Margaret Au, Author at

The top 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development

Making a difference: fact vs. hype

Heard on the news everyday: global warming, climate change, and other devastating environmental issues due to human overpopulation and lifestyles. While most of us can feel good about “doing our part” by bringing reusable cloth bags to the grocery store and sorting recyclables and compost from our garbage, are we truly doing enough? The abundance of information and misinformation about which actions actually help vs. hurt impedes progress and reduces commitment toward real improvements in environmental sustainability.

Are we actually recycling or wish-cycling? Is clean energy really clean? Is it alright to use plastics as long as we recycle them, or is the recycling system broken?

Taking action: empower with knowledge

One thing is clear: data shows that climate change is a very real and pressing issue threatening the future of our planet. The impact is pervasive and multifaceted, and it really needs and deserves attention and support from everyone. Where do you start? First, empower yourself with credible information and use deductive reasoning to sift through the deluge of mixed information. Be sure to refer to reliable sources to form a solid foundation of trusted knowledge on which to build an accurate understanding of the issues.

Start your research here to learn about the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) to which 190 world leaders committed in order to achieve a sustainable world. Encourage your family and friends to do the same. Pick one or two goals that appeal to you personally, and research more to understand what you can do to make a difference in supporting a global initiative. Once you distinguish hype from facts, share that knowledge on social media to raise awareness and motivate others. We can all contribute in a productive way if we have the facts. Let’s move from just talking about it to doing something positive about it.

Eliminate e-waste and excess with MOQller

In support of Goals 3,6, 8, 11,12, and 14 from the UN SDG, MOQller has a mission to help manufacturing businesses with responsible consumption and management of precious resources. Businesses today regularly buy too much inventory for production due to their suppliers’ minimum order requirements. The excess inventory is typically scrapped as e-waste in landfills. E-waste poses serious health issues, accumulating about 52.2 million metric tonnes by 2021 and anticipated to reach 120 million tonnes per year by 2050. MOQller is working to break this upward trend. The MOQller solution is an online shared economy marketplace that connects businesses to sell, share, or redistribute excess inventory from production in a responsible manner and eliminate the need to scrap it as e-waste. Join us in reducing our carbon footprint and let’s work together.

Spread the word to save the earth #Sustainability #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #GlobalGoals

In support of the UN SDG #12, 13, and 15, MOQller has a mission to help manufacturing businesses with responsible consumption and management of precious resources. The solution is an online shared economy marketplace that connects businesses to sell, share, or redistribute their excess inventory from production rather than scrapping them as e-waste in landfills. This addresses the common issue of buying too much inventory for production due to their suppliers’ minimum order requirements. E-waste poses a serious threat to the planet, with about 52.2 million metric tonnes by 2021 and is anticipated to reach 120 million tonnes per year by 2050. MOQller is working to break this upward trend.

MOQller just had an article titled, “A Circular Supply Chain: Better for Your Business and Our Planet” published at EMS Now, a news source for the electronics manufacturing services industry. Here’s a snippet from the article. Enjoy!

To be competitive, businesses aim to be more agile and efficient, limit loss, and eliminate e-waste. But how do they get there? The answer may lie in shifting away from outmoded processes that result in wasted time and inventory. Operating with a leaner supply chain model is more cost-effective for the EMS and sustainable for the environment. But achieving it requires an innovative solution to the plague of excess inventory — specifically, a circular supply chain.

With a circular supply chain, businesses reallocate useful new inventory for a productive purpose, breaking the traditional model of “take, make, and throw away the excess.”

Causes and Consequences of Excess Inventory

Ideally, your business would get exactly what it needs to meet production goals, with no shortage or waste. Unfortunately, a number of factors result in surplus parts. One is that suppliers often demand substantial lead times, typically measured in months. Sometimes market needs change, and the forecasts based on past performance prove inaccurate (e.g. Apple iPhone production forecasts cut by 50% last year). Even if your business can accurately estimate exactly how many pieces it requires, it often is forced to order far more than it will use because of the supplier mandated MOQ (minimum order quantity).

circular supply chain warehouse

The resulting excess inventory is a drain on your resources, tying up finances, storage space, and manpower. Also, the longer you keep the unused supply, the more likely it is to depreciate in value or even become altogether unsellable. At that stage, it becomes known as E&O (excess & obsolete). Gregory Tashjian, Managing Partner, Inventory Management Partners, LLC, observed here that “between 5 percent and 20 percent of electronic components end up in the E&O category.”

That amounts to significant losses, because businesses typically recoup only up to 5 percent of their purchase price when reselling E&O components. Sometimes, they are not sold as whole components but broken down to salvage any remaining scrap value. However, as The Global E-waste Monitor 2017 points out, it is unusual to recover all of the value of these metals, because they are “easily lost due to imperfect separation and treatment processes.”

A more serious problem is that the excess electronics and their component parts end up as e-waste in landfills, posing a serious threat to the planet. We’re now on a course to hit “52.2 million metric tonnes, or 6.8 kg/inh, by 2021” (Global E-waste Monitor 2017). According to a report published by the World Economic Forum, if e-waste is not curbed, it will reach “120 million tonnes annually” by 2050. Only 20 percent of that is likely to be safely recycled, as most recycling processes fall short of environmental standards.

To learn more about the potential in digitally-enabled supply chains, visit MOQller Circular Supply Chain

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Businesses that adopt the new solutions enabled by digital transformation will have a game-changing competitive advantage over those that remain stuck in the old model of a linear supply chain. With the help of digital technology, those with excess inventory due to the suppliers’ MOQ can now list the surplus for sale early in the procurement process, maximizing agility and responsiveness, preserving inventory value, and eliminating e-waste and warehousing costs. That’s a major benefit both for businesses and the planet.

Read the complete article: A Circular Supply Chain: Better for Your Business and Our Planet Article at EMS Now

Download the complete article:A Circular Supply Chain Better for Your Business and Our Planet

Author: Margaret Au

Climate Change Is Calling for Our Action

A Circular Supply Chain: Better for Your Business and Our Planet

Causes and Consequences of Excess Inventory