SDCExec.com |

Waltham, MA — April 1, 2009 — Supply chain solutions provider ModusLink Global Solutions has rolled out a new offering aimed at helping companies reduce the environmental impact of their supply chain processes.

The Sustainable Solutions Suite was designed to deliver maximum sustainability at the lowest total cost across the end-to-end supply chain network, ModusLink said. The suite encompasses a range of services from package design to network optimization and simulation, to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) footprinting.

Sustainability within the supply chain has migrated from a goodwill philosophy to an expected market condition. In a 2007 survey by the nonprofit group Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) and Packaging Digest magazine, 73 percent of 1,255 respondents who are involved in packaging reported that their companies had increased the emphasis on sustainable packaging. However, most of the attention has been focused on minimizing the carbon footprint through creative transportation, alternative fuels and sustainable packaging efforts.

ModusLink said it takes a holistic approach to its supply chain solutions and has applied that same methodology to its sustainability efforts by developing solutions that reduce all GHGs rather than just the dominant element of carbon. This holistic methodology also enables clients to see the positive impact sustainability can have on the bottom line.

"A common misconception that plagues sustainability programs today is that implementing more sustainable processes translates to an increase in cost, when in fact it can significantly reduce the total landed cost of a product," said Ryan Humphrey, director of professional services for ModusLink. "ModusLink is working with many clients to look at the entire supply chain network and identify offsets at every step. By considering things such as GHG emissions during manufacturing and logistics, along with package design, material costs and recycling of returned products or parts, many companies can achieve a cost savings."

ModusLink said it has the necessary tools, expertise and connections to identify the right solutions for clients, including leading assessment and design software, existing relationships with sustainable materials suppliers and an in-house team of sustainability experts. The company currently is beta testing the SPC's Comparative Packaging Assessment (COMPASS), an online software tool that allows packaging designers and engineers to compare the human and environmental impacts of their designs. ModusLink also is a member of the Wal-Mart Stores Packaging Sustainable Value Network.

The suite of sustainable solutions from ModusLink includes:

• Sustainable Packaging — Using the Wal-Mart Sustainable Packaging tool and the soon to be released SPC COMPASS, in conjunction with other industry-standard tools, ModusLink measures and analyzes the amount of carbon emissions of various packaging types and provides customers with feedback as to whether or not their traditional packaging is "eco-friendly." ModusLink also uses a "4D methodology" to model current packaging design along with multiple new variations for the client to consider that compare labor, material pallet density and carbon emissions.
• Optimized Configuration — Reviewing an organization's end-to-end supply chain helps customers understand how each part of the supply chain affects GHG emissions. Integrating the Network Optimization and Simulation service into the sustainability program helps optimize for GHG/carbon emissions and helps companies understand how GHG/emissions affect all other costs in the supply chain.
• GHG Optimization — Offering expertise and tools to measure and analyze each tradeoff, including carbon emissions for logistics and all GHG emissions for operational activities — as well as the capability to assign value to carbon credits — ModusLink is able to provide customers with recommendations on a sustainability program that fits their specific needs and geography.