Warehousing in India has flourished with the rise of eCommerce and D2C businesses. And as we proceed towards the last holiday season of the year, there are more and more deliveries for Santa to make. However, it is the need of the hour for Santa to make product deliveries the “green” way.
Warehouses are a significant source of emission of greenhouse gases and carbon footprint of the supply chain sector is on the rise. These emissions are generated from the heating, cooling, and lighting practices in addition to the excess use of paper and wastage of excess inventory.
As the demand for warehousing in India increases, so does the need for more environmentally friendly warehouse solutions. Hence, with incremental growth in the sector, warehouses ought to take a step further towards green warehousing.
What is Green Warehousing?
Green warehousing is a management concept that involves integrating and executing eco-friendly practices, with the intent of reducing a warehouse’s power consumption, electricity costs, carbon footprint, and greenhouse gases. In addition to managerial practices, green warehousing also consists of implementation of systems, tools, and devices to help warehouses to go green. Technological advancement plays a crucial role in green warehousing storage in India, as overdependence on managerial practices causes too much pressure on human resources.
Here are some effective ways to make warehousing and logistics in India go green:
High-efficiency lighting:
Warehouses can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using LED (light-emitting diode) lights, which consume less energy than incandescent lights. LED lighting is durable and efficient as it conserves energy while also saving money. Though LED lights are expensive initially, they offer longer life, high efficiency, and fast reaction time. They reduce heating, which eliminates several other problems.
Additional energy-saving measures include sensors and natural tube lighting. Sensors track room occupancy to save energy when rooms are not in use, while natural tube lighting can help cut daytime energy consumption by providing more visibility.
Solar Power:
Solar energy is perhaps the cleanest renewable energy source that reduces carbon emissions, lowers costs, and regulates electricity consumption. Solar panels that save energy (also known as PV panels) are becoming more popular as they help optimize energy. Most warehouses have broad, flat roofs that are excellent surfaces for mounting solar panels to generate electricity. At the same time, India is one of the best places to install solar systems due to its natural abundance of sunlight and strategic location in the tropical zone.
Paperless Operations:
Another green approach that improves supply chain sustainability is by reducing the usage of single-use paper in warehouses. With paperless dock management and handheld technologies, warehouse paper usage can be considerably reduced while boosting efficiency. Warehousing in India must opt for digital practices of order picking, barcoding, and radio frequency identification (RFID) to reduce redundant paper consumption. Advancements in technology can be tapped and use of single-use papers can be minimized to a great extent.
Better Inventory Control:
A warehouse management system (WMS) enables the digital coordination of retailers and warehouses, as well as shipping and transportation. Green warehouses can run with the optimal amount of stock with inventory control provided by a WMS, minimizing superfluous inventory and optimizing storage space.
Takeaway:
Today, millennial consumers are aware of the environmental impact of their buying habits and are actively looking for greener ways. Along with eco-friendly products, sustainable supply chain practices are always an attraction for such consumers.
At the same time, green warehousing processes benefit logisticians abundantly by reducing losses on energy, redundant resources, and deadstock. Hence, warehousing in India necessitates greener practices.
AAJ Supply Chain Management
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