In manufacturing, efforts to go green have become increasingly appealing, but they require a greater degree of finesse than even lean manufacturing needs. It’s about much more than becoming more energy efficient and using recycled cardboard for boxes: Green manufacturing is a full-scale commitment that runs through several vectors. Talking to a manufacturer seeking options, industry expert Ann Grackin explains that becoming environmentally friendly also happens on the production floor, whether it’s minimizing water waste to reducing production space or cutting down on the number of parts needed in a product. Implementing green solutions can be tricky, but using ERP software can ease the burden significantly.

Luckily, Global Shop Solutions has experience dealing with green manufacturing. One of our clients, House of Doolittle, is a lean publishing manufacturer that prints on recycled materials. They also use soy ink. With a high scale of customization for each customer order, the company needed manufacturing software that worked with incredibly complicated orders that numbered in the hundreds of boxes. With Global Shop Solutions’ close relationship and effective systems integration, the company was able to fix problems quickly and save time on orders. Most importantly, they were able to bring down the cost of their products, making their green stationery competitive with regular stationery.