As businesses increasingly focus on sustainability, the role of Third-Party Logistics (3PL) in the supply chain is evolving. Explore the concept of Sustainable 3PL and the latest sustainability trends shaping the logistics industry in our insightful blog post.
There is a rising concern among us towards our environment and a strong push towards becoming as environmentally friendly in our day-to-day affairs as possible. Needless to say, business owners are also striving to make their companies as eco-friendly as possible. They are taking the sustainable business route to meet their corporate responsibility and fulfill customer expectations.
Third-party logistics (3PL) significantly impact the environment as they deal with important areas such as packaging and transportation that leave a considerable carbon footprint. Increased transportation and using environmentally harmful material as packaging are a few ways 3PL companies can negatively affect the world.
A sustainable 3PL model is where companies consciously try to reduce their carbon footprint and make their overall business as environmentally friendly as possible.
Sustainability Initiatives—Options
Sustainable supply chain management focuses on implementing sustainable and ethical processes. The supply chain processes have to have minimum carbon footprints, the processes must be transparent, and they have to be eco-friendly to become sustainable. The operation must be based on facts and data that can be demonstrated.
Some of the options for introducing sustainability in 3PL are the following:
- Reduced Carbon Footprint
- Environment-Friendly Packing
- Optimized Use of Energy in Warehouses
Let’s look at them individually and find out how they impact the environment positively.
• Reduced Carbon Footprint
Greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide are directly proportional to carbon footprint. Increased carbon footprint increases the amount of these gases released into the atmosphere. This emission, in turn, negatively impacts the environment. 3PL processes usually have a high carbon footprint as transporting goods is an important part of 3PL, which produces a considerable amount of carbon.
A few initiatives that 3PL companies can take to reduce their carbon footprint are to look at the alternative of using an electric vehicle and reduce overall waste in and around the company. Also, they can check to club goods to reduce the number of time transportation is required. They can also choose eco-friendly suppliers and look at recycling their waste. All these practices will go a long way to reducing carbon footprint.
• Environment-friendly Packing
3PL can demonstrate its drive for sustainability in packaging goods. Worldwide, packaging is a major source of wastage. Most people discard the package that they received their product in. A great way to introduce sustainability in packaging is to use easily compostable and biodegradable materials. These materials will easily decompose after you throw them away.
Another way of introducing sustainable packaging options is to avoid packing your products in an elaborate shipping package. Try using discreet packaging instead. This way, your packaging will only have important details such as the customer’s address. If the customer is going to discard the package, the idea of elaborate packaging is a waste and not environmentally conscious.
• Optimized Use of Energy in Warehouses
In 3PL, warehouses use a lot of energy. Consequently, the carbon footprint of these warehouses is considerably high. Warehouses are a great starting point for companies looking to be sustainable and environmentally conscious. A few options for being sustainable in the warehouse are using more environmentally friendly LED lamps. Companies can also switch off the warehouse light as much as possible when they don’t need it. Moreover, they can also look at installing solar panels that will make them sustainable and reduce electricity charges.
- Reduced Use of Paperwork in Warehouses
- Introduction of Robotics
- Use Alternate Fuel and Use Eco-Friendly Transports
Let us look at these trends individually and determine how they can potentially change how companies conduct business in the future.
• Reduced Use of Paperwork in Warehouses
An emerging trend in implementing sustainable measures is introducing a paperless warehouse environment. Implementing an automated and paperless technology for your warehouse operations automatically increases accuracy, productivity, and efficiency. The reporting time and the time it takes to respond to the situation reduces considerably. You can scan documents using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, reducing room for errors. This paperless system eliminates major delays in manually searching and moving the paperwork across multiple departments.
A paperless system positively affects the environment and increases productivity in the warehouses. The signature required on the documents can easily and securely be managed through e-signatures. Paperless warehousing is an ideal and efficient way to be sustainable, environmentally conscious, and beneficial to the business.
• Introduction of Robotics in 3PL
Robotics technology has been used in 3PL for almost 30 years now. However, the magnitude of this use has increased tenfold due to the recent pandemic. Companies use robotics technology to keep their employees and customers safe. The robots have the map of an area fed into their systems. Consequently, they can guide an employee to the location of the product, and then the employee does not have to interact with other employees face to face. This way, the companies were able to maintain social distancing. Due to a radical increase in demand, the cost of a robot has decreased significantly recently. This reduced cost has enabled small businesses to purchase robots to automate their systems and increase the overall efficiency of their processes.
• Use Alternate Fuel and Use Eco-Friendly Transports
In the current market, there has been an increase in demand for using alternate and more sustainable fuel sources. Some companies have moved to liquified natural gas to reduce their carbon footprint. Other companies are using electric vehicles for transportation to become sustainable and eco-friendly. However, purchasing electric vehicles is costly and cannot be a practical option for many small businesses.
Another option to reduce carbon footprint is to reduce the number of times transportation occurs. If companies can schedule their transport runs so that the entire transport is occupied to the maximum capacity, that will reduce the number of times transportation is required.
Conclusion:
The way a 3PL company implements eco-friendly and sustainable measures in their day-to-day business is going to shape their success in the future. As the world is becoming more environmentally conscious, the success and revenue growth of a company might depend on how well they implement these solutions. Reducing carbon footprint is not an option; it’s a necessity.
Contact XPDEL to learn how we can help you with your supply chain and logistics management.
About XPDEL:
XPDEL helps eCommerce brands accelerate their growth, empowering them with multichannel fulfillment, whether shipping directly to consumers, delivering to businesses, or selling through retail stores. We are founded and operated by veterans with experience from Amazon, FedEx, UPS, JDA, Walmart, Target, and other leading companies in eCommerce and Retail. Guided by these experts, we provide customer experiences that help you grow your business.
