Welcome to the first edition of Supply Chain Standard, the new name for Logistics Europe. Supply Chain Standard will continue the market leadership that Logistics Europe has established over the last 14 years.
I very much hope that you will enjoy the creative design and the many new editorial ideas, features and sections that have been incorporated into its modern format.hange over the last few years.
In this re-launch issue, several key themes that are rising to the top of the supply chain agenda, are making national headlines too.
The ground-swell of support for greater control of carbon emissions has, at last, gained political momentum, propelled by consumer concern over such issues as ‘food miles’, ‘carbon footprints’ of manufactured products and energy wastage. We have all experienced at first hand the notable extremes in climate change over the last few years.
Professor Martin Christopher of Cranfield School of Management writes on page eight in this issue of the need for companies to be aware of their carbon footprints and that reducing the carbon footprint is not just ecologically sound but increasingly makes economic sense. He is presently conducting research into the true cost of global sourcing, which will be reported in Supply Chain Standard later in the year.
Flying in the face of global warming and the need to reduce carbon emissions is the explosive growth of globalisation. With manufacturing moving at an alarming rate to low cost economies (see Chris Lewis’ article on global manufacturing, page 26), we are left thinking: How doesthis sit with sustainable sourcing strategies? Corporations would do well to consider the full supply chain costs of sourcing goods from afar and be mindful of the ‘carbon footprint’ created.
