by Sindre, Iver, Maria, Margerita and Nicolo
Packing and shipping is an important step in the supply chain for dell. A company with the size of dell can leave a significant environmental footprint. Traditionally there is a lot of materials that are not possible to recycle easily and much of the packing is abundant. They are following a 3C strategy to try to reduce their impact on the environment. The Cs stands for cube, content and curb.
Dell’s “cube” goal is to reduce the packing size. In 2008 they announced that within 2012 they should reduce packing with 10%, and where able to reduce packing with 12.1 % as a result of new design. They also started with multi-packing to reduce the amount of packages sent. This effort to reduce packing has led to reduction in deployment time, transportation and storage cost. In the fiscal year of 2015 showed that sustainability and profits can be combined. Their strategy saved $53.1 million and reduced packaging with 14 million metric tons.
The content used is continually under assessment where they try to get materials that protect the product meanwhile reducing the negative externalities. They are using different local materials for different regions which reduce carbon emissions and are helping the local economy. They are using different eco-friendly and recycled materials. They are testing the implementation of mushroom packaging, which are using agricultural waste to produce packaging. They are leading with example as they are the first major company in their industry that is trying to implement this technology.
The last C is that Dell wants to make the packaging easier to recycle. They are offering different options for recycling of their products which you can find detailed information on their website. Their goal was to make 75% of the packaging recyclable at curbside, which they have met.
In addition, they are always evaluating their transportation and logistics so they can find better ways to deliver the products. They are for example trying to send more of with ocean-going cargo, since this reduces the fuel needed per product. Their Air-to-Sea initiative are reducing the emissions with more than 92% and in the fiscal year of 2016, 28% of shipments were via sea.
This is a small step towards the right direction and still requires more innovations and improvements. Dell is continually trying to innovate their materials and packaging. This is contributing to setting a good standard of how to package and ship for other large companies.
Sources:
http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/uscorp1/dell-environment-packaging-and-shipping?s=corp
http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/uscorp1/corp-comm/air-to-sea?c=us&l=en&s=corp&cs=uscorp1
BUS446 
I think this is a great initiative from Dell. One thing that is interesting about packaging from recycled material is how the value chain can become circular. Actually making packaging also attractive to recycle from the users point of view. Commercial companies have a lot to gain on this and is therefore also recycling. An interesting thing is for society to also create good recycling options for regular people.
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The thing I truly like about this is that they act as corporate leaders in the efforts to reduce packaging and waste. Also, this strategy seems to yield dual relative income: They save the environmental and internal costs, a which bears notion to the concept of shared value.
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Another benefit is that in this case the ability to recycle does not make the customers buy more. An often used argument against such things as clothes recycling is that it gives consumers a “clear conscience” when they do it and this makes them buy more clothes, so the problem doesnt really get resolved.
In this case, seeing as it is only the packaging it wont really have this effect, making it a clear cut all positive change.
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Definitely a step in the right direction. As Dell is such a frontrunner for making their packaging from recycled materials, it will be interesting to see if some of the innovations in the process of becoming more circular in the value chain, also will spill over on other parts of their productions as they now create a demand for new solutions.
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Packaging and shipping is two components that can make a business more sustainable and environmentally friendly, and at the same time more cost efficient. Therefore, it is easier to interest them in investments that include new packaging designs. We see this in multiple supply chains, as well as Dell. For example, IKEA has used a lot of resources developing their packages to include less space for air. This means not just less packaging to recycle, but it will also have a positive effect on the transportation and logistics part as you mention. They can now transport larger quantities and have a higher filling rate. I think it is likely to see more firms invest in smarter packaging for their business- as it is proven to be both cost efficient and environmentally friendly.
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This is great news! It’s no secret that electronics (especially computers) comes with a LOT of unnecessary packaging, and you always end up with a big pile of it. The fact that Dell are addressing these issues, by reducing packacking both for each product and for the large shipments of products, is really step in the right direction. In addition, the focus on using eco-friendly and recyclable materials is contributing towards a more circular economy. Dell is a major player in the business, and they could really set an example for other companies across industries, when it comes to packacing and shipment of products.
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This is a very positive step for Dell to try and reduce their carbon footprint and the negative effects that come from having an international business model where shipping is necessary. It will be interesting to see if other companies follow suit, especially companies that have been primarily focused on the aesthetics of their packaging, e.g Apple. Since Dell is such a large business in the computer world, this initiative from them will hopefully lead to other companies implementing similar goals.
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There is not much to comment that has already been said, and I agree with all of it. Harnessing new transport methods and the existing infrastructure in our societies has helped a lot of companies reduce their carbon footprint. Dell has gone from air to sea distribution, Nespresso is utilizing Europe’s vast rail network to transport their goods as opposed to trucks and there are more big players looking to innovate their distribution method to take advantage of a lower footprint method for transportation.
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Immediately this looks like a copy of IKEAs work, but as it reduces negative externalities and is profitable at the same time, Im all for it. Off course, every producer should try to reduce the transportation of air.
Im impressed by Dells efforts in circular economy thinking. I think the next step is integrating the system even further with for instance recycling companies, transportation companies etc, thinking in terms of creating more shared value for stakeholders.
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When a giant in its sector as Dell brings this kind of innovation, it may become a great opportunity for other minor companies to emulate it and, by doing so, trigger a positive ripple effect which would accelarate the transition to a less wasteful and more circular economy. Yes, it may remind to the IKEA’s work, but copy or not it doesn’t actually make the difference for the effect that such an initiative can have on the market. So yes, even if it’s not been a pioneer in doing this, still good move for Dell.
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