“Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Logistics” is the title of the BIP organised by Darmstadt Business School under the leadership of the two logistics professors Johanna Bucerius and Monika Futschik. Co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union, over 30 students took part in the European University of Technology (EUT+) initiative, which has been growing together since 2020. Apart from a larger group from Italy, who were visiting Germany for the first time, and students from h_da, fellow students from the partner universities Université de technologie de Troyes in France and the Technical University of Sofia in Bulgaria also participated.
“Sustainability is the future,” says Petar Stoev from the Bulgarian partner university, putting it in a nutshell at the end of the tour. And in the next breath he explains why he, as an IT management student, is taking part in the Blended Intensive Programme and visiting Germany for the first time: he would like to set up his own software company one day and was able to take away many impressions and ideas from practice – also with regard to sustainability, which has long been an important market factor.
How sustainably can goods be delivered to China?
Most of the programme took place via online sessions over the course of the summer semester. First, the two German professors and their colleague Murat Afsar from the Université de technologie de Troyes in France taught the students the necessary subject knowledge. The students then dealt in mixed groups with supply chains across several countries. This took the shape of concrete case studies, using, by way of example, a gear manufacturing company in Darmstadt that produces parts for an industrial customer in China. Focusing on CO2 emissions, the students adjusted various parameters, such as modes of transport, types of drive, and different routes.
“To do this, we use software developed by our partner company AEP Solutions here in Darmstadt for calculating the carbon footprint,” explains Monika Futschik. “By combining manual calculations of greenhouse gas emissions and the use of the simulation software, the students were quickly able to simulate a variety of solutions for different scenarios,” adds her colleague Johanna Bucerius. At the end of the intensive week in Darmstadt, each group presented calculations for two supply chains and suggestions on how to optimise them in terms of sustainability.
“In my opinion, the fundamental approach is really good,” says Professor Futschik, Department Coordinator at her faculty, explaining her reasons for actively engaging in the alliance. “A European university with different campuses is such a brilliant idea!” And it is precisely because of the alliance’s European location that the topic of sustainable logistics also lends itself due to current events: since January 2023, it has been mandatory for all companies across the EU with over 250 employees to report a greenhouse gas balance. “And in our BIP project, students learn how to calculate CO2 emissions for logistics processes.”
copyright: photo: Samira Schulz und Monika Futschik, text: Alexandra Welsch / h_da
