Project Guideline/Expectations

Technology: Biodegradable Packaging

Note: Given AMR questionnaire is just or reference and the requirement is for Biodegradable Packaging Technology in which it needs to cover all possible probabilities of supply chain phases as given in AMR example.

Scope and requirements of the Project: Should investigate on a technology to determine (1) what it is, (2) how it is currently being used by supply chains to increase sustainability and (3) other potential benefits of the technology for improving sustainability.

Phase 1: Identify, define and provide background on the technology

• Clearly state what your chosen technology is (be careful not to confuse it with other technologies and not to deviate from the technology you've identified within the paper)
• Give a brief description of what the technology does, how it operates, basic functions it is able to perform, etc.
• Possibly:
  • provide brief history of the technology
  • discuss top manufacturers/producers of the technology
  • note the size of the current and future markets for the technology - or growth in recent years

Phase 2: Discuss how the technology is currently being used within supply chains to provide sustainability increases and characterize those sustainability increases

• Discuss which activities within a supply chain this technology performs or aids in executing
  • In calling out the activities, you should also note what portions of the supply chain rely most on this technology (sourcing, production, warehousing, transportation, retailers, etc.)
• Provide companies/industries that currently utilize this technology
• Select some impact categories and discuss how the function of this technology increases sustainability through those impact categories (e.g., does it use less fuel leading to lower CO₂emissions? Does it lower water usage? If so, how?)
  • You should select at least 4
  • One of those could be a social impact
  • You should not include financial impact here (those motivations should be obvious)

Phase 3: Discuss how the technology could be used in new ways within the supply chain to increase sustainability (either now or in the near future)

• **you may not have as much for this phase depending on the technology selected. That is fine - just make sure the other phases account for this.
• Discuss ways in which this technology could be applied in other areas of a supply chain
  • This could be as the technology stands today or within industries where it is already used
  • This could be as the technology is projected to be in the near future (i.e., if the technology gets this new added capability, then we could....)
  • This could be applying this technology to new areas within the supply chain or to industries that don't seem as obvious

EX: Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs)

Questions to address

Phase 1

• What are autonomous mobile robots?
• How do they operate?
• Are there various kinds?
• What specific tasks of value can they perform in a supply chain? (e.g., in a warehouse, stockroom, loading dock, distribution center, etc)
• Are there any major companies that produce them?
• Can you determine what the industry for them is currently worth or projections of their value in the future?

Phase 2

• Are there any companies or industries that currently rely heavily on AMRs?
  • How are those companies/industries making use of the AMRs?
  • What tasks do they perform for a company or within a supply chain?
• At what points in the supply chain are they most valued/most used currently?
• What do they save a company in terms of resources (think environmental/social NOT financial - financial motivations should be obvious)
  • Do they take on tasks that humans typically don't like or frequently make errors performing?
  • Do they take up fewer resources to operate than the humans who used to perform their job?
  • Can you think of ways in which the tasks performed by AMRs save:
    • Energy
    • Fuels
    • CO₂ emissions
    • Water usage
    • Electricity
    • Land usage
    • Etc
  • Can you think of ways in which the AMRs might make for a better work environment?

Phase 3

• Are there other supply chain functions that AMRs could perform that they are not currently being utilized for?
• What does the near future look like in terms of innovation for AMRs?
  • Will they be able to do something more for supply chains in the near future?
• Could AMRs be used differently than they are today to provide larger sustainability increases?