Earlier this year in North America the Transportation sector was identified as the single largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions.
Greener supply chain practices are in the spotlight now, with recent political, social, and regulatory pressure mounting to reduce waste and environmental impact. In August this year, the Paris agreement created a significant push for companies across all industries to scrutinize supply chains and logistics in order to implement greener practices.
Many consumers are using their buying power to compel companies to share their environmental efforts to earn back consumer support. With wider choice and information available on the company’s actions, many consumers are prepared to switch brands or products for more environmentally friendly options.
Supply chains are becoming more transparent and accountable for environmental impact and action, driven by consumer expectations and government policies.
While larger companies may look at undertaking massive overhauls of their operations to reduce emissions across a global network, for the smaller players handling one section of the greater supply chain, reducing environmental impact looks a little different.
Warehouse and Transport Management software provider CartonCloud is helping small-medium logistics companies to take steps toward greener practices by introducing small changes toward operational efficiencies.
“One key thing smaller logistics providers can do is to ensure they can track and provide data to partners, to ensure their footprint is measured,” said CartonCloud CEO and founder, Vincent Fletcher.
“Of course, reducing the use of fossil fuels is a big one, and for smaller companies who aren’t able to convert their fleet to electric vehicles, having the ability to optimize driver routes with a navigational map built into the TMS is a huge benefit.
“With a cloud-based system like CartonCloud, you can optimize routes, boost accuracy, and simplify various other workflows to make them more efficient, using fewer resources.
“For example, our mobile app can be used on any iOS or Android smartphone and paired with a Bluetooth scanner to introduce barcode scanning into your operations. This can easily boost accuracy across all areas of your business, reducing mistakes and meaning fewer orders have to be returned or repeated by your company at a loss.”
Mr Fletcher said their powerful software was designed specifically for smaller companies, giving them the tools they need to start optimizing operations straight away.
The intuitive software offers customers access from desktop, tablets and smartphones, allowing them to optimize operations across all areas through one, easy-to-use system.
“For companies looking to reduce waste — be it for profit or the environment, our software lets you do that with ease. You can use barcode scanning for all incoming stock, to locate inventory in the warehouse, for pick and pack, and to identify and allocate orders to shipping,” Mr Fletcher said.
“We’ve also seen significant interest in optimizing last mile delivery through the mobile app’s ability to simplify cross-docking practices, providing accuracy alongside speed and simplicity.”
As an integrated warehouse and transport management system, the software provides seamless data flow between operations and a unique level of control and flexibility for 3PLs to track and automate data, he explained.
“What it means, is these businesses can have control over how they operate, and can find ways to streamline their operations, saving money and resources, and reducing wasted miles, fuel, or packaging along the way.
“From picking orders in the warehouse, to optimizing driver routes based on a preferred start location, the fastest route, transport zones or other factors, the business cna have control over how they want to streamline tier own business operations — and that’s so important to build long-lasting, sustainable practices.”
Mr Fletcher said the team at CartonCloud ensures they work closely with customers and industry partners, while drawing on their own team’s expertise to ensure the design, use and functionality of their software is easy-to-use and intuitive for logistics operators.
“We are logistics people too, and that experience and passion sets us apart.
“I first created the initial code for CartonCloud from the back room in a 3PL I was running with my business partner. We couldn’t find an operating system that did what we needed for our logistics business, so we built it ourselves. Now we have almost 500 customers worldwide and counting.
“It means a lot to us, when we hear from our customers how they no longer have lost boxes, how they have higher picking accuracy and lower pick/ pack timeframes — or how they have implemented cross-docking for faster last mile delivery, and more, all thanks to our software.”
If you want to know more about capturing data and optimizing operations with our cloud-based warehouse and transport software, you can book a free demonstration of the software.
