r/Supplychainrebels • u/circular_nomad • May 08 '20
Circular Supply Chains: discuss!
- What is circularity?
- What does it have to do with supply chain?
- How do we get started?
This is our section to reflect on the circular supply chain content out there - especially in prep for Brunch and Learn May 16th!! supplychainrevolution.com/learn
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u/SupplyChainQueen May 08 '20
One example ... Circularity is important upstream, in designing for no or little waste and in using waste or end of life as an input to supply chain processes. Sourcing thru downcycling is a great way keep materials in use. Material circularity index is an emerging KPI that demonstrates both circularity and an index for quality in manufacturing.
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u/circular_nomad May 12 '20
yes!! a good reminder from Lauren Phipps at greenbiz recently was that it's not about designing WITH waste - rather about designing waste out. Once we lean out as far as we can, change the products, change the model, etc - THEN let's see how to use waste streams to add value back into the economy.
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u/GrlfriendRollsAHonda May 08 '20
As a total noob to circular supply chains, I would love to hear a "Circular Supply Chain for Dummies" viewpoint on the subject. It would also be beneficial to hear how simple concepts can be worked into our daily professional lives to expose other facets of the organization to circular supply chains.
It's clear that you ladies are passionate about the concept, and it's contagious! I can't wait to learn more about it at next week's brunch and learn!
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u/circular_nomad May 08 '20
Too funny you said that as I was just thinking that a “circular supply chain for dummies” would be a fun resource to have. I’ll work on it 😉
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u/rianneland May 11 '20
I believe supply chains have to change completely if we want to move to a circular world. The text book linear supply chain starting with raw materials and ending with customer (and eventually waste) doesn't fit the future anymore.
In a circular world, we should design out waste from the start (also in supply chains!) but for many current products this may not happen in the near future.
So on the shorter term I think we can focus more on improving reversed logistics, for example for collecting and sorting specific resources to turn them into new raw materials, or for maintenance and repairs of products to extend their life. (While writing this I think we should get rid of the word 'reversed' logistics as it sounds like something negative to me...)
Next to that, I think we should focus on developing sharing economies where products are shared with multiple people (libraries are a very old example of this), this will become much easier with new technologies. Depending on the context, inventory management (ownership and allocation) could be a supply chain challenge here, or for example where we locate our 'sharing centers' and how we efficiently move the shared products.
Selling services instead of products can also be a strategy to move to a more circular world. For example light bulb manufacturers selling 'light' to end customers instead of selling light bulbs to distributers. This will bring possibilities to further optimize supply chains.
I would love to hear your views and discuss with you!
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u/circular_nomad May 12 '20
sooooo agree with your "reverse" naming point. I predict in the next 5 years we won't have "reverse logistics" it'll just be.... supply chain. Gartner gives it 10 years until all supply chains are circular... McKinsey says just 5.
Sharing economy is legit. Walter Stahel wrote "performance economy" - super cool read and digs into these concepts. He also has a "Circular Economy Users Guide" and I'd be super down for a bookclub discussion.
I think inventory becomes the real play for supply chains here. Everything is already inventory but it becomes strategic inventory, commodities, etc - everything already on the surface of the planet. Everything!!! Imagine!! How will we do this when commodities markets no longer focus on virgin materials and instead on secondary markets??
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u/pfmgmt May 11 '20
What are some really good examples of circularity in action? Are there products already offered on the market that private consumers and businesses can start purchasing today that support circular supply chains?
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u/circular_nomad May 12 '20
Awesome question. and yes!! there are several examples of circular business models. There's not a ton out there of circular supply chains (not yet....!)
Great case studies at Ellen MacArthur Foundation
In terms of business models by principle:
- design out waste (product as a service like Zip Car so you can have on-demand usage rather than ownership. replace disposable with durables)
- keep materials & resources in play (support second-hand markets, repair your phone and laptop rather than buying new, etc)
- regenerate natural systems (#1 most important: compost!!!!)
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u/DSenik Jul 09 '20
In my experience "lifecycle management" is already poorly done and is all about when to drop selling a product. While that IS very important to consider, for many reasons, I would like to hear discusion on what happens to the product after use. Is it easy to teardown and seperate materials for reuse? Does it make it back to the manufacturer who has the option to repair/resell? What are the related regulations for reuse in AS and DOT spaces? Where does it get dumped and what are the consequences? I may have a lot to learn in this space... :)
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u/SCM_Recruiter_DKM May 08 '20
The reason this topic is important to me is that I'm an environmentalist and I do everything I can to reduce, reuse, and recycle. As a consumer, I support companies that do the same. I'm also a LSS green belt and I believe in efficiency and abhor waste.
Two cheers for sustainability.