{"id":52019,"date":"2023-07-11T14:36:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-11T13:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abl-group.com\/abl\/?p=52019"},"modified":"2024-02-28T14:02:17","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T14:02:17","slug":"sustainability-in-materials-management-3-optimisation-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abl-group.com\/abl\/all-media\/blog\/sustainability-in-materials-management-3-optimisation-opportunities\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainability in materials management: 3 optimisation opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a world of growing environmental concerns, the pursuit of sustainable practices is spreading across various industries and areas, including materials management.<\/a> Faced with finite resources, growing amounts of waste, and increasing emissions caused by production methods, there has become an urgent need to reevaluate and redefine the way we handle materials across their lifecycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this blog post, we caught up with ABL’s Materials Team Technical Lead, Paul Mitchell, who discusses the role that sustainability plays in materials management, exploring the key ways sustainability can be integrated into materials management practices and how we can support you to build a sustainable materials management strategy\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"image1-2\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Do you think sustainability is an important topic in materials management right now?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is so much potential to bring sustainable practices<\/strong> into the field of materials management, and this should be a top priority for inventory and material teams across the globe – not only because of the positive impact it can have on a business and the wider environment, but also because of the growing pressure from external governing bodies to comply with regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever it\u2019s one thing to understand this importance, and another to take action that will fundamentally help achieve a lower carbon footprint across the supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf companies are willing to adopt the philosophy of sustainable materials management, they need to be open to delving deeper into auditing their own practices and those of external suppliers, identify changes that will have the greatest impact and embed sustainability into the culture of the entire inventory and materials team to drive this vision forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can sustainability be integrated into materials management?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are lots of ways sustainability can be incorporated into the field of materials management, with the first step requiring materials management teams to sit down and conduct a detailed analysis of the current procedures and processes in place throughout the supply chain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce an analysis has been conducted, it is then easier for management to identify areas for improvement when it comes to sustainability. This may involve looking at factors such as the centralisation of spare parts, CMMS data and the preservation of stock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Centralisation of spare parts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/strong>The centralisation of spare parts can be an effective route to reducing your company\u2019s carbon footprint. Not only can this strategy bring important benefits, such as reducing lead times for spare parts, increasing accuracy of spare parts data and reducing costs, there can be significant value gained from a sustainability perspective:<\/p>\n\n\n\n