The Automated Storage/Retrieval Systems (ASRS) Industry Group of the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) just released its latest quarterly report, this time touting the “Green-ness” of AS/RS systems. You can download the report at: Automated Storage Systems Make a Play for Sustainability.
Everyone is jumping on the Green bandwagon, especially given the looming WalMart plans for Sustainability vendor scorecards and perhaps consumer labeling reflecting a supplier/product’s “Sustainability Index.” As the report notes, “Walmart is using “material efficiency” as one of its criteria in that [Sustainability] measurement. This retail leader wants its suppliers to reduce solid waste and wasted energy. And Wal-Mart says it will require companies to place “carbon labels” on their products.”
No surprise, the AS/RS group, like most others, finds much Green-ness in what they do. Clearly, AS/RS systems result in very high levels of storage density.
Storing the same number of units in a smaller footprint requires less concrete and steel during construction, reducing carbon dioxide emissions from making those materials. Additionally, building smaller DCs due to increased storage efficiency of course eliminates the need for energy to heat, cool, light and ventilate excess square footage.
This can have a really big impact in refrigerated DCs, the report notes.
“In food storage applications, automated storage systems reduce the square footage that needs to be refrigerated. Taller storage systems save up to 30% in cooling costs for refrigerated warehouses,” the report says.
I agree with all that, but are we really to the point now where WalMart’s scorecard and worry about CO2 emissions will cause logistics managers to base their materials handling and storage decisions largely on the Green factors?
Frankly, I hope not. Clearly, the Green Supply Chain focus has caused us all to relook and rethink the way we approach many areas of supply chain and logistics, and allowed us to see opportunities that are truly win-win – better for CO2 and/or the environment, and which also reduce operating costs.
So while I agree on the benefits of storage density and potentially building size from AS/RS, those benefits have been true since we had AS/RS some 30 years ago. We could agree or disagree about the merits versus other approaches, or even better, simply agree that AS/RS makes sense for some companies and not for others, depending on many factors (some of which certainly may include building construction costs and/or available real estate.)
But I don’t think Green factors should be the driver of what process and technologies are the best operational fit for our DCs.
But it may just go that way.
How much should Green Supply Chain factors driver materials handling decisions today? Do you think that factor is going to increase? Should it? |
