A significant majority of consumers (79%) are changing their purchase preferences based on sustainability, and they will scrutinize the actions taken by organizations to separate those companies that are truly committed to sustainability from those that are “greenwashing.”

The pandemic has reinforced these preferences, as more than 65% of consumers say they’re more cautious about the scarcity of natural resources, and they’ll be more mindful about the impact of their overall consumption in the “new normal.”

CEOs and business leaders are feeling the heat to adapt. More than 93% believe consumers are likely to hold businesses accountable for their environmental impact.

If your organization isn’t already taking action, here are three key areas where — by rethinking product lifecycle, reverse logistics and resource optimization — logistics companies and service providers can introduce sustainable change. 

Product Lifecycle Management

In a servitization model, where the service provider offers state-of-the-art maintenance, businesses can take the transactional customer-business relationship past the point of sale into the utilization of products and services. This provides an opportunity for companies to have more control over product lifecycles and ensure products continue to work optimally for customers. Service providers can take time to identify points of obsolescence, and remit, recycle and rebuild products to lower the bottom-line and keep hazardous materials out of landfills. However, companies would not be able to adapt this circular approach without technological support.

Technology plays an integral role in product lifecycle management. For instance, manufacturers embracing a servitized model can rely on enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to help them maintain, recondition, recycle and support the product over an extended lifecycle. 

The software can incorporate environmental footprint management tools to capture the environmental footprint of the product over its lifecycle and present information for decision support. This can include the percentage of post-consumer waste used in a product and will help manufacturers see where they can maximize the reutilization of components and preempt sustainability challenges. The ability to unite operations in a single platform allows businesses to be fully accountable and responsible for implementing sustainable practices across the entirety of their business.  

Returns and Repairs

Reverse logistics is more than parts management in reverse — it’s a microcosm of service in and of itself. For most service firms, it involves removing an asset or part from a customer, the act of repair or replacement, and then getting that part back. But with the advent of the circular economy, more companies are challenged with managing this complex process. 

When customers’ scrapped parts are returned, remitting them appropriately becomes a new challenge. Businesses must now consider what internal materials must be sent where, what is recyclable and how non-recyclable materials can be safely disposed of so they don’t end up in a landfill. Service companies essentially now hold the levers of the recycling process for customers with support from a cohesive suite of ERP, enterprise asset management and field service management.

To manage the repair-remittance cycle, businesses can use IoT-enabled sensors to automate everything from re-ordering to organizing returns and replacements. This collection of data enables focused asset management, which helps businesses avoid costly unexpected breakdowns and the associated cost of spare parts and service engineers. 

ERP software, on the other hand, can help businesses manage the return of scrapped parts by taking into account the new return considerations. These can range from managing the various methods of recognizing returning inventory, including return material authorizations, to keeping track of material returning from field service reverse logistics channels as technicians service equipment and replace parts or components. Greater control over this process allows businesses to drive efficiencies and identify opportunities to implement more sustainable practices.

Resource Optimization

The relationship between waste and reverse logistics is clear, but managing waste is equally important for planning and scheduling optimization. This level of optimization powered by artificial intelligence goes beyond auto-scheduling and part recommendations, to be a launchpad for sustainability. True best-in-class optimization systems have multi-time horizon planning built-in to provide organizations with the tools to cover all elements of the service delivery process and fix business inefficiencies. 

From real-time daily planning to long-term strategic planning, businesses can rely on this optimization engine to automate repeatable tasks, provide real-time resource adjustments that are scalable to meet the number of technicians in a service firm, and provide planning insights for a day, a season, a year or whatever unit of measurement that is required. Specifically, optimization systems use complex algorithms fed by vehicle, job and location data to reroute technicians based on appointment, workforce and external changes. This can minimize drive time, time from ticket to invoice, appointment time and stockouts — helping businesses mitigate carbon footprints, reduce fuel consumption and truck numbers on the road.

Marne Martin is president of service management at IFS.