Green Logistics And The Role Of ICT In Smart Cities - An Essay.

Green Logistics and its Benefits

Discuss about the Logistics Management on Reverse Logistics.

The below-presented report has been concentrated on the term Green Logistics and the prime objective of the presented review is critically describing the concept of green logistics for a business organization. Moreover, the second focal point of the review is ICT that is the information and communication technology. More focus is given on generating awareness for the role of ICT in green logistics and this point can also be considered as another objective of the review. The secondary means can be considered as the resources or the methodologies that have been used for executing research over the topic (Abduaziz et al., 2015). There are some potential benefits that will be attained by the business organizations in smart cities if they are making use of certain ICT applications in the organizational structure. The benefits are presented as a result of the findings. 

On the basis of the conducted research by Saroha, (2014), the term logistics has been recognized as an integrated management of all the business practices that are required to be executed for making the movement of the products or services through the process of a supply chain. And is also one of the biggest major contributors in the process of developing a region and making it a smart city. For a typical product or a service, the process of a supply chain is extended from a new material source through the manufacturing and distribution mechanism till the point of consumption and the associated reverse logistics. After executing a survey the author noted down that the term logistics is a broad concept and the logistical activities comprise of the business practices such as freight transport, inventory, material handling and also the other related activities to the information processing (Zhang et al., 2015). Moreover, the prime objective of this process is to make coordination of the practices so as to accomplish the customer expectations and that too at a minimum cost that will lead in economic development. In earlier times the expenses for this process were totally considered under monetary terms and but as the time has passed and the concern for environmental aspects has risen the business entities must take more account of the external costs of logistics related majorly with the climate change vibrations, accidents and different types of pollutions. And due to these operational changes the concept of Green Logistics was introduced and has been considered as a form of logistics which is calculated to be environmentally and in many cases socially friendly and in addition economically functional (Fernie and Sparks, 2014).  According to the author, the concept of green logistics is more concerned about the measuring and minimizing the environmental impacts of the logistics activities. These activities comprise of all the practices executed of the forward and reverse flow of products information and services between the between the point of origin and the point of consumption. Under this approach, the prime aim of the business entity is to create sustainable brand equity by making use of a balance of economic and environmental efficiency. Further the focus has been given on the development of Smart City by making use of Green Logistics. Cities and regions that are based on number of systems such as infrastructures, environments and networks are central to the operations and development.

Challenges of Adopting Green Logistics

The author has also noted down that the Green Logistics carries significance in the process of developing and advancing a city and transforming the city to a smarter one. . Logistics are considered as an important function of the modern transportation systems and transportation is one of the most integral component in the process of development of a region (Jabbour et al., 2016). Whereas, the traditional concept of the transport system is concerned with forwarding the distribution that comprises of transport warehousing, inventory management and packaging from the manufacturer to the end consumer. Considering environmental aspects available markets regions for reprocessing and dumping of waste materials and which led to the entire new sub-sector green logistics. A major form of new market has been introduced due to the insertion of logistics into recycling and the disposal of waste materials of all kinds that comprise of poisonous and perilous goods. Reverse distribution has been considered as a process under which the business entity is held liable and also takes the obligation of delivery of the products and services as well as take-back (Mwaura et al., 2016). And this also means that the business environment is taking environmental considerations throughout the production process or life-cycle of a product and this all will be proven beneficial for the city and will be aiding in the process of transformation.  

Further Saroha, (2014), also observed that the while making adoption of green logistics there may be chances of inconsistencies. The biggest problem with the concept is that the concept is supposed to be environmentally friendly but in reality, the process of logistics itself is not green because of pollution and pollution and waste generated from the same and that will be proven hazardous for the concerned region or the city. And hence the following mentioned are some of the paradoxes that arise during the adoption process of green logistics. The first aspect described by the author is about the expenses incurred by the business entity while manufacturing the products. The business organizations expect to have to minimum expenditure over the production process and also they are required to be green, but at the same time adoption of the approach for going green will be proven costly for a firm (Tepprasit and Yuvanont, 2015). The prime objective of logistics is bringing the reduction in transportation costs and he pursued cost-saving strategies are often observed to be at variance with the environmental considerations. Another aspect of the discussion is the time and flexibility. Under which the author observed that the modern combined supply chains and JIT provides adaptable and proficient corporeal schemes whereas on the other side the extended processes of production, distribution, and retailing models are consuming more space, time, energy and is also emitting toxic and hazardous pollutants. Reliability is another significant aspect that has been considered by the author for critically evaluating the concept of green logistics. Service reliability is one of the cores and significant component of the concept green logistics. The success of the concerned process is made focused and is based on the capability of transporting merchandise on time with the least threat of damage. But the least contaminating methods are generally recognized as being the least dependable in terms of on-time transfer and lack of breakage and safety (Kurowski, 2017). The mediums such as ships and railways have a poor reputation in terms of customer satisfaction and the logistics industry is developed around air and truck shipments which are known as the two least environmentally friendly mediums of transportation. E-commerce is one of the significant components in the process of green logistics and also one of the great factor and contributor in the development and advancement of a region. The introduction of e-commerce has been considered as an explosion in the field of information technology and that has led to new dimensions in the retailing e-commerce sector. However, changes in the physical distribution channels by e-commerce have resulted in higher level of energy consumption.

Role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Green Logistics

By analyzing the concept of green logistics it has been observed by Frehe and Teuteberg, (2014), that ICT (information and communication technology) is one of the biggest revolutions in the concept of green logistics and also an essential element in transforming a city to a smarter one. ICT plays an integral role in the logistics and same is with the green logistics process. The term ICT is referred to the technologies that are making provisions of access to the information or required data by utilizing telecommunications. The concept of ICT has been considered as similar to the term IT but ICT is more focused towards the communication technologies. As the term is a contemporary medium of communication , this will enable the individuals within a region to get smartly connected with the other regions and different corners all over the globe.The prime mediums used in this concept are an wireless networks, internet, cell phones and other communication means. In the last few decades, the concept of information and communication technology has offered the society a vast range of options and communication mediums (Sukitsch, Engert and Baumgartner, 2015). For instance, people can interconnect in real time with other individuals that are somewhere else in another corner of the world by making use of various mediums such as such as instant messaging, video conferencing, etc. Social networking websites are one of the greatest media that allows the individuals for remaining connected and can also interconnect on steady basis. A global village has been created by the modern data and statement skills in which the individuals are allowed to communicate with the other individuals.

Furthermore, the author is focusing towards the real-time benefits of the concept of ICT and also the role of this term in green logistics in developing and transforming a city to smarter one. ICT has been observed under developments as the time has passed and at present, this approach is one of the contemporary means for communication (Green et al., 2014). There is the number of applications that can be adopted by the business organizations for that are planning for green logistics processes. The two most potential benefits that will be gained by the business firms are presented as follows. The business entities are required to make use of applications such as KPI’s, benchmarking and monitoring applications. Impact of DSS (decision support system)is another major aspect of ICT that can be used by the business entity while developing green logistics process. The decision supporting system can be used by the business firm for route planning. And the impact of DSS has also been identified as a significant issue (Ramanathan, Bentley and Pang, 2014).

ICT Applications for Green Logistics

On the basis of the further research, the bifurcation of ICT has been done under some categories (Pålsson and Kovács, 2014). The classifications are SCM methodologies, buy coordination’s, warehousing, creation coordination’s, bundling, cargo and transport, dissemination coordination’s and turn around coordination and so on. In the marginally overwhelming the creator noticed that the land utilize and transport is more favored. A profound examination has been done of transport classification under the green coordination. From a biological and conservative perspective additionally inside the creative obtaining framework, there is slow down an extensive potential for the improvement of conveyance forms. In addition, by advancing warehousing structure and design, transport courses could additionally be managed and savvy stockpiling framework could control the stockrooms them-selves in a more effective and economical way (Jin and Cho, 2015). The idea like without a moment to spare conveyance can possibly green the creation coordination’s as they substantial stockrooms repetitive. Making utilization of supportable bundling is another method for simple to execute advance while in transit to green coordination.

Proposals have been made by the creator in these zones for demonstrating the recommended benefits. As a piece of the investigation, the creator needs to make the recognizable proof of the secured data and correspondence innovation (ICT) (Çetin and Solmaz, 2017). The creator accumulated the advances and frameworks to fundamental classes, for example, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi has been amassed excessively remote correspondence and mapped them, making it impossible to the sort of ICT. There is the number of regular issues that are said, for example, innovations like RFID, PDA or the web. (Kurnia et al., 2016) based on a more profound examination executed by the creator it h been displayed that the RFID is associated with the class turn around coordination’s while the advanced cell has been seen to be connected with the traveler transport.

Conclusion and future research agenda

After analyzing the above-presented literature review it has been inferred that the approach of green logistics is an environmentally friendly step in order to minimize or eliminate the negative impacts of the processes and operations executed throughout the logistics. Green logistics is an integrated management of all the business practices that are required to be executed for making the movement of the products or services through the process of supply chain and that to in an environmentally friendly manner. The focal point of the literature review is the role of ICT (information and communication technology) in the process of green logistics and thus enabling the city to get transformed into a Smart City. A detailed research has been executed for analyzing the significance of ICT in depth and the benefits attained while the process of development of a smart city.

Bifurcation of ICT Categories

References

Abduaziz, O., Cheng, J.K., Tahar, R.M. and Varma, R., 2015. A hybrid simulation model for green logistics assessment in automotive industry. Procedia Engineering, 100, pp.960-969.

Çetin, E. and Solmaz, E., 2017. Is ICT Integration A Magic Wand for Education? A Comparative Historical Analysis between Singapore and Turkey. Journal of Education, (12), pp.31-47.

Fernie, J. and Sparks, L., 2014. Logistics and retail management: emerging issues and new challenges in the retail supply chain. Kogan page publishers.

Frehe, V. and Teuteberg, F., 2014. The role of ICT in green logistics: A systematic literature review. In Information Technology in Environmental Engineering (pp. 53-65). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.

Green Jr, K.W., Inman, R.A., Birou, L.M. and Whitten, D., 2014. Total JIT (T-JIT) and its impact on supply chain competency and organizational performance. International Journal of Production Economics, 147, pp.125-135.

Jabbour, C.J.C., de Sousa Jabbour, A.B.L., Govindan, K., De Freitas, T.P., Soubihia, D.F., Kannan, D. and Latan, H., 2016. Barriers to the adoption of green operational practices at Brazilian companies: effects on green and operational performance. International Journal of Production Research, 54(10), pp.3042-3058.

Jin, S. and Cho, C.M., 2015. Is ICT a new essential for national economic growth in an information society?. Government Information Quarterly, 32(3), pp.253-260.

Kurnia, S., Hill, S., Rahim, M.M., Larsen, K., Braun, P. and Samson, D., 2016. Open food network: the role of ICT to support regional food supply chains in Australia. arXiv preprint arXiv:1606.01456.

Kurowski, M., 2017. Selected Environmental Aspects in the Context of the Concept of CSR in Logistics Companies. Economic and Environmental Studies, 17(44), pp.1003-1016.

Mwaura, A.W., Letting, N., Ithinji, G. and Orwa, B.H., 2016. Green distribution practices and competitiveness of food manufacturing firms in Kenya. International Journal of Economics, pp.189-207.

Pålsson, H. and Kovács, G., 2014. Reducing transportation emissions: a reaction to stakeholder pressure or a strategy to increase competitive advantage. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 44(4), pp.283-304.

Ramanathan, U., Bentley, Y. and Pang, G., 2014. The role of collaboration in the UK green supply chains: an exploratory study of the perspectives of suppliers, logistics and retailers. Journal of Cleaner Production, 70, pp.231-241.

Saroha, R., 2014. Green Logistics & its Significance in Modern Day Systems. International Review of Applied Engineering Research, 4(1), pp.89-92.

Sukitsch, M., Engert, S. and Baumgartner, R.J., 2015. The implementation of corporate sustainability in the European automotive industry: An analysis of sustainability reports. Sustainability, 7(9), pp.11504-11531.

Tepprasit, P. and Yuvanont, P., 2015. The Impact of Logistics Management on Reverse Logistics In Thailand's Electronics Industry. International Journal of Business and Information, 10(2), p.257.

Zhang, S., Lee, C.K., Chan, H.K., Choy, K.L. and Wu, Z., 2015. Swarm intelligence applied in green logistics: A literature review. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, 37, pp.154-169.