This capstone project studies the methods to effectively calculate scope 3 emissions for the packaging boxes of Dell Technologies. The study emphasizes that all sustainability elements are interconnected, and trade-offs need to be considered to optimize overall sustainability in packaging. The model answers questions such as the relationship between material...
Our project analyzes the trade-offs between costs, service level, inventory strategy, and CO₂ emissions in a global food and beverage retailer's current network design. We analyze the network design of a perishable product and evaluate which levers or variables can change (transportation mode, suppliers’ locations, inventory) in their existing network...
Nanostores, small family-owned businesses, are a critical component of the Mexican economy, providing employment and acting as major customers for consumer-packaged goods companies. Our capstone paper presents a study of innovative business models aiming to help nanostores survive and grow, at a time when the Mexican economy is projected to...
Global warming is a reality. According to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Earth’s average temperature may increase by another 1.5°C to 2.0°C in the next thirty years, causing extreme weather, deteriorating air quality, depleting resources, and disrupting economies. By 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people worldwide may...
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ecommerce share of retail has grown at an accelerated rate, increasing the number of home deliveries and delivery speed expectation from customers. Moreover, demand variability over the year and delivering a wide variety of products in terms of weight and volume has...
As part of Agenda-2030, the United Nations developed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the objective of achieving a better and more sustainable future. One of the key drivers for reaching this objective is to lower carbon emissions globally. In line with the carbon SDGs goals, the United Nations Children’s...
Order fill rate is a critical performance metric in retail supply chain operations. Retailers use it to ensure deliveries received from their suppliers are in full quantities as per order. The retailers levy fines on suppliers that fail to comply with the metric. C.H. Robinson has a division that provides...
According to an OECD report, micro and small enterprises (MSEs) constitute 99.5% of all firms in Latin America and employ approximately 60% of the LATAM population. However, despite their economic and social importance, MSEs are subject to high failure rates, primarily stemming from low productivity, lack of managerial skills and...
The year 2020 marked an unprecedented worldwide growth in e-commerce driven mainly by the COVID- 19 pandemic. The lockdown restrictions created significant spikes in the demand for several products causing severe disruptions throughout the supply chains. The pandemic created significant challenges for companies to maintain efficiency in the supply chain...
Apart from health impacts, the coronavirus pandemic brought many economic challenges for mi- cro and small enterprises (MSEs), especially in Latin America, where they account for most of the firms. For these cash-constrained companies, the combination of lower sales, higher costs of supplies, and ad- vanced payment consumes cash and...
The sponsor company for this capstone has a complex logistics network due to the fact they use a service model for their products. Their products use advanced technology to service water, wastewater, oil, and gas pipelines across the world. This requires managing the movement of these products from their inventory...
In developing countries, small mom-and-pop grocery stores called nanostores are one of the main grocery market channels. Cash constraints are a severe issue that affects these small businesses, preventing them from buying enough inventory to meet client demand, and forcing them to reject orders from suppliers due to a lack...
Consumer preferences are driving changes within the retail space. E-Commerce is growing rapidly and there are increased pressures on companies to be environmentally friendly, yet still cost-competitive. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance for retailers to adjust their distribution network to accommodate these new customer preferences. Four key steps...
The containerized ocean freight market has been very volatile due to overcapacity and several disruptive changes. As a global ocean freight forwarder, C.H. Robinson hopes to improve the predictability of the spot ocean freight rates, especially on the Transpacific Eastbound (TPEB) lanes which represent its largest trade volumes. Therefore, this...
The freight industry creates 8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions through shipping. If companies measure precisely, they can begin the benchmarking process toward improvement. The Global Logistics Emission Council (GLEC) provides a current consolidated Framework for calculating carbon emissions for freight transportation. Uber Freight, a third party software platform...
In Latin America, micro, small, and medium firms represent about 99% of businesses and more than 70% of employment, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Despite their number, these firms face a low survival rate: per the Small Business Administration, only 50% are still in business after...
Ocean freight forwarding on the China-to-U.S. lane is a key service that C.H. Robinson, the sponsoring company, offers to the firm’s international clients. The rates on that lane have experienced volatility in the past few years which led to uncertainties to the future pricing trend. A statistically predictive model that...
More than 99% of the companies in the world are micro, small, or medium size enterprises and account for ~70% of the jobs, on average, in OECD countries. However, due to a lack of productivity, among other factors, only a third of them survive beyond 42 months. This paper explores...
In recent years, ecommerce has been expanding at an increasing rate. Many retailers are making efforts to improve their channel integration to enhance the order fulfillments for their customers. Therefore, companies often see network optimization as a key element within the ecommerce building. At the same time, more companies are...
Traditionally, female business owners have been believed to have relative disadvantages in operating businesses compared to their male counterparts especially in developing countries. This study examines whether gender difference affects the cash management efficiency of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Latin America. Cash conversion cycle (CCC), the metric which...
The transportation sector is one of the two principal contributors to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and its contributions are expected to double by 2050. Growing consumer demand for home deliveries with high service levels at low costs is quickly becoming the standard. As a result, retailers are transforming their supply...
The United States beer industry operates, by law, under a three-tier distribution network. MillerCoors [SAC1] has made the strategic decision to open distribution centers across the United States to handle complexity while maintaining service levels. Opening new distribution centers, and introducing a new tier to the supply chain, requires MillerCoors...
Due to the use of petroleum-based fuel, the transportation sector is one of the two principal contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and its contributions are expected to double by 2050. Freight sector contributes to around 30% of all transport related CO 2 emissions. Since different type of vehicles exhibit different...
The growing trend of e-commerce has led to new ways of selling and delivering products, resulting in increasing scale and complexity of last mile home delivery. The drive to provide convenience to consumers has led companies to offer faster delivery times. As a result, companies have focused on facility location...
Micro and small firms represent the largest percentage of the businesses operating in Latin America having a high employability contribution and a high potential Gross Domestic Product (GDP) impact on the region. However, depending on the context of the country, region and sector nearly one out of four companies fail...
