The OE
M has looked in depth at the sustainable shipping of its printheads.
As the company has global sites and centres, it has commenced a strategy to consciously transport its printheads with the least CO2 emission. Printheads are used in inkjet printers to increase “speed and quality” of printing, and Epson produces PrecisionCore printheads at three sites in Japan, after which they are stored at Tohoku Epson ready for transportation by lorries to Narita airport, where they used to be “flown to the printer production site in Indonesia”.
Initially when the printheads went into production, employees worked on improving the “quality of components”, and because of the speed of production the company chose to use air freight to deliver the product to customers promptly. By 2014, the quality of the printheads was stable,, and this meant that even with “exposure to high temperature[s] and humidity” there was no harm to the product which meant that Epson could ship the printheads from Sakata Port, which is only eight kilometres from Tohoku Epson.
After sorting out the safest way to load the products into shipping containers, and negotiating export and customs, the company started shipping the printheads in May 2015 to Indonesia. This reduced transportation by lorry and cut out air travel, which saved money and CO2 emissions. Since Epson have used Sakata Port for their shipments, other companies have followed, and in 2015 the “port handled 22,028 containers” which was 60 percent more than in 2014.
The OEM says that it “expects to increase exports of its printerheads” to the operative sites in Indonesia and other countries as well as reducing their environmental footprint and helping to “boost local economic development”.
Osami Matsushima, Head of Epson’s Logistics Planning Department, said: “To make sure there is no disruption in the supply of products to customers, we always have to choose the optimal logistics methods. Air freight generally offers the shortest route, but puts more burden on the environment. This is especially true with international shipping, where the routes tend to be long.
“In this case, we were able to take advantage of the proximity of a port to our plant. As a result, we could develop a route with little environmental burden. We also received some words of appreciation from people at Yamagata Prefecture and Sakata Port for helping to revitalise the prefecture. The development of stronger ties to the regional community was another great outcome from this initiative.”