions.

Whataresomeproblemswithfirmsreportingtheirsustainabilityperformancebasedonmetricsthatdonotconsidertheirextendedsupplychain?

Amajorchallengerelatestothescopeoverwhichasupplychainmeasuresinregardstothefollowingfourcategories:

Energyconsumption

Waterconsumption

Greenhousegasemissions

Wastegeneration.

Ifacompanyreportsonlyenergyconsumptionwithinitsownoperations,andthendecidestooutsourcesomeproductiontoanoffshoresupplier,itsownenergyconsumptionwillshowadeclineeventhoughtheenergyconsumptionoftheentiresupplychainmayhaveincreased.Ifitdecidestobringsomeproductionin-houseandonshore,theenergyconsumptionwithinitsoperationswillshowanincreaseeveniftheenergyconsumptionfortheentiresupplychainhasdecreased.Thuscompaniesmustdefinethescopeacrosswhichallmetricsaremeasured.TheGreenhouseGasProtocoldefinesthreescopelevelswhichcompaniesshouldreportmetrics:

Directemissions–referstoemissionsfromsourcesthatareownedorcontrolledbythereportingentity

Indirectemissions–fromgrid-sourcedelectricityandotherutilityservicesincludingheat,steam,andcooling

Otherindirectemissions–comingfromproductionofpurchasedmaterials,outsourcedactivities,contractor-ownedvehicles,wastedisposal,andemployeebusinesstravel.

StudytheCSRreportsforacoupleoffirms.Identifyactionsacrossafewsupplychaindriversthathaveimprovedsustainability.Whichareashasthecompanyfoundchallengingtoimprove?

Suggestions:Online,youcanfindtheCampbellSoupCompany2014CSRReport,the2013HersheyCompanyCSRReport,Scorecard,and2013ExecutiveSummary,theStarbucks2013GlobalResponsibilityReport,andtheWalmart2014GlobalResponsibilityReport(copyrightlimitationsprohibithyperlinkingorincludingthesereportswithinthismanual).

References:

CampbellSoupCompanyCSR:

/csr

TheHersheyCompanyCSR:

http://www.TheHersheyC/social-responsibility

StarbucksGlobalResponsibilityReport:/uploads/documents/Responsibility_Report_2013.pdf

Walmart2014GlobalResponsibilityReport:

/global-responsibility/

Discusssomereasonswhywedonotseemorerecyclingorremanufacturingofproducts.

Remanufacturingisaprocesswhereaparticularproductistakenapart,cleaned,repaired,andthenreassembledtobeusedagain.Manydifferenttypesofproductscangothroughthisprocess,includingautoparts,tires,furniture,lasertonercartridges,computers,andelectricalequipment.Essentiallyanyproductthatcanbemanufacturedcanalsoberemanufactured.Inorderforaproducttobeconsideredremanufactured,mostofitscomponentsshouldbeused(althoughsomeofthemcanbenewiftheolderpartsaretoodefectivetobesalvaged).

Somereasonsthatwedonotseemorerecyclingorremanufacturing:

Absenceofincentivestoencouragerecycling/remanufacturing

Canbeencouragedbypolluterpaysprinciple(takebackmandates,advancedisposalfess,anddeposit-refundprograms)

Fearofremanufacturedproductcannibalizingdemandfornewproduct

Lackofcustomerefforttoreturnproduct

Canbeencouragedby“payasyouthrow”programsforgarbage

Highcostofrecyclingorremanufacturing

Somequestionstoaskare:

Doesacompanygainorloseeconomicallybysellingremanufacturedproductsalongwithnewones?

Howcanafirmensuresufficientaccesstousedproductsifitplanstoremanufacture?

Whoshouldberesponsibleforcollectingusedproducts(theretailer,themanufacturer,orathirdparty)?

Whatincentivesneedtobeinplacefortheeconomicinterestsoftheentiresupplychaintobealigned?

Doanydecisionschangeiftheproducthasashortorlonglifecycle?

Whatincentivesneedtobeinplaceforsupplierstodesignandproducedurableproducts?

Associetycontinuestobetterunderstandtheeffectsofpollutionandtheconsequencesthatcomewiththedepletionofournaturalresources,differentstepsarebeingtakentoensurethehealthoftheenvironmentforfuturegenerations.Thisgeneralawarenesshasledtomanynewdevelopmentstopreserveourworld.Remanufacturingisonesuchdevelopment.Thisprocessisresponsibleforlargeenergysavings,extendingthelivesoflandfills,andcuttingdownontheamountofairpollutionthatwouldnormallyoccurwhenaproductgoesthroughareprocessingprocedure.

Whilethebasicconceptisquitesimple,remanufacturingisactuallyanextensiveprocess.Itrequiresthatausedproductbecompletelydisassembledinordertoassessitsactualcondition.Ifitisdeterminedthatremanufacturingisworthwhile,variouspartsoftheproductarecleaned,restored,repaired,andreplaced.Furtherrefinementsarethenperformedandtheproductisreassembledsothatitonceagainoperatesinthemannerforwhichitwasintended.Theproductisthenreadytobeusedagain.Eachstepinthisprocessisessentialtotheentireconceptofremanufacturingandcarefulprecautionsmustbetakentoensurethateachstepiscarriedoutcorrectly.

MISCONCEPTIONSABOUTREMANUFACTURING

Often,theprocessofremanufacturinggetsconfusedwithothersimilaractivities.Rebuiltandrechargedproductsareveryclosetoremanufacturedonesandthethreetermscanoftenbeconsideredsynonymouswitheachother.Rebuiltproductsusuallyrefertoautoparts,whilerechargingisusuallyperformedonimagingproductsliketheaforementionedtonercartridges.

Othertypesofproductsarealmostcompletelydifferentfromthosethathavebeenremanufactured.Forexample,aremanufacturedproductisnotarecycledone.Recyclinginvolvesusingaproductoritspartsasrawmaterialsforadifferentproductandisgenerallyappliedtoconsumablegoodslikenewspapers,bottles,andcans.Veryrarelyarerecycledproductsresoldtobeusedastheywereoriginallyintended,andwhentheyare,thequalityisnotasgoodasaremanufacturedproduct.

Inaddition,aremanufacturedproductshouldnotbeconfusedwitharepairedone.Usuallywhenaproductisrepaired,thewholeremanufacturingprocessisdisregardedandonlydefectivepartsareinvestigatedandreplaced.Likewise,restoredandreconditionedproductsareonesthatarebroughtbacktotheiroriginalcondition,butthesechangesareusuallycosmeticandapplytothingslikeantiques,ratherthanmassmarketconsumerproducts.Inaddition,remanufacturedproductsshouldnotbeclassifiedas"used."Ausedproductisonethathasnotbeenrepairedandthereforehasnoguaranteesregardingitsperformance.Finally,demanufacturingandremanufacturingshouldnotbeconfusedwitheachother.Demanufacturingissimplythedisassemblystepthatallproductsthataregoingtoberemanufacturedmustgothrough.

REMANUFACTURINGVS.RECYCLING

Althoughremanufacturingandrecyclingaretwodifferentthings,manyenvironmentalgroupsareembracingtheconceptofremanufacturingoverrecyclingbecauseitcutsdownontheuseofenergyandresourcesusedforprocessing.Whilerecycledgoodsareconsumed,thenreturnedtotheiroriginalrawmaterialformtobeusedagain,remanufacturing"recycles"thevalueoriginallyaddedtotherawmaterial.SeetheLundandKingarticlesreferencedbelow.

References:

RobertT.Lund,“Remanufacturing,”inTheAmericanEdge:LeveragingManufacturing'sHiddenAssets,ed.JaniceA.KleinandJeffreyG.Miller(NewYork,McGraw-Hill,1993).

King,A.M.,Burgess,S.C.,Ijomah,W.andMcMahon,C.A.(2006),Reducingwaste:repair,recondition,remanufactureorrecycle?.Sust.Dev.,14:

257–267.doi:

10.1002/sd.271

Abstract:/doi/10.1002/sd.271/abstract

REMANUFACTURINGANDSMALLBUSINESSES

Asidefromenvironmentalbenefits,therearemanyotherreasonswhyremanufacturedgoodsexist.Likemanygoodbusinessdecisions,remanufacturingsimplysavesmoneybyprolongingtheeconomiclifeofaproduct.Asmallbusinesswithatightbudgetcansavemoneybyusingremanufacturedproductsbecausetheyoftencostless(anywherebetween40and60percentless)andcomewithwarrantiesandextraservicesthatguaranteetheirperformance.

Inrecentyears,remanufacturinghasgrownintoabigbusiness.Recentstudiessuggestthatthereareover70,000remanufacturingfirmsemployingclosetoahalfmillionpeopleintheUnitedStates.Together,thesefirmsmakeover$50billionayear,provingthatremanufacturingisaforcetobereckonedwithintoday'seconomy.Becauseofthistrend,itwouldseemthattherearemanyopportunitiesforsmallbusinessestogetinontheactionprovidedbytheremanufacturingindustry.Forexample,anautorepairbusinesscaneasilybranchoutandstartofferingremanufacturedgoodsaspartoftheirservices,orasmallbusinessthatrepairsofficemachineswillgainthenecessaryknowledgetoremanufacturerelatedproductsatthesametimeasitconductsitsnormalbusinessactivities.

Ifasmallbusinessdecidestogetintotheremanufacturingindustry,itmustfirstandforemoststudyandunderstandthemarket.Despitetherecentsuccessofremanufacturing,thereisstillanegativeperceptionamongconsumersregardingproductsthatcontainusedparts.Manyconsumersfeelthataremanufacturedproductisnotdurableasabrandnewoneandmayrequireadditionalmaintenanceinthefuture.Thisisaseriousissuethatmustbeaddressedbeforeasmallbusinessdecideswhetheritisworthittopursueremanufacturingasavocation.

Likeanybusinessventure,remanufacturedproductsmustbeproperlymarketedinorderforthecompanyproducingthemtoultimatelysucceed.Managementmusttargetconsumerswhowillappreciatethefactthatremanufacturedgoodsareagreatfinancialalternativetonewones,buteducatethemenoughsothattheyunderstandtheyarenotsacrificingqualityforprice.Asoundwarrantyplanandfollow-upcallsthatgaugetheproduct'sperformancearealsosuggested.Likeanyproductorservice,aremanufacturedproductwillbenefitfrompositivewordofmouthandgrowintoasolidbusinessbecauseofit.

Inexperiencedremanufacturingfirmsmustalsobecarefulnottocompeteagainstthemselveswhenmarketingremanufacturedandnewgoodsatthesametime.Inaddition,managementmustworkwiththeirownemployeessothattheyunderstandthemanybenefitsoftheremanufacturingprocess.Manyemployeesmaybehesitanttoofferremanufacturedgoodstotheircustomersforfearofpotentialprejudicesregardingtheperformanceoftheproduct.

Mostimportantly,asmallbusinessmusthavethemeansatitsdisposaltolocateandrecovertheproductsandresourcesthatwillbeusedintheremanufacturingprojectandultimatelyperformthetaskathand.Oncetheseproductsarefound,theymustbetransportedtothedestinationwheredisassemblywilltakeplace.Afterthat,theywillmostlikelybetransportedtoanotherlocationthatspecializesinreassembly.Finally,anyunusablepartsandproductsmustbecollectedandtransportedtorecyclingcentersorotherplacesthatspecializeintheirdisposal.

Therearemanylegalandregulatoryissuesthataffecttheremanufacturingindustrythatbusinessesmustbeawareof.Intellectualpropertyandanti-trustmatters;federal,stateandlocalrecyclingprocedures;andgovernmenteconomicincentivesarejustafewoftheseissues.TheRemanufacturingInstituteisthewatchdogorganizationfortheentireindustryandtheyareconstantlymonitoringtheseissuesandrepresentingtheviewsofthebusinessesthatareinvolvedinremanufacturing.Inaddition,thefederalgovernmentrequiresthatallremanufacturedgoodsmustbelabeledas