Supply Chain Synchronization

Supply chain is at the heart of the business logic of sustainability

Ray Anderson is one of my heroes.

As a young entrepreneur he founded the carpet company Interface in 1973. In 1994 he read Paul Hawken's book The Ecology of Commerce, and set out to fundamentally transform his business. He took to heart Hawken's message that business and industry must lead the transformation to sustainability. He realized that "with his company's global reach and manufacturing footprint, he was in a position to do something very real, very important, in building a sustainable world."

In the time since, he fundamentally changed his company's supply chain and business processes. He "focused the company's attention on sustainable decisionmaking, taking a hard look at suppliers, manufacturing processes, and the beginning-to-end life cycle of all its products. (For example: If you can't find a place to recycle a worn or damaged Flor tile, Interface invites you to send it back to them and they'll do it for you.) They call this drive Mission Zero: 'our promise to eliminate any negative impact our company may have on the environment by the year 2020.'"

Anderson spoke recently at a TED conference where he shared his inspiring story of fundamental transformation. This transformation not only has resulted in an ecologically-friendly company, but has also increased market share, profitability, and shareholder value. In this 15-minute talk, Anderson explains the business logic of sustainability. It is a message worth sharing again and again to those interested in understanding how sustainability is good business.

Cultural adaptation of crows

Every once in a while you come across something that just captivates you. Such was the case when I recently saw a TEDtalk by hacker and writer Joshua Klein. Klein, as you will see, is fascinated by crows. He has engaged in a ten-year amateur study of their behavior. One of his findings is that crows live in all parts of the planet (except Antarctica and the southern tip of South America), and that they always breed less than 5 km from human populations. They are hyper-adaptive and thrive by their proximity to humans. Klein illustrates their cultural adaptation by talking about how some crows in Japan developed an ingenious way of getting to food with the help of the automobile. Now, ten years after the first crows did this, all of the crows in this area of Japan have picked up this behavior. The crow's ability to quickly and flexibly adapt to new environments is astonishing. You'll also enjoy the vending machine he created for these wily birds. Enjoy this 10-minute talk.

New insights on poverty and life around the world - the data tells the story

Hans Rosling wows us again with this talk he gave at a TED conference. I love his ability to make the data tell a story.

"In a follow-up to his now-legendary TED2006 presentation, Hans Rosling demonstrates how developing countries are pulling themselves out of poverty. He shows us the next generation of his Trendalyzer software -- which analyzes and displays data in amazingly accessible ways, allowing people to see patterns previously hidden behind mountains of stats. (Ten days later, he announced a deal with Google to acquire the software.) He also demos Dollar Street, a program that lets you peer in the windows of typical families worldwide living at different income levels. Be sure to watch straight through to the (literally) jaw-dropping finale."

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

Today is tax day, so, in tribute to all of the taxes we pay to support our schools, I watched Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk. As the TED site says, "[Ken] makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. With ample anecdotes and witty asides, Robinson points out the many ways our schools fail to recognize -- much less cultivate -- the talents of many brilliant people. 'We are educating people out of their creativity,' Robinson says."

Fortunately, the members of our team at Evavi whom I work with every day were fortunate enough to keep their creativity and to then supplement that with deep business process and supply chain expertise. Most of them received their primary education in India or China -- before receiving advanced degrees in the U.S. -- so perhaps Sir Ken should take a look at what they are doing over there. I suppose, however, that we are just fortunate to have extraordinary people who figured out how to get a great education regardless of the limitations of the schooling.

The wisdom of designing Cradle to Cradle

Architect and designer William McDonough is one of my favorite thinkers. His  concept of "cradle to cradle" design, which bridges the needs of ecology and economics, has caused me to think deeply about how supply chains can utilize this design concept to unlock greater, and sustainable, value. 

This is a talk that McDonough gave at a TED conference. McDonough is introduced as follows: "[He] believes that green design can prevent environmental disaster -- while also driving economic growth. He champions “cradle to cradle” design that considers the full life cycle of a product, from its creation with sustainable materials to a recycled afterlife.

"Architect William McDonough practices green architecture on a massive scale. In a 20-year project, he is redesigning Ford's city-sized River Rouge truck plant and turning it into the Rust Belt's eco-poster child, with the world's largest "living roof" for reclaiming storm runoff. He has created buildings that produce more energy and clean water than they use. Oh, and he's designing seven entirely new and entirely green cities  in China.

"Bottom-line economic benefits are another specialty of McDonough's practice. A tireless proponent of the idea that absolute sustainability and economic success can go hand-in-hand, he’s designed buildings for the Gap, Nike and Frito-Lay that have lowered corporate utility bills by capturing daylight for lighting, using natural ventilation instead of AC, and heating with solar or geothermal energy. They're also simply nicer places to work, surrounded by natural landscaping that gives back to the biosphere.

"In 2002 he co-wrote Cradle to Cradle, which proposes that designers think as much about what happens at the end of a product’s life cycle as they do about its beginning. (The book itself is printed on recyclable plastic.) From this, he is developing the Cradle to Cradle community, where like-minded designers and businesspeople can grow the idea."

I hope that McDonough challenges your thinking and inspires you.

Why do crack dealers still live with their moms? and what does this have to do with supply chains?

This talk by Steven Levitt was given at the TED conference before the publication of his hit book Freakonomics. In his talk Levitt "presents one of the book's more fascinating analyses. Sifting data collected through first-person interviews with a Chicago drug gang, he shows that drug dealing is not at all a quick route to riches. And yes, a drug gang does have a org chart."

Levitt is an interesting thinker who uses data to dive below the preconceived notions that typically govern so many of our conclusions. The team that I work with to develop and deploy supply chain synchronization solutions are equally data obsessed. When they get their hands on raw data, they create an x-ray view of a company's supply chain that demonstrates exactly what is going on and where and why the bottlenecks are occurring. As Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan was fond of saying, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts." Let's look at the data again.

Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you've ever seen

This is fascinating stuff. Hans Rosling uses data to tell a story that most of us had no idea existed. His talk demonstrates the power of intelligently presented data to dispel false notions and provide clarity to important issues. Rosling gave this talk at a TED conference.

"You've never seen data presented like this. With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, Hans Rosling debunks myths about the so-called 'developing world' using extraordinary animation software developed by his Gapminder Foundation. The Trendalyzer software (recently acquired by Google) turns complex global trends into lively animations, making decades of data pop. Asian countries, as colorful bubbles, float across the grid -- toward better national health and wealth. Animated bell curves representing national income distribution squish and flatten. In Rosling's hands, global trends -- life expectancy, child mortality, poverty rates -- become clear, intuitive and even playful."

Good data -- when it is well organized and presented -- cuts through the noise to present a more accurate picture of what is actually going on. Rosling demonstrates that this is the case when talking about the developing world. The team that I work with does this with supply chains.