Case Studies Bringing Circular Manufacturing To Electronics

Edit This Case Study Record

	Bringing Circular Manufacturing To Electronics

Bringing Circular Manufacturing To Electronics

Technology Category	Functional Applications - Inventory Management Systems Functional Applications - Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
Applicable Industries	Electronics
Applicable Functions	Logistics & Transportation Warehouse & Inventory Management
Use Cases	Inventory Management Supply Chain Visibility Track & Trace of Assets
Services	System Integration Training
Challenge	The modern world has a big electronics habit and it’s getting bigger all the time. Electronic devices keep us connected and on the go, but when they break or become obsolete—which is often very quickly—they frequently end up in the trash. Electronic waste, or e-waste, is a problem not only because of the volume of material that is being discarded, but also because some components can cause serious pollution. During 2014 alone, nearly 42 million tons of e-waste was created around the world. E-waste recycling is growing, however. In the United States, about 29 percent of e-waste was recycled in 2012, up from 19.6 percent in 20101. Better still, the world is recognizing that past recycling practices, such as sending devices to developing countries for disassembly and disposal (where they are often harmful to local environments) can be replaced with something better. That improvement is circular manufacturing, in which materials are collected to be refurbished or re-manufactured. Flex and Sinctronics realized that a market such as the region around São Paulo, Brazil, where manufacturing and re-manufacturing sites are close together, could help them showcase the true potential of a circular economy. Read More
About Customer	Sinctronics, a Brazilian company founded by Flex, is pioneering circular manufacturing processes that are making the information technology industry greener and more sustainable. The company describes itself as the first “integrated ecosystem” for sustainability in the electronics market. To succeed in circular manufacturing, it needed to build out four separate functions: reverse logistics, recycling facilities, R&D through its Green IT Innovation Center, and reverse supply chains. The company has had to invent virtually every process related to circular manufacturing. Sinctronics’ logistics infrastructure now covers all of Brazil, with dedicated vehicles in high-volume areas. Read More
Solution	Sinctronics began with reverse logistics, because that is the most expensive part of the entire process, accounting for about 60 percent of total cost. The company has had to invent virtually every process related to circular manufacturing. The company’s investment in innovation is driven by the belief that the new circular economy will ultimately be more efficient than the old linear model. The plastic parts produced by Sinctronics through its re-manufacturing process represent a savings of up to 82 percent on energy over normal plastics production, and an 82 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Thanks to the processes that Sinctronics has pioneered, 97 percent of recovered material is going back into the supply chain, with Sinctronics selling customers both finished products and reused raw materials that they can redevelop on their own. Sinctronics’ Zero Waste Initiative also means that less material is going to landfills. Sinctronics is improving circular manufacturing in other ways, too. One of the most radical changes has been its creation of a reverse logistics infrastructure. Reverse logistics was not common in Brazil, so logistics companies charged more for it than the regular process. Sinctronics developed partners for doing reverse logistics in an optimized way, tracking all the equipment and service levels involved. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Inventory Management Systems

Functional Applications - Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)

Applicable Industries

Electronics

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation

Warehouse & Inventory Management

Use Cases

Inventory Management

Supply Chain Visibility

Track & Trace of Assets

Services

System Integration

Training

Challenge

The modern world has a big electronics habit and it’s getting bigger all the time. Electronic devices keep us connected and on the go, but when they break or become obsolete—which is often very quickly—they frequently end up in the trash. Electronic waste, or e-waste, is a problem not only because of the volume of material that is being discarded, but also because some components can cause serious pollution. During 2014 alone, nearly 42 million tons of e-waste was created around the world. E-waste recycling is growing, however. In the United States, about 29 percent of e-waste was recycled in 2012, up from 19.6 percent in 20101. Better still, the world is recognizing that past recycling practices, such as sending devices to developing countries for disassembly and disposal (where they are often harmful to local environments) can be replaced with something better. That improvement is circular manufacturing, in which materials are collected to be refurbished or re-manufactured. Flex and Sinctronics realized that a market such as the region around São Paulo, Brazil, where manufacturing and re-manufacturing sites are close together, could help them showcase the true potential of a circular economy.

About Customer

Sinctronics, a Brazilian company founded by Flex, is pioneering circular manufacturing processes that are making the information technology industry greener and more sustainable. The company describes itself as the first “integrated ecosystem” for sustainability in the electronics market. To succeed in circular manufacturing, it needed to build out four separate functions: reverse logistics, recycling facilities, R&D through its Green IT Innovation Center, and reverse supply chains. The company has had to invent virtually every process related to circular manufacturing. Sinctronics’ logistics infrastructure now covers all of Brazil, with dedicated vehicles in high-volume areas.

Solution

Sinctronics began with reverse logistics, because that is the most expensive part of the entire process, accounting for about 60 percent of total cost. The company has had to invent virtually every process related to circular manufacturing. The company’s investment in innovation is driven by the belief that the new circular economy will ultimately be more efficient than the old linear model. The plastic parts produced by Sinctronics through its re-manufacturing process represent a savings of up to 82 percent on energy over normal plastics production, and an 82 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Thanks to the processes that Sinctronics has pioneered, 97 percent of recovered material is going back into the supply chain, with Sinctronics selling customers both finished products and reused raw materials that they can redevelop on their own. Sinctronics’ Zero Waste Initiative also means that less material is going to landfills. Sinctronics is improving circular manufacturing in other ways, too. One of the most radical changes has been its creation of a reverse logistics infrastructure. Reverse logistics was not common in Brazil, so logistics companies charged more for it than the regular process. Sinctronics developed partners for doing reverse logistics in an optimized way, tracking all the equipment and service levels involved.

Impact #1	Sinctronics has reduced client costs by up to 30 percent.
Impact #2	Sinctronics has increased material collection times by 50 percent.
Impact #3	Sinctronics has partnerships for metals such as iron, copper and aluminum.

Impact #1

Sinctronics has reduced client costs by up to 30 percent.

Impact #2

Sinctronics has increased material collection times by 50 percent.

Impact #3

Sinctronics has partnerships for metals such as iron, copper and aluminum.

Benefit #1	The plastic parts produced by Sinctronics through its re-manufacturing process represent a savings of up to 82 percent on energy over normal plastics production.
Benefit #2	An 82 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Benefit #3	97 percent of recovered material is going back into the supply chain.

Benefit #1

The plastic parts produced by Sinctronics through its re-manufacturing process represent a savings of up to 82 percent on energy over normal plastics production.

Benefit #2

An 82 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Benefit #3

97 percent of recovered material is going back into the supply chain.

Download PDF Version

Overview

Bringing Circular Manufacturing To Electronics

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit