{"id":26052,"date":"2017-11-15T22:25:38","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T03:25:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\/"},"modified":"2017-11-15T22:25:38","modified_gmt":"2017-11-16T03:25:38","slug":"do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Know Where Your Papers Have Been? 3M Does."},"content":{"rendered":"

3M’s Global Supply Chain <\/strong><\/p>\n

Over the past 100+ years, 3M has amassed a massive global supply chain selling over 30 billion dollars with of products in 200 countries from plants and distribution centers in 50 different countries in 2016 [1] [2]. They have been widely recognized for their innovative and successful supply chain operations and are currently number 12 on Gartner\u2019s Supply Chain Top 25 [3]. As a leader in supply chain management, 3M is committed to continually advancing their operations and pursuing best practices. In 2017, this means that they must fully embrace supply chain digitization. According to the 2016 Future of Supply Chain Survey, 67% of practitioners said that Digital Supply Chain Technology was disruptive and important for their company [4]. With such a high-volume global supply chain, 3M is at risk of being out-maneuvered by competitors if they do not keep up with new technological and digitization trends.<\/p>\n

Conventional and Unconventional Uses of Digitization<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

Consistent with their position as a leader in supply chain management, 3M has already begun to explore and adopt digitization throughout their operations. According to Paul Keel, the Vice President of Supply Chain Management at 3M, digitization is important for his company because it provides trust between parties in the sense that, \u201cA statistical track record that our suppliers will perform as they promise us they will, and 3M in turn will perform as we promise our customers that we will.\u00a0 This is data.\u00a0 Digitization.\u201d [5]. They are currently pursuing opportunities that allow them to establish that trust, like creating a \u201cgeometric network\u201d with one of their largest chemical suppliers, BASF, that enables the companies to see each other\u2019s consumption and capacity [6]. In the next few years, 3M plans to take advantage of many of the more traditional prospects that supply chain digitization offers like directly connecting their ERP to that of their suppliers to allow the two systems to communicate instantaneously and without any human intervention [7].<\/p>\n

However, 3M is also employing supply chain digitization in much more unconventional ways in order support their sustainability and corporate social responsibility efforts. They have already begun implementing the 3M Pulp and Paper Sourcing Initiative that ensures \u201cvirgin wood fiber going into [their] paper-based products and packaging comes from sources that protect forests and respect the rights of workers and people who live in or may depend on forests for their livelihood\u201d [8]. For this initiative, 3M has partnered with their suppliers as well as various not-for-profits and cloud-based applications in order to trace back the source of their paper products all the way to the forest the trees originated from using barcodes on bark and hand-held RFID scanners [9].<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Forestry RFID tracking in action<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beyond just forestry sourcing and traceability, 3M is committed to further uses of digitization to reach their sustainability goals. According to their website, by 2025 they aim to \u201cDrive supply chain Sustainability through targeted raw material traceability and supplier performance assurance.\u00a0To continue to advance important environmental and social expectations of our suppliers, we\u2019ll use a comprehensive risk-based approach to engage critical supply chains for collaboration and improvement\u201d [10]. In addition, 3M is also looking to use enhanced supply chain technology and communication to ensure their suppliers are using conflict-free minerals [11].<\/p>\n

Moving forward with Supply Chain Digitization and the Sustainable Supply Chain<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think that 3M should continue to invest in both traditional and non-traditional forms of supply chain digitization. As they move forward, I would recommend they explicitly address some of the risks and road-blocks to all types of digitization but in particular the sustainability efforts. It would appear that their suppliers are at least receptive to the idea of using new technology to enhance sustainability. According to their 2017 survey of suppliers that 3M administered to gain insight on urgent trends, opportunities and challenges facing suppliers, 69% of suppliers desire to create a more socially responsible supply chain [12]. However, I would like to see 3M model what the partnership with suppliers would look like to implement the new technologies and processes. I wonder if 69% of suppliers would be as keen to create a more socially responsible supply chain if they had to bear significant costs and\/or risks associated with the undertaking. Additionally, as 3M publicizes their efforts around sustainability in the supply chain, they should be aware of the potential risks inherent in the fact that not all their raw materials are as sustainably sourced as lumber. I would be concerned that critics and environmental advocates will demand the same degree of responsibility in other areas of their supply chain and procurement. They should be prepared to defend their sourcing processes for all raw materials.<\/p>\n

Questions for Further Consideration<\/strong><\/p>\n

Can we brainstorm other unconventional uses of Digitization that 3M or other companies could pursue?<\/p>\n

[795]<\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1] “Who We Are – 3M US Company Information”. 2017. Solutions.3M.Com<\/i>. http:\/\/solutions.3m.com\/wps\/portal\/3M\/en_US\/3M-Company\/Information\/AboutUs\/WhoWeAre\/.<\/span><\/p>\n

[2] DiPietro, Ben. 2017. “3M Sees Opportunity In Supply Chain Risk”. WSJ<\/i>. https:\/\/blogs.wsj.com\/riskandcompliance\/2017\/06\/15\/3m-sees-opportunity-in-supply-chain-risk\/.<\/span><\/p>\n

[3] “Supply Chain Top 25 | Gartner Inc.”. 2017. Gartner.Com<\/i>. https:\/\/www.gartner.com\/technology\/supply-chain\/top25.jsp.<\/span><\/p>\n

[4] “Digitization in Supply Chain Five Key Trends”. 2017. Forbes.Com<\/i>. https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/kevinomarah\/2016\/11\/17\/digitization-in-supply-chain-five-key-trends\/#52375503428a.<\/span><\/p>\n

[5] “Digitization and the 3M Supply Chain”. 2017. Forbes.Com<\/i>. https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/stevebanker\/2017\/05\/03\/digitization-and-the-3m-supply-chain\/#212fc50941c1.<\/span><\/p>\n

[6] “Digitization and the 3M Supply Chain”. 2017. Forbes.Com<\/i>. https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/stevebanker\/2017\/05\/03\/digitization-and-the-3m-supply-chain\/#212fc50941c1<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

[7] “Digitization and the 3M Supply Chain”. 2017. Forbes.Com<\/i>. https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/stevebanker\/2017\/05\/03\/digitization-and-the-3m-supply-chain\/#212fc50941c1.<\/span><\/p>\n

[8] “Sustainable Forestry\u00a0| Sustainability At 3M United States”. 2017. 3M.Com<\/i>. https:\/\/www.3m.com\/3M\/en_US\/sustainability-us\/policies-reports\/sustainable-forestry\/?WT.mc_id=www.3m.com\/sustainableforestry.<\/span><\/p>\n

[9] “Digitization and the 3M Supply Chain”. 2017. Forbes.Com<\/i>. https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/stevebanker\/2017\/05\/03\/digitization-and-the-3m-supply-chain\/#212fc50941c1.<\/span><\/p>\n

[10] “Goals & Progress\u00a0| Sustainability At 3M United States”. 2017. 3M.Com<\/i>. https:\/\/www.3m.com\/3M\/en_US\/sustainability-us\/goals-progress\/.<\/span><\/p>\n

[11] “Supplier Responsibility Expectations”. 2017. 3M.Com<\/i>. https:\/\/www.3m.com\/3M\/en_US\/suppliers-direct\/supplier-requirements\/supplier-responsibility-expectations\/.<\/span><\/p>\n

[12] “Supplier Survey Whitepaper”. 2017. Multimedia.3M.Com<\/i>. <\/span>http:\/\/multimedia.3m.com\/mws\/media\/1397989O\/supplier-survey-whitepaper.pdf<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Companies of all shapes and sizes throughout every industry are beginning to adopt Supply Chain Digitization practices. How has 3M, a 100-year-old industrial goods company embraced supply chain digitization and more importantly, how will the company continue to innovate with their suppliers using new technologies?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9546,"featured_media":26053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[2029,3853,2255,14,1912],"class_list":["post-26052","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digitization","category-digitization-of-supply-chain","category-forestry","category-sustainability","category-sustainable-sourcing","hck-taxonomy-industry-industrial-products","hck-taxonomy-country-united-states"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/rc-tom-challenge-2017\/","yoast_head":"\nDo You Know Where Your Papers Have Been? 3M Does. - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Do You Know Where Your Papers Have Been? 3M Does. - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Companies of all shapes and sizes throughout every industry are beginning to adopt Supply Chain Digitization practices. How has 3M, a 100-year-old industrial goods company embraced supply chain digitization and more importantly, how will the company continue to innovate with their suppliers using new technologies?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/11\/Background-Picture.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\\\/\",\"name\":\"Do You Know Where Your Papers Have Been? 3M Does. - Technology and Operations Management\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/Background-Picture.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-16T03:25:38+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/Background-Picture.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/Background-Picture.jpg\",\"width\":960,\"height\":640},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Submissions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Do You Know Where Your Papers Have Been? 3M Does.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\",\"name\":\"Technology and Operations Management\",\"description\":\"MBA Student Perspectives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"性视界Action\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Do You Know Where Your Papers Have Been? 3M Does. - Technology and Operations Management","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Do You Know Where Your Papers Have Been? 3M Does. - Technology and Operations Management","og_description":"Companies of all shapes and sizes throughout every industry are beginning to adopt Supply Chain Digitization practices. How has 3M, a 100-year-old industrial goods company embraced supply chain digitization and more importantly, how will the company continue to innovate with their suppliers using new technologies?","og_url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\/","og_site_name":"Technology and Operations Management","og_image":[{"width":960,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/11\/Background-Picture.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\/","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\/","name":"Do You Know Where Your Papers Have Been? 3M Does. - Technology and Operations Management","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/11\/Background-Picture.jpg","datePublished":"2017-11-16T03:25:38+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/11\/Background-Picture.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/11\/Background-Picture.jpg","width":960,"height":640},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/do-you-know-where-your-papers-have-been-3m-does\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Submissions","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Do You Know Where Your Papers Have Been? 3M Does."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/","name":"Technology and Operations Management","description":"MBA Student Perspectives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"性视界Action","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/26052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hck-submission"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9546"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/26052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}