Yusen Logistics partners with AllChiefs to develop a new carbon insetting offering

Yusen Logistics, a leading logistics group from Japan, partnered with AllChiefs to design and develop a new carbon insetting offering. Branded ‘Alternative Fuel’, the new offering brings together the best of both worlds for its clients – enhanced customer value and an improved footprint.

Companies around the world rely on Yusen Logistics for their logistics and supply chain demands. The Tokyo-headquartered company has offices in 437 cities in 46 countries, and operates 748 distribution centres and offices, supporting transport solutions by sea, air, and land.

Investing in a more sustainable footprint is a strategic objective for Yusen Logistics. Their mission is to become “a leader in sustainable logistics by 2030” and the “go-to sustainable logistics service provider” from Asia. To achieve this vision, the organisation is already taking concrete steps – setting internal emissions targets and adopting greener solutions, such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

New carbon insetting solutions

In logistics, carbon insetting involves reducing emissions directly within a company’s own supply chain or industry – for example, by switching to biofuels or investing in electric trucks.

Part of Yusen Logistics’ broader and overarching sustainability agenda, the newly launched Alternative Fuel proposition was developed through a comprehensive strategic and new product development process. This process involved the input and collaboration between leaders from within the business, key experts, and general stakeholders. 

Key design criteria of the offering include sustainability at its core and agility to meet an ever-changing business landscape. Another key goal is ensuring the offering is highly actionable – meaning that people understand how the solution works and how it contributes to sustainability goals.

Co-design sessions 

To move from ambition to action, Yusen Logistics started with a joint ambition-setting session featuring senior management and the Corporate Sustainability team. 

“Jointly, we mapped out what success would look like, not only in terms of carbon emissions, but also from the perspective of customer engagement, internal capabilities and commercial growth,” said Mitch Kobayashi, Head of the Corporate Sustainability Unit at Yusen Logistics. “We also clarified the key goals of the new Alternative Fuel offering and outlined what is needed for it to underpin our 2030 Strategy.”

In a next step, AllChiefs facilitated six design sessions across different departments to construct the offering and ensure alignment with the existing green solutions of Yusen Logistics.

“During the sessions, dynamic working groups collectively shaped the Alternative Fuel offering as a part of the wider green logistics ambition. The sessions were characterised by active collaboration, open and engaged discussions, and co-creation that led to new and innovative approaches,” said Bonne Goedhart, Co-Owner of AllChiefs.

Customer Insights 

Well aware of the importance of the customers during this journey, the project team gathered insights from account managers and key accountant managers. This helped them understand customer feedback, previously requested solutions, needs, expectations, and other critical topics.

‘’These conversations revealed what our logistics clients need when it comes to sustainability, and how a service provider such as Yusen Logistics could stand out in a crowded landscape,” reflected Cedric ‘t Hart, Sustainability Lead at Yusen Logistics.

Data collected from customers included views on factors such as cost, service, compliance, and supply chain resilience, as well as data on emissions and SBTi targets. Bringing this input together, the project team ensured that customer demands drove the key design principles, and that prioritisation was aligned to what customers really need. It also fed into the strategy for go-to-market.

Rolling out the solution 

In May, Yusen Logistics unveiled its new offering to clients. To support the uptake of the offering on the customer side, Yusen Logistics and AllChiefs developed a comprehensive ‘Green Solutions Guide’ to facilitate knowledge sharing among the organisation, and customer engagement materials.

Meanwhile, internally, Yusen Logistics rolled-out a communications program, providing stakeholders at all levels with information on the new offering and its dynamics. Those responsible for selling and delivering the offering received a training program to equip them with the know-how and capabilities to drive the offering.

Main takeaways 

According to Franziska Weber, Managing Consultant at AllChiefs, the project demonstrated the importance of building innovative green solutions with the end customer in mind. “Generic sustainability solutions don’t work. Through real conversations, about real challenges with actual customers, Yusen Logistics was able to design offerings that truly deliver what customer want.”

Goedhart emphasized the need of going beyond delivering strategic documents. ‘’Without internal alignment and ownership, even the best green solutions won’t work. Investing in knowledge building, and ensuring there is a follow-up loop, is not a nice-to-have, it’s essential.”