# 230: Processes like Zippers
By: Silke Schmidt
Tags: Liberal Arts, Supply Chain, Logistics, Ecology, Sustainability

Paksoy, Turan et al., eds. (2019). Lean and Green Supply Chain Management: Optimization Models and Algorithms.

Story behind the Passage

Somehow, the past always comes back to you. Or maybe you make it come back. Whatever you believe in — it does not matter. Just enjoy whatever life allows you to encounter. And for me, this currently is my love for processes again. When I did my industrial training almost 20 years ago, I fell in love with logistics and Supply Chain Management (SCM). Well, “fell in love” might be a bit exaggerated but at least, I really liked the field. I consciously chose to spend several periods in this field. I also had a very considerate and cool boss in that unit. That for sure added to the enjoyment. But I also really liked the work itself. It naturally appealed to my big picture thinking and my love for filling the gaps, i.e., filling gaps that cause a delay or some sort of inefficiency.

Back then, of course, sustainability was just some vague concept in the air. Especially since I worked for a company whose entire production was based on crude oil as raw material, there was not much thinking about “going green.” But maybe it was just me who did not pay attention to this. In any case, I loved working on the processes that made sure that the products would finally reach the customer. I wonder how I could forget about all this for such a long time. In the recent past, I have been so preoccupied with people issues and leadership topics that I hardly paid attention to these more hardcore oriented fields of business.

I just came to think of the topic again when a student mentioned how he optimized some processes at work. And I could really sense the fulfilment he felt because he actually achieved a positive impact by looking at the processes from a more agile perspective. Also ‘agile’ was not something that we talked about a lot when I was an apprentice. But I think, agile and many of the management philosophies that have become en vogue and pretty much standard now are quite intuitive for certain people with a certain way of thinking. All this made me pick some recent book about SCM today, especially since I think that sustainable supply chains are a perfect areas where people from the humanities can really make a difference in business with their holistic thinking.

My Learnings

“Corporations have started to realize that the implementation of lean, green and social practice have positive impacts on companies’ triple bottom line performance (economic, environmental and social).” Well, there is actually not much more to add to this except for the fact that I think, companies are really realizing this now. It is not just some nice-to-have stuff. It really makes a difference for business leaders to be aware that what they are doing every day has impact on the entire globe. I always give the virus as a good example here because it has shown us that global catastrophes ruin the life of everybody and you can only fight such a devil if everybody contributes his/her part.

Given that I had a completely different feeling about this ten or more years ago, actually, a lot has happened by now. I am not just talking about “green” stuff here, which most people erroneously equate with sustainability. I am especially talking about the social aspect which is mentioned above. I think that this turn towards holistic thinking as expressed in the “triple bottom line” will bring the humanistic turn to business naturally. There is no way around it. People will come to the attention of business leaders again, no matter how money-oriented they might be. I am not saying that people were not on their minds before. Still, I simply think that the global political awareness campaigns have actually done a lot already with respect to consciousness changing. Yes, the results are not at all “perfect,” yet, when it come to stopping climate change. But things are moving.

The question remains: What do I do then? Will my mission of bringing the humanities and business closer together be superfluous?

No, I actually think this would be the old way of thinking which gets you trapped. Because one thing is happening, it does not replace the other. You have to see everything in complementary ways — like a nice zipper where the different parts merge. This is also what a smooth process looks like if it is designed well. This will increasingly be needed if we want to be sustainable. Sustainable supply chains have to eliminate waste — not because it only hurts the business, because it hurts all of us. If we get that, then we will be on the right track. And opening up new pathways for these tracks is my passion.

The other question then remains: Where is my real joy? And where is the biggest contribution I can make with my love for processes?

Reflection Questions

1) Was there ever a point in your career when you returned where you started, just on a different level?

2) Where do you encounter the most inefficient processes in your work environment?

3) Do you believe that companies are really embracing sustainability to bring about a cultural change in the economy or is it “just” marketing? What makes you think so?