Using Bamboo must have provided Dell some sort of an advantage. While going "green" is the right thing to do, I don't think Dell would switch to Bamboo if it greatly increased its packaging costs. Dell competes in a cut through market where every dollar counts, I bet they are realizing some advantage, not to mention press, from the switch.
What we don't know, however, is if this bamboo continues to be cut down, what effect will that have on the ecosystem? Are we solving one problem to simply create another?
"GREEN" "GREEN" The world is moving towards this one Dell has made by giving it a right start they have set a trend everyone may follow it soon. its amazing to know that bamboo is being used for packaging this idea should be taken forward in differnt ways. when it comes to awards i think it was really a great approach to allow voting procedures.
Yeah, I had the same reaction: a large company, working on a large scale, customizing something for a region or a client isn't terribly surprising. Customization is a pretty obvious service to sell. But a smaller company doing that --not just cleverly, but in a sector that will demand a lot of effort to fit into different contexts -- is nice to see recognized. The usual argument is that small is nice but can't scale very well. This seems like a refute to that.
Leaving the Dell and Bamboo aside I'm impressed by the aplication developed by the SupplyOn to manage all the supplier information online. This is one example where few small firms can make a huge difference and come out with some thing break through. But anyway the requirements and challenges may be different for the OEM's, so this application may need to be customised for different OEM's requirements.
Hardcore, Pandas should watch out anyway -- or, better still, man should watch out for Pandas -- and we are not talking here about the ones in the zoo. Just this week, there was a report that Siberian tigers could be extinct in 10 years if we fail to protect their habitat. Our activities do have impact on our environment and the ecosystem.
As far as the whole supply chain is concerned, though, companies have a vested interest in being "green" or being seen to be "green." Dell isn't using bamboo simply because it wants to be nice, it must be part of a bigger plan. This process involves a lot of delicate balancing between creating shareholder value (profit and higher stock price) and establishing high enough goodwill in the marketplace.
For now, most of the major OEMs seem to have decided it's all right to spend a few extra dollars just to not have environmentalists and animal activitists picketing their workplace. That's called doing good business while doing good by people. Convoluted statement? Yes, the whole green thing is that complex!
Negs, yes yes and yes. I suspect that a Chinese award doesn't necessarily imply Chinese bamboo. But certainly, any resource has its issues. You've likely read the kerfuffle over bamboo floors, which comes from the same cycle of "wow!-miracle material!-oh but wait a minute- what about this or that? -- you mean there's no silver bullet?" The important question here, IMHO, is whether what they're doing now replaces an older and less regulated practice with a newer and more thoughtfully designed one. I would suspect that Dell understands perfectly well their costs and benefits, and probably likes getting awards, but they like making money even more. Which suggests to me either that you're right, and they're not telling the whole story, or the award committee is right, and they really have figured out how to get a better profit margin out of a cleaner practice.
If it is anything like the "approved wood" system that is supposed to ensure that Illegal wood does not enter the supply chain in China, then the 'pandas' in that area better watch out.
Call me 'negative nancy', but I can foresee masses of peasants wandering about the bamboo areas stripping the material for the few RMB that they will get from a middle man, who will then illegally feed the material to a processing plant, so that the boss can claim the difference between the cost of 'real' material and what he pays to the middle man for the illegal material.
Jut how exactly do you 'tag' the source of a piece of bamboo?
Another step towards "GREEN" and use of natural materials to reduce polution. Its always nice to get recognized for effort. I hope the judges will in future have independent verification of the claim to make it more authentic and a beeter baseline for future reference. Congratulations to DELL!
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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