Researches on Establishment Model of Green Logistics System

TAO Jiange
School of Economics and Management, Zhongyuan University of technology, Zhengzhou, P.R.China,
450006
tjg8612905@163.com

Abstract: The good future of logistics is based on Green logistics. This paper departs from traditional
operations research procedures in that it tries to avoid detailed descriptions of both problems and their
solutions. The paper analyses the relation between sustainable development and green logistics, then
provide the model of green logistics system, and analyses the structure and apply of the model.
Keywords: Sustainable Development, Green Logistics, System

1 Introduction
The modern logistics, as the traditional logistics technique and sustainable development combination
model, is thought of an important profit headspring except for helping business of enterprise lower the
supplies consume and increase the rate production.
The good future of logistics is based on Green logistics. Logistics is the integrated management of
all the activities required to move products through the supply chain. For a typical product this supply
chain extends from a raw material source through the production and distribution system to the point of
consumption and the associated reverse logistics [1]. The logistical activities comprise freight transport,
storage, inventory management, materials handling and all the related information processing. The main
objective of logistics is to co-ordinate these activities in a way that meets customer requirements at
minimum cost. In the past this cost has been defined in purely monetary terms. As concern for the
environment rises, companies must take more account of the external costs of logistics associated
mainly with climate change, air pollution, noise, vibration and accidents. This research project is
examining ways of reducing these externalities and achieving a more sustainable balance between
economic, environmental and social objectives.
In supply chain of four flows, namely material-flow, business-flow, funds-flow and information-flow,
the material-flow is being promoted to unprecedented high degree, which is the foundation of logistics.
The real time and accuracy of material-flow is the necessary of the logistics success. With the
development of logistics science, environment has been evolved into its important and key research
objective. The environment in whole process of logistics has been being studied by various scholars.
Such environment is an emerging emphasis concept in logistics science. Now days, researches on
logistics are more loosely scattered and have not been developed into a systematic and scientific
environmental theory system [2].
This paper departs from traditional operations research procedures in that it tries to avoid detailed
descriptions of both problems and their solutions. In fact a goal of our analyses will always be to
determine what is the least amount of information that is needed to make a rational decision, and to use
the simplest approach possible to identify good solutions. These features of our approach can help
overcome the decision-makers' natural distrust of "black-boxes", and be quite helpful in instances where
time is of the essence. This is not to say that the more traditional detailed approaches to problem solving
should not be used; when time and information availability allow it, numerical detailed methods have
proven to be quite useful. Yet, even in these instances detailed solutions sometimes can be improved if
they are preceded by exploratory analyses as described in this paper.

2 Sustainable Development and Green logistics

2.1 Sustainable Development

Sustainable development, according to the World Commission on Environment and Development, is

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“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs." ["Our Common Future", 1987] sustainable development means:

finding ways to increase prosperity and improve the quality of life while reducing overall
pollution and waste;

meeting our own needs and aspirations without doing damage to the prospects of future
generations;

Reducing the environmental burden we put on our neighbors and helping to preserve common
resources.
In other words, the concept of sustainable development requires a change of mindset to bring about
full integration of the needs for economic and social development with that to conserve the environment.
It also requires the Government and all sectors of the community to work hand in hand in order to
achieve a sustainable future. [3]

2.2 Green logistics

The proposing of sustainable theory requests enterprise’s logistics activity change tradition model
which consumptions the massive energy, and produce the noise and the waste gas pollution. So the
concept of Green logistics was bought out. The development of modern logistics must consider the
environment question firstly, which needs make the improvement from the environment angle, namely,
needs to form a Green logistics. This kind of the Green logistics is profit for prompting global
environment, and which is based on sustainable development.
Green logistics is concerned with producing and distributing goods in a sustainable way, taking
account of environmental and social factors. Thus the objectives are not only concerned with the
economic impact of logistics policies on the organization carrying them out, but also with the wider
effects on society, such as the effects of pollution on the environment. Green logistics activities include
measuring the environmental impact of different distribution strategies, reducing the energy usage in
logistics activities, reducing waste and managing its treatment. In recent years there has been increasing
concern about the environmental effects on the planet of human activity and current logistic practices
may not be sustainable in the long term. Many organizations and businesses are starting to measure their
carbon footprints so that the environmental impact of their activities can be monitored. Governments are
considering targets for reduced emissions and other environmental measures. There is therefore
increasing interest in Green logistics from companies and governments [4].

2.3 Reverse Logistics

Along with environmental protection laws and regulations' releasing and enhancement of the people
environmental protection consciousness, the reverse logistics has displayed the great social and
economic value and caused the domestic and foreign theorists and the practical realm enormous
attention. The reduction of waste means that Reverse Logistics should be included within Green
Logistics.
There are various definitions of Reverse Logistics to be found in the literature. For example,
Fleischmann et al. (1997) say that reverse logistics is “a process which encompasses the logistics
activities all the way from used products no longer required by the user to products again usable in a
market”. Dowlatshahi(2000) explains Reverse Logistics as “a process in which a manufacture
systematically accepts previously shipped products or parts from the point for consumption for possible
recycling, remanufacturing or disposal”. Later, the European Working Group on Reverse Logistics,
REVLOG, Decker et al.(2004), give this definition: “The process of planning, implementing and
controlling backward flows of raw materials, in process inventory, packaging and finished goods, from a
manufacturing, distribution or use point, to a point of recovery or point of proper disposal” [5].

3 Establishment Model of Green logistics System

3.1 Analyses of Logistics System

Logistics, the subject of this paper, is defined here to be the science that studies how to convey items

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from production to consumption in cost-effective and environmental ways; some subjects of interest to
logistics managers such as reliability and maintenance are not addressed.
Besides transportation, a logistics system usually includes other activities such as inventory control,
handling, and sorting, which must be carefully coordinated if cost-effectiveness is to be achieved, which
include environment also. Yet, both in theory and practice these activities are often examined separately.
The operations research field includes sub-fields with specialized journals in inventory control,
transportation, warehousing, etc... Over the years, these sub-fields have evolved into disciplines that
have developed their own specialized conventions and jargon, as a result making it increasingly difficult
for researchers to communicate across disciplinary boundaries. Something similar happens in practice
when firms become compartmentalized; if responsibilities for different logistical activities are allocated
to different managers, decisions in Green logistics are difficult (if not impossible) to make.
This paper represents an attempt to examine Logistics System in an integrated way. By necessity, we
will not represent any of the activities as precisely as would be done in each one of the sub-fields, but
we will try to model them accurately enough to capture their essence. Our goal is to describe, and show
how to find, rational structures for Logistics System, including their operation and organization.

3.2 The Model of Green Logistics System

Integrated with traffic and transportation, storage and delivery, logistics industry realizes low cost
and high benefit in enterprises and society. Therefore, logistics industry, together with internet industry,
is looked on as the important content of "New economy", and it is widely known as the third profit
source and gold mine of the market. The Green logistics has been underlined by many nation and
researches accompanied the increasing attention on environment protection from the public. The paper
presents the model of Green logistics in brief under the establishing of the Green logistics which is
based on the environment protection and an implement strategy has been put forward. As follow:
(1) Green Supply Chain
The conflict among population, resource and environment requires the manufacturing to develop
environmental management strategies. The green supply chain management (GSCM) is an effective way
to solve the problem. The concept model of green supply chain is constructed, and strategic objects of
green supply chain management are analyzed based on sustainable development theory. The basic
principles of green supply chain management are discussed, which include the intergrowth theory, the
cycle theory, the switchover theory and the open system theory. [6]
(2) Green Production Logistics
The purpose of green production logistics is to ensure that each machine and workstation is being
fed with the right product in the right quantity and quality at the right point in time. The issue is not the
transportation itself, but to streamline and control the flow through the value adding processes and
eliminates non-value adding ones. Production logistics can be applied in plants. Manufacturing in an
existing plant is a constantly changing process. Machines are exchanged and new ones added, which
gives the opportunity to improve the production logistics system accordingly production logistics
provides the means to achieve customer response and capital efficiency.
（） 3 Green Transportation Logistics
The purpose of green transportation logistics is to reduce consumption of energy in transportation,
reduce discharge discard material and reduce transport tool occupancy road pass through effective
project and control materials circulation system. The green transportation logistics proposes strategies
such as strengthening management of routing; enhance loading, market operating and inter-management
based on the duration rising of cost.
（） 4 green packaging
The increasing of waste had impacted the sustainable development and packaging waste was an
important part of the solid waste. Green packaging discussed the whole process of packaging life cycle,
and put forward some measures which can make packaging waste minimizing, including laws and rules,
economic instrument and recycle system.
(5) Green Distribution processing
Distribution processing refers to goods from production to use the process, as required on packaging,

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segmentation, measurement, sorting, assembly, to pay the price stickers, labels affixed to pay,
commodity inspection, and other simple operations collectively. Distribution processing is characters of
production, but also the logistics departments can accomplish a great deal of profit in environmental
protection area. [7]
Green Distribution processing includes two major aspects: First, changing the consumer processing
to the focus professional processing, the firms dependent on the scale of operations to improve the
efficiency of resource use, reducing environmental pollution. Second, the logistics firm collects the
processing of scrap materials, to reduce pollution caused by the waste of the spread consumers
processing.
(6) Green Distribution Logistics
Green Distribution Logistics is great significance under buyer's market conditions. It is not just
simply door-to-door, and warehousing, classification, packaging, handling and transport rationalization
of its customers at the lowest cost; it more important provides a good service to win customers trust.
(7) Waste material logistics
Required by the sustainable development of resource, environment, society and economy, waste
material logistics should be paid much attention. The value of waste material logistics is increasingly
appearing. Waste material logistics has reverse and uncertain and complex features. Benefit-balance
principle, prior-control principle and system principle should be abode by in the management of waste
material logistics [8].

4 In Case
Aug 2005, Shanghai Petrochemical Company (SPC) successfully accomplished the implementation
of the green logistics system. This is the biggest change in logistics management systems in
petrochemical industry in China and the systems facilitated SPC stepping toward its vision of
“Advanced management, first-class of service, high efficiency third party logistics (3PL) company
which provides comprehensive logistics service”. Benefited from the new logistics management system,
the operation efficiency of SPC was highly improved.

5 Conclusion
Along with the thing flowing industry development, increased the new content in the green logistics,
which had the new ten major tendencies.
Changes the union by the opposition. In the traditional commercial logistics, the enterprise mostly
takes as the center, pursues the self- benefit, and therefore often makes the aspect which the enterprise
opposes. However in under the pursue bigger competitive power actuation, many enterprises starts in
each commercial circulation function the conformity, through the union plan and the work, forms highly
the conformity supply chain channel relations, causes the channel overall result and the effect large
promotion. [9]
Changes the relative value by the absolute value. The traditional finance appraisal will look only
some absolute values, the new appraisal method emphatically in the relative value creation, that is will
provide adds the value service in the channel, and in the value which the customer will increase the
enterprise may account for how many proportions.

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Distribution, 1993, 34(2):33-37.
[3] Giuntini Ron, Andel Thomas J. Advance With Reverse Logistics[J]. Integrated Warehousing &
Distribution, 1995, 36(2):73-77.

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