Steve Ballmer once said that the number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. This applies to all aspects of life when thinking about all of the advances that have been made; people are falling in love over Facebook, companies are selling over LinkedIn, space companies are planning to send people to Mars in 2020, hospitals are performing surgeries with laser technology- all of this would be impossible without IT.
So what about the environment? If IT is responsible for such significant changes in the world can it assist with global warming? Yes. And this responsibility does not belong to NASA or Microsoft alone, but to every small, medium and large sized company that uses IT (which is pretty much most of the companies in the world). IT can make a significant difference in business activities. Streamlining business processes and increasing efficiencies do not only lead to increased profitability but also reduces a company’s environmental footprint.
Solutions, such as edocs, freightware, warehousing software, container software, RFID and dashboard technology all assist in reducing paper usage, decreasing waste, decreasing fuel consumption and increasing business efficiencies.
So what difference can companies make to help conserve the environment?
Reduce fuel consumption
While this might seem like a ridiculous suggestion in light of the fact that most, especially logistics, companies rely on transportation it is important to differentiate between needs and waste. While a company might need to do 20 deliveries a day, taking the wrong routes and not enforcing adequate fleet maintenance will lead to increased fuel spend which is not only bad for the environment but bad for business as well.
Implementing a fleet management solution could greatly assist with ensuring optimal routes and reduced fuel usage.
Reduced Paper Consumption
Excessive paper consumption is not only wasteful in terms of environmental resources, but it is also wasteful when considering a company’s time and finances. Owing to modern technology, manual stock taking ,order placing, tracking, tracing and labeling are no longer necessary. With IT solutions, such as edocs, companies can automate most admin processes which not only helps minimise their carbon footprint, but greatly increases business efficiencies through time and cost savings.