The Cutting Edge of Supply Chain Design: Low carbon shipping options can be immediately identified using a new modeling tool created by Agility.
The tool enables Agility specialists to work with shippers to create models using a nearly infinite number of variables and combinations – origins, destinations, routes, schedules, inventory requirements, shipping modes, INCOTERMS, packing density, load configuration, vehicle types, emissions and costs. Soon, the same capability will be available via a mobile app that will allow Agility and its customers to collaboratively design optimized, low-impact supply chains on the spot.
Calculations can be done quickly and are presented dashboard-style. “We can help our customers ‘scale-up’ cost savings and efficiencies across their supply chains,” says Frank Clary, Agility’s director of Corporate Social Responsibility.
The holy grail for many shipping customers has been a granular view of carbon footprint estimations in supply chain segments. That breakdown – or disaggregation – is what allows them to identify problem areas where emissions reduction and other sustainability efforts can have the most impact.
Clary says: “Take for example, an operation that involves a contracted fleet of trucks as well as a company’s own vehicles. Managers can calculate emissions levels based on parameters such as the fuel consumption of each vehicle used, the cost of fuel, and the electricity consumed in loading and unloading facilities. Different scenarios can be simulated to determine the most cost-effective measures for shrinking the carbon footprint.”
New tools such as Agility’s offer that piece-by-piece view. “We help them look at each route segment individually so together we can find the solution that is most effective and least costly and has the lowest environmental impact,” Clary says.
