Think of the word “sustainable” and what springs to mind? For many, it means being “green,” and accepting the need for more careful use of increasingly limited natural resources. More specifically, it is a word synonymous with energy renewal and efficiency programs, harnessing the power of the sun, water and wind.
Let me offer another word to consider—“ collaboration.” Perhaps you would associate this with something that consultants and “centers of excellence” departments are responsible for —a collective determination to reach an identical objective—by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus.
Which brings us to the concept of “sustainable collaboration,” recently introduced in MHI’s Solutions Groups meetings during the 2015 MHI Annual Conference, with goals directly aligned to the U.S. Roadmap of Material Handling & Logistics. Sustainable Collaboration in business is found in both inter- and intra-organization, and ranges from the simplicity of a phone call between peers and customers to the complexity of forming groups within a trade organization; all paths are fair and equitable ways of coordinating different ideas from many experienced people within the entire supply chain ecosystem
to generate innovative ideas and
solutions to complex problems.
By David Schwebel, MHI manager of Solutions and Product Groups