My takeaway from the case study was the significance of time compression in the supply chain. The time factor in the supply chain has a massive effect on planning, cost, flexibility, and performance indicators. We looked at the case study of Finnforest Corporation, a timber products company with a €1.2 billion turnover based in Finland. The case examines how the corporation provides its major DIY stores in the United Kingdom. Vinod Thayil, a Cranfield School of Management researcher, used a three-stage technique to rebuild the Finnforest DIY supply chain. Vinod considered the existing supply chain of timber products from Finland to major DIY retailers in the UK. The second stage of the supply chain redesign is to analyse the process. Vinod employed a technique known as “time-based processing.” This aids in determining where waste exists in the supply chain. The final component of this supply chain redesign strategy is to restructure the process.

As we grasped the researcher’s aim, I looked for steps in Table 1. Supply Chain Steps with Performance Measures and noted which steps took the most time to complete and how they affected supply chain efficiency. The most time was spent on harvesting trees, transporting them to the United Kingdom, doing secondary manufacturing, and transporting them to retailers. Using an activity-based map, we determined that 60% of lead time is lost. The significant amount of squandered lead time should be brought to the attention of top management. Using the supplied data, we can find ways to shorten the total supply chain lead time, including continuous process activities and enormous coordination between harvesting and logistics are essential to prevent raw materials from stacking up in the warehouse and increasing inventory time.

As a result of classroom discussion, the idea of including a wooden log of each city’s activities in each voyage was proposed. Every city on its route would be serviced by these ships before it made its way back to the main warehouse and the continuous cycle. The same ship will deliver its cargo to one port while another vessel comes in to unload some of its cargo. The disparity is explained by the fact that we are receiving fewer goods but more frequently. This is one of the case studies that helped me look over the researcher’s work and see how he went about mapping out the supply chain of a timber manufacturer and giving us detailed information about the things that happen at the factory and how long they take to do using a time-based process map and an activity-based map.

Due to increased competition and the growing environmental impact of logistics activities, organisations are compelled to collect and evaluate logistical performance metrics. Effectiveness, efficiency, and distinction are three aspects that managers should concentrate on to improve logistics performance. According to the author, clients of Boise and OfficeMax collaborated to improve the “Effectiveness” factor of logistical performance. OfficeMax and Boise’s Carload Direct project pool chose to ship SKUs through rail since it is less expensive and uses less fuel for the same weight and distance. A half-pallet and staged order satisfied the customer’s specifications. Ocean Spray and Tropicana have acknowledged logistical “Efficiency” by employing chilled rail car-boxes and intermodal shipping to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Caterpillar used the “Difference” factor of logistics performance to urge suppliers to transition from metal to plastic containers in order to reduce CO2 emissions.

The demand for substantial internal and external collaboration is one of the most significant obstacles associated with implementing these strategies to reduce CO2 emissions. The availability of rail and truck to load cargo with a focus on lead management and on-time delivery was noted as a challenge for the two projects completed by the MIT Team. Other obstacles include the logistics function, which is driven by multiple collaborators, supply chain visibility, information exchange between two parties that use the same third-party logistics provider, as discussed in class risk mitigation across different operation levels, and the availability of logistics cost data to conduct accurate cost analysis and share the analysis with collaborators to highlight the issues. These initiatives demonstrate the ability of collaboration to unlock the enormous potential for decreasing the carbon footprint of logistics and, by extension, the environmental performance of participating enterprises.

Through a number of projects, logistics managers can determine the efficacy of their organisations. Each technique requires management in order to identify the elements that influence efficacy and evaluate their relative significance when creating logistical performance parameters for reducing emissions. As stated in class, developing a “Sustainable Organization” is a responsibility that top management is responsible for instilling in all levels of management and advising appropriately. This can be achieved with the help of the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC), which can be used to track emission reductions at various organisational levels. (Beamon, 1999) emphasised tracking resource consumption, expected output, and flexibility (how well the system adapts to uncertainty) as essential elements of supply chain success. It also highlights the significance of these three types of performance metrics in supply chain monitoring systems. Finally, the article contributed to the understanding that teamwork is frequently the key to achieving the predicted financial and environmental benefits.