Internally at IBM we recently hosted a green innovation video contest where employees submitted ideas that IBM could bring to market to reduce waste. As a participant I rated a few of the videos and came across this one that has a significant supply chain angle.
It's no surprise that cargo ships are gas guzzlers. They make a Hummer look like a Prius, which is why shippers need to squeeze as much as they can out of each drop of fuel. One way to do this to to properly balance the containers. Check out this video to see what I am talking about.
Whenever I tell a friend, colleague or family member about my job as soon as the words "supply chain" are muttered I immediately see glassy eyes followed by a yawn or two. Little do they realize that every time they discard or recycle a carton of milk they are completing the end of the supply chain cycle. Without supply chains consumers would be stuck using products that they had to make or grow with their own two hands. Still not excited, well visit often and eventually you will be.
1 comment:
Good idea based on common sense. I'm sure the size of today's cargo ships and complexity of the possible loading arrangements makes this a good place to use software algorithms, rather than just gut feel. It seems to be a good technology, because it lets you use existing cargo ships more efficiently. Sort of reminds me of the giant kites that cargo ships are starting to use to harness wind power to assist their regular fueled propulsion. The best technology often builds on existing infrastructure, rather than insisting on new infrastructure.
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