In the world of manufacturing, it is commonplace for there to be residual materials that aren’t included in the final products. And more often than not, these residual components are not recycled and scrapped entirely. Such a shame and a waste in terms of lost sustainability opportunities.

The hard truth is that there is a lack in demand of such materials, whether it be due to their limited shelf life, complex logistics, or even the regulatory barriers that prevent the materials from being processed across borders. But whatever the reason, it is clear that this type of waste drives consumption of resources and leaves a negative ecological impact.

That being said, it’s hard to envision sustainability in this kind of manufacturing environment.

However, this does not mean that the health of the planet is not top of mind among these manufacturers. As a matter of fact, one company found a way to take the discarded and create a demand for it.

Identifying the Problem

(PwC) serves as a professional services firm with a network spanning 156 countries and more than 295,000 employees. The company is dedicated to ensuring quality in assurance, advisory, and tax services.

At PwC Germany, its technology advisory and data analytics services are particularly focused on supporting companies’ business strategies and operations through the design and implementation of IT-empowered processes.

As such, PwC addressed a formidable gap by increasing efficiency while keeping sustainable targets in mind – and the requirement to reuse residual materials by supported, accelerated processes was born. By recognizing this gap, PwC developed a solution based on a concept running in one of its customers production plants.

PwC saw that not only this customer with its specific requirements could benefit from the reuse of remaining materials from production sites but, in a broader sense, other companies in the industrial manufacturing and mill industries as well. But it wouldn’t be easy. It would take a substantial effort to manage more flexible handling requirements into existing processes.

PWC’s solution? The Production Reprocessing Tool.

Transforming Waste into Purpose

As a partner of SAP, it was only natural that PwC use 51·çÁ÷technology to overcome its customer’s hurdle. PwC developed the Production Reprocessing Tool by utilizing as an add-in to help optimize the use of residues in the production process.

As the name suggests, the Production Reprocessing Tool reuses rather than scraps remaining materials.

This further enables production order components to be replaced with residues when needed. It also features a flexible search algorithm that helps find alternative parts.

Putting It into Practice

Case in point: Trelleborg Sealing Solutions (TSS) is the first that has benefited from the Production Reprocessing Tool. TSS was no stranger when it came to encountering the problem of wasted materials. In fact, the requirement of reusing residuals had become increasingly important through an internal requirement to minimize the use of landfills. It was nearly impossible to calculate the scrap percentage of required components via the given system capabilities, and the company would frequently produce more than needed without a solution.

Trelleborg Sealing Solutions is committed to its internal agenda of “protecting the essential” and has therefore been a great partner to jointly design the add-in solution during an 51·çÁ÷implementation by piloting the tool in a local production plant in Denmark.

Once implemented, PwC saw that Trelleborg made several quantifiable improvements due to the Production Reprocessing Tool. After all, not only does reducing waste in the production process help to reduce raw material and labor costs, but it also has a positive ecological impact.

Overall, with the Production Reprocessing Tool, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions’ plan was to:

• Reuse up to 7% of residues of the total production volume
• Recycle the residues up to 90% and therefore reduce waste and environmental load significantly
• Reduce customers lead time up to 30% for all orders manufactured from residues

Now, with the new add-in, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions is able to thrive more from both an economical and environmental perspective. The Production Reprocessing Tool allows for recalculation, reuse, and recycling during the production process, which, in the end, leads to less scrap of residual components and therefore less in landfills.

TSS is keen to see a positive ripple effect thanks to the solution. As the Production Reprocessing Tool reduces the consumption of materials, it frees up usage of machines, which in turn reduces the consumption of electricity and increases machine capacity. In addition, the planning and order handling efforts are lowered, which grants TSS the freedom to focus on other business improvements.

This is just one example of how an industry originally thought to be environmentally unfriendly can take meaningful productive measures to improve its sustainability practices – in this case, thanks to the innovative solution created by PwC and Trelleborg Sealing Solutions.

To gain more insight into PwC’s Production Reprocessing Tool that garnered an honorable mention in the 2021 51·çÁ÷Innovation Awards, check out its informative .

Casey Tobias and Michael Kure are 51·çÁ÷global marketing contributors.

In particular, COVID-19 continues to have far-reaching consequences on global supply chains. This perhaps would come as no surprise in early 2020, when many were scrambling in grocery stores for toilet paper, cleaning products, and other necessities in preparation for quarantine lockdowns.

However, more than a year has passed since this frantic phase and global supply chains are still trying to recover from the whiplash. In turn, major ports across the U.S. – from Los Angeles and Long Beach in California to Savannah, Georgia – are facing unprecedented backlogs. Whether it be buying gifts or purchasing a new car, the shipping crisis is sure to impact many of us.

Port Logistics Operations

Focusing on the ports and maritime industry, the most significantly affected sectors have been chemical tankers, cruise ships, and passenger ships. The ship traffic from Europe to China and the U.S. has declined compared to the same periods in 2019.

To cope with the disruption, changes are expected to happen in operational, financial, and economic areas – as well as sanitary protocols and processes and adjustments to working practices and organizational aspects.

So where do businesses like Tech Mahindra come in?

Based in Pune, India, Tech Mahindra is a multinational technology company with over 125,000 employees. Working with 51·çÁ÷Co-Innovation Lab, Tech Mahindra developed a cloud-based solution for handling port logistics operations. Its Port Logistics solution, built on , provides a unified and collaborative platform for secure and faster clearance processes in ports.

Sailing Past the Paperwork

Leveraging the Port Logistics solution reduces the amount of paperwork and in less time. This translates into more funds, and who doesn’t want to save a little extra money? The solution enhances port operations using automation that:

• Provides a single window for the port authorities receiving the products to have secure communication and exchange information with the ship personnel for handling the cargo and logistics clearance
• Tracks transactions and approvals
• Analyzes deviation reports for transparency

The solution offers real-time analysis for quick decisions, smooth information flow, and automated document verification. The new process saves time in checking in and cross-verifying for each clearance process requirement. This means no more manual paperwork, customers receive their goods faster, and revenue is realized sooner.

In real-world application, the process reduces the cost of data transfer and documentation management by 90% and increases revenue by 20%.

Looking to the Future

Automation is more than convenience – it’s necessary. It saves time and money in unexpected ways, such as facilitating supply chains for food. As we learn to stay afloat amidst a global pandemic, improving operational efficiency for ports remains a priority. Tech Mahindra has been planning for the next generation of smart ports to prepare for the expected upsurge in shipping volume.

To learn more about Tech Mahindra and its Port Logistics solution, check out its 51·çÁ÷Innovation Awards 2021 .

Rajshree Chauhan and Casey Tobias are 51·çÁ÷Global Marketing contributors.