Global Supply Chain lecture given at Sheffield Hallam University
Written by Shannon Carnall – Student at Sheffield Hallam University
Recently, David Garlovsky joined Sheffield Hallam University as a guest lecturer to talk to the Global Supply Chain Management module students about his product, Inno-Therm®/Métisse®.
The main purpose of the lecture was to see how having a Global Supply Chain affects a small company such as Inno-Therm®/Métisse®, how the supply chain is managed and what problems they may face. David also talked about the organisation being a social enterprise so therefore what Corporate Social Responsibility the firm had, and how this has an impact on the supply chain.
Inno-Therm®/Métisse®’s key organisational focus is reducing carbon emissions throughout their processes, which they do in many ways. For example, in the manufacturing of Inno-Therm®/Métisse® insulation, 70% less energy is used than standard insulation. However, David’s main focus in the lecture was carbon emissions in the supply chain and how this can be minimised. Inno-Therm®/Métisse® does this by keeping their production and suppliers of recycled denim/cotton as local as possible to avoid unnecessary transportation which therefore keeps carbon emissions as low as possible.
As I am studying International Business, the lecture helped me to understand how a small organisation whose key goals are not those of a monetary value, for example keeping costs as low as possible by producing the product in less developed economies to avoid higher labour costs, but actually by having a responsibility to the environment gives them a very different product to those of their competitors.
I feel that David’s lecture was very helpful to me, as in the future I hope to set up my own small business and feel that I have a much better understanding of how a social enterprise can manage their supply chain without harming the environment and by having as low carbon emissions as possible.
Lastly, I would like to thank David for discussing his organisation with me, and for the knowledge he has provided me with, which I feel will benefit me highly when I come to start my own organisation.
