Fact of the Month

Logistics represents 10.1% of US GDP. This compares to 22.3% in China and 17% in India. - Source: Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals

Feature of the Month: The Digital Supply Chain

In the age of illegal movie downloads and a slowing economy, movie studios based in Hollywood to Bollywood are looking for alternative distribution methods to protect their movie rights while increasing revenues. A number of different companies and services have sprung up to offer online distribution that addresses both of these problems and, in the process, have allowed studios to save green in multiple ways.

Studios are supporting online companies that offer pay-per-view models such as CinemaNow, and subscription based models such as Netflix in the United States and Lovefilm in Europe. Although these are a step in the right direction, studios are still concerned about piracy and DVD sale cannibalization. To combat this, they only offer specific movies to be downloaded and usually they are available for download only 28 days after the DVD release. On top of this, studios restrict the format you can download the movie in and make it difficult to transfer it between devices.

Online distribution is promising to be beneficial in many ways. First, it will help the environment. DVDs are made out of a combination of various lacquers and plastics which are not friendly to the environment during production or decomposition. Second, Infosys, a global IT giant, estimates it takes $1.00 to produce and distribute a DVD which will be saved by not creating physical DVDs. Third, online distribution minimizes inventory cost, another large cost in DVD releases. Releases are known to be extremely volatile and companies tend to over order the number of DVDs they need. This creates an inefficient inventory system and sometimes leaves the producers with a huge supply glut. Online releases will remove this excess supply and reduce the amount of fossil fuels used in logistics.

Studios are trying very hard to slow this process, but if music is any indication of the future, movies will soon be readily available in any format, at any time, and in anyplace consumers desire.

From the globalEDGE Blog

From global technology titan IBM to international discount store Walmart, companies all over the world are starting to realize that they can save money and help the environment at the same time. Read on to the globalEDGE blog to learn more about how DHL is increasing the number of their carbon-neutral shipments.

Featured Resources

Business for Social Responsibility
BSR is an organization that promotes social responsibility for companies of all sizes. It provides its members with a wide array of tools to design and successfully implement policies that are in line with social, economic, and environmental responsibility. Additionally, BSR provides news and analysis of current issues as they pertain to sustainable development, and training and advisory services for member companies.
Category: Social Responsibility

OutsourcingCenter
OutsourcingCenter is a portal for outsourcing information. The Center hosts free research, case studies, database directories, market intelligence, and content on emerging trends and best practices in outsourcing as a business solution. The Center also features a monthly online Outsourcing Journal and BPO Outsourcing Journal.
Category: Outsourcing

Featured Academy

Multinational Logistics
The Multinational Logistics module informs one of the circumstances dealing with the following: what logistics and supply chain are and how they differ domestically and internationally; the types of issues that are involved with international transportation; international inventory matters; warehousing and product storage topics and how international logistics augments these; and the management issues that multinational logistics creates.
Category: Functions

globalEDGE Business Review

"Sustainability, the Triple Bottom Line, and the Global Reporting Initiative"
by Paulette L. Stenzel (Volume 4, Number 6, pp. 1-2, 2010)

This article explores sustainability and the Triple Bottom Line, which is a tool used to examine the effects of business activities on the economy, social equity, and environment. It also discusses the Global Reporting Initiative GRI, an international program that provides metrics to measure practices that align with the Triple Bottom Line. A commitment to sustainability by businesses around the world is essential for our shared future.

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