About two years ago, Ricoh ended up at BigMile through various searches. Their goal was to produce twenty percent less CO2 by 2030, compared to 2015. A goal that is in line with the Paris climate agreements (95% less CO2 emissions in 2050, compared to 1990). “Then, of course, we need to know where we stand.” – went to Stef Jacobs’s mind at the time (Supervisor Transport at Ricoh Europe). And BigMile was, of course, able to fulfill that wish.
However, BigMile was just getting started two years ago. The two organizations therefore entered into an open discussion. “Internally we had already been working with Excel files.” -Jacobs explains. The logistics organization soon turned out to be too complex to keep reporting their emissions this way. Together with BigMile, they made a sketch of what they needed, what they already had available at that time and where they were going wanted to work.
Calculate your CO2 reduction with own data
At first Ricoh started with the data they had available at the time to see whether the BigMile team could work with it. It turned out this was not enough to be able to perform a good analysis, so they asked what data the carriers could deliver. That turned out to be a bit more complex than expected. “We had to chase them a lot. And sometimes the right data was not delivered either.” – Jacobs says. So they decided to take a step back and start working with their own data again.
Ricoh has worked with their WMS (Warehouse Management System) to find out what is transported from where to where in order to calculate the distance between the two locations. Both inbound and outbound, for all goods they transported. Together they managed to use this raw data to write a script that transforms the data into data that BigMile could work with. “It took a lot of time to fine-tune this data and make it work. But the moment it was done, it was very good.” – Jacobs indicates.
Detailed insight into CO2 emissions
Adding to their own data had positive results: “What we saw is that you could zoom in on specific customers and areas where there’s a bad efficiency.” – Jacobs says. By being able to zoom in on customer level with BigMile, you are able to see where there are peak levels in CO2 emissions. That is what Jacobs likes about BigMile: “You can measure your CO2 emission at detailed level.” This option allows you to investigate where peak levels might have come from and how to lower them.
At the beginning, the company’s focus was mainly on increasing the service level and reducing costs. But reducing CO2 emissions has now taken on a more prominent role at Ricoh. It helps them spot where the most emissions are created and gives them food for thought, Jacobs explains: “This allows us to critically examine our transport to certain countries and possibly opt for a different modality.”
Ricoh continues to actively work with BigMile. “With the help of BigMile, we are able to see if we are on target.” – Jacobs says. With BigMile they are looking at how they can achieve their goal to produce twenty percent less CO2 by 2030. And of course, at BigMile, we sincerely hope that the insights we give them helps Ricoh to achieve their goal as quickly as possible.
