{"id":365,"date":"2011-10-04T06:03:20","date_gmt":"2011-10-04T13:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.orangefroglogistics.com\/?p=365"},"modified":"2014-01-31T23:15:42","modified_gmt":"2014-02-01T07:15:42","slug":"34-print-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/orangefroglogistics.com\/blog\/item\/34-print-what","title":{"rendered":"Print what?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Random\u00a0facts<\/a>. Estimation: 95% of business information is still stored on paper. The paperless office, once predicted as a result of information technology, has not transpired. Recycling 54kg of newspaper will save one tree. 77% of paper is recycled in the Netherlands (67% in Germany, 52% in Japan, 45% in the US). 10,000 trees are cut down annually in China to make holiday cards.<\/p>\n

I admit it, better yet, I acknowledge the fact that I am not a big fan of paper. There, I said it. I have been told it is a generation thing, that people with more \u201cseniority\u201d in a company prefer the tactile version of a report, an email or this link attached to the message they just received. Really? How necessary is that?<\/p>\n

Of course, I cannot stare at a computer screen for hours either. Of course, some reports require to be printed. Of course, I still see this \u201cPlease consider the environment before printing\u201d\u00a0email signature<\/a>, and most of them are sitting by the printer for over two days before ending up in the \u201cconfidential garbage\u201d, the locked one\u2026 Ironic much? I am not a (paper) cop, and I let my clients decide what is appropriate for their environment. I just scratch my head when I see the investments in document management software beside the heavy budget in paper consumption. Something has got to give.<\/p>\n

Political correctness certainly gets in the way: once hired to review and suggest a better adapted supply chain, which naturally includes office paper, I often hear cynicism around that very topic. It is a known fact and somehow just seems pointless to address, or a plain wishful way of thinking. So, do I just stay put, sit and smile without saying anything not to offend the inside culture? Because that would be polite. Or do I have a chat with the \u201chead of office supplies\u201d? Because that would be polite too. Refining a procurement process may include a heart to heart series of conversations with the end users: all good until, in this case, some of them are the \u201coffenders\u201d.<\/p>\n

Do I support the\u00a0paper industry<\/a>, knowing friends work in it, and after all, paper is still \u201ccheap\u201d? Sure I do, and my intention is elsewhere. Call me green or tree hugger if that pleases you, I keep my eyes on the bottom line: my client\u2019s supply chain, budget and processes, with a focus on streamlining where it makes sense for them. If the cost of waste weighs too much on the financial scale, that is a red flag. Recycling confidential paper, disposing of and shredding sensitive documents has become a solid business, and mine is to minimise any kind of waste to my clients: that includes money.<\/p>\n

Tough call, yes. \u201cCheap paper + emails pouring in our inbox + double-side print option + environment reminders\u201d sounds similar to \u201clatest V12 engine on the market + repaved highway + stunning summer day + speed radar\u201d. Who is barking the wrong tree here?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Random\u00a0facts. Estimation: 95% of business information is still stored on paper. The paperless office, once predicted as a result of information technology, has not transpired. Recycling 54kg of newspaper will save one tree. 77% of paper is recycled in the Netherlands (67% in Germany, 52%…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[89,54,60,11,90,12,92,91,43,93,94,95,294],"class_list":["post-365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-item","tag-budget","tag-confidentiality","tag-cost","tag-discipline","tag-environment","tag-focus","tag-management","tag-paper","tag-procurement","tag-recycle","tag-supply-chain","tag-tree","tag-waste"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/orangefroglogistics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/orangefroglogistics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/orangefroglogistics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orangefroglogistics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orangefroglogistics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/orangefroglogistics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/orangefroglogistics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orangefroglogistics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orangefroglogistics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}