ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Aparna Mehta - Global supply chain leader
UPS's Aparna Mehta works with the top-tier retail customers to develop innovative, profitable solutions that enhance customer experiences.

Why you should listen

The exponential rise of e-commerce has changed the way we shop and driven retailers to offer things like "hassle-free" returns policy, to keep up with customer expectations. But what's the true cost of these returns to our planet? This was a life-changing question for Aparna Mehta, who went from being a serial returner of online purchases to finding a solution to mitigate returns.

As a Global Solutions Director at UPS, Mehta is skilled at assessing business processes to develop innovative solutions that are profitable and enhance customer experiences. She has been engaged with inspiring teams to peak performance and develop future leaders for more than two decades. She holds two master's degrees: an MBA and a master's in applied computer science from Illinois State University. In her personal time, she's on the leadership team for Ellevate, a professional networking group for women aimed at reducing the wage gap.

More profile about the speaker
Aparna Mehta | Speaker | TED.com
TED@UPS

Aparna Mehta: Where do your online returns go?

Aparna Mehta: Mirejesho ya bidhaa tunazonunua mtandaoni inakwenda wapi?

Filmed:
1,760,074 views

Huwa unaagiza nguo mtandaoni katika ukubwa na rangi mbalimbali, ili tu kujaribisha na kisha kurudisha ambazo hazikufai? Aparna Mehta alikuwa akifanya hivi nyakati zote, mpaka ilipofika siku alipojiuliza: Ni wapi ambapo nguo zinazorudishwa huenda? Katika hotuba yake ambayo inafumbua macho, anatufunulia dunia isiyoonekana ya "mrejesho wa bure wa bidhaa za mtandaoni" -- ambapo, badala ya kurudi katika makabati, hupelekwa katika jalala takribani paundi bilioni kila mwaka -- na anatueleza mpango wa kusaidia kukomesha ukuaji wa janga hili la kimazingira.
- Global supply chain leader
UPS's Aparna Mehta works with the top-tier retail customers to develop innovative, profitable solutions that enhance customer experiences. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
HiHujambo. My namejina is AparnaAparna.
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Habari! Jina langu ni Aparna.
00:16
I am a shopaholicshopaholic --
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Ni mnunuzi wa kupindukia --
00:18
(LaughterKicheko)
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(Kicheko)
00:19
and I'm addictedaddicted to onlineonline returnsinarudi.
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pia ni mraibu wa marudisho ya mtandaoni.
00:22
(LaughterKicheko)
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(Kicheko)
00:25
Well, at leastangalau I was.
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Basi, angalau nilikuwa hivyo.
Wakati mmoja, nilikuwa na vifurushi viwili
au vitatu vya nguo vilivyoletwa kwangu
00:27
At one time, I had two or threetatu
packagesvifurushi of clothingnguo deliveredilitoa to me
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00:32
everykila other day.
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kila siku.
00:34
I would intentionallykwa makusudi buykununua the samesawa itemkipengee
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Kwa makusudi nilinunua bidhaa ile ile
00:37
in a couplewanandoa differenttofauti sizesukubwa
and manywengi colorsrangi,
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katika ukubwa tofauti na rangi mbalimbali,
00:40
because I did not know
what I really wanted.
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kwa sababu sikujua nini nilichohitaji
haswa.
00:43
So I overorderedoverordered, I triedwalijaribu things on,
and then I sentalitumwa what didn't work back.
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Hivyo niliagiza zaidi, nilijaribisha vitu,
na nilirudisha visivyonifaa.
00:50
OnceMara moja my daughterbinti was watchingkuangalia me
returnkurudi some of those packagesvifurushi back,
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Binti yangu alipokuwa akiniangalia
nikirudisha baadhi ya vifurushi,
00:54
and she said, "MomMama,
I think you have a problemtatizo."
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alisema, "Mama, nadhani una tatizo."
00:56
(LaughterKicheko)
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(Kicheko)
00:58
I didn't think so.
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Sikudhani hivyo.
00:59
I mean, it's freebure shippingmeli
and freebure returnsinarudi, right?
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Yaani, kusafirisha ni bure
na kurudisha ni bure, ndio?
01:02
(LaughterKicheko)
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(Kicheko)
01:04
I didn't even think twicemara mbili about it,
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Sikuwaza kabisa mara mbili kuhusu hilo,
01:07
untilmpaka I heardkusikia a statistictakwimu
at work that shockedalishtuka me.
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mpaka niliposikia takwimu
kazini ambayo ilinishitua.
01:12
You see, I'm a globalkimataifa solutionsufumbuzi
directormkurugenzi for top-tierjuu-kundi retailrejareja,
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Mimi ni mkurugenzi wa ufumbuzi kimataifa
kwa wateja wa rejareja wa ngazi ya juu,
01:16
and we were in a meetingmkutano
with one of my largestkubwa customerswateja,
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na tulikuwa katika mkutano na mmoja
wa wateja wangu wakubwa,
01:19
discussingkujadili how to streamlinekuupandisha costsgharama.
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tukijadili ni namna gani tunaweza nyoosha
gharama.
01:22
One of theirwao biggestkubwa concernswasiwasi
was managingkusimamia returnsinarudi.
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Moja ya hoja yao kubwa ilikuwa ni
kusimamia urudishaji bidhaa.
01:26
Just this pastzilizopita holidaySikukuu seasonmsimu alonepeke yake,
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Kwa likizo hii tu iliyopita,
01:29
they had 7.5 millionmilioni piecesvipande
of clothingnguo returnedalirudi to them.
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walikuwa na nguo takribani milioni
7.5 zilizorudishwa kwao.
01:36
I could not stop thinkingkufikiri about it.
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Sikuweza kuacha kulifikiria hili jambo.
01:38
What happenshutokea to all
these returnedalirudi clothesnguo?
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Kipi kinatokea kwa hizi nguo zote
zinazorudishwa?
01:41
So I camealikuja home and researchedzilizofanyiwa utafiti.
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Kwa hiyo nilirudi nyumbani na nikafanya
utafiti.
01:44
And I learnedkujifunza that everykila yearmwaka,
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Na kugundua kwamba kila mwaka,
01:48
fournne billionbilioni poundspounds of returnedalirudi clothingnguo
endshuisha up in the landfillsehemu.
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paundi bilioni nne za nguo zinazorudishwa
huishia jalalani.
01:55
That's like everykila residentanaishi in the US
did a loadmzigo of laundrydobi last night
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Ambapo ni sawa na kila mkazi wa Marekani
kufua nguo nyingi usiku wa jana
02:01
and decidedaliamua to throwkutupa it
in the trashtakataka todayleo.
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na kuamua kuzitupa katika taka
siku ya leo.
02:05
I was horrifiedhofu.
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Nilishtushwa.
02:08
I'm like, "Of all people,
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Nikasema, "Katika watu wote,
02:10
I should be ableinaweza to help preventkuzuia this."
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Natakiwa kuweza kuzuia jambo hili."
02:12
(LaughterKicheko)
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(Kicheko)
02:13
My jobkazi is to find solutionsufumbuzi
to logisticalugavi issuesmambo like these --
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Kazi yangu ni kutafuta suluhu
katika miamala kama hii --
02:18
not createkuunda them.
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siyo kutengeneza matatizo.
02:20
So this issuesuala becameikawa very personalbinafsi to me.
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Kwa hiyo hili swala likawa binafsi
sana kwangu.
02:25
I said, "You know what?
We have to solvekutatua this."
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Nilisema, "Unajua nini?
Tunatakiwa suluhisha hili."
02:27
And we can, with some of the existingzilizopo
systemsmifumo we alreadytayari have in placemahali.
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Na tunaweza, tukitumia baadhi ya
mifumo ambayo tunayo tayari.
02:33
And then I startedilianza to wonderajabu:
How did we get here?
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Na nilianza kujiuliza: Tumefikaje hapa?
02:36
I mean, it was only like sixsita yearsmiaka agoiliyopita
when a studykujifunza recommendedilipendekeza
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Namaanisha, ilikuwa miaka sita tu
iliyopita ambapo tafiti moja ilidai
02:41
that offeringsadaka freebure onlineonline returnsinarudi
would drivekuendesha customerswateja to spendtumia more.
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kua kutoa marudisho ya bure mtandaoni
itapelekea wateja kununua zaidi.
02:46
We startedilianza seeingkuona companiesmakampuni
offeringsadaka freebure onlineonline returnsinarudi
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Tulianza kuona makampuni yakitoa
marudisho ya bure mitandaoni
02:50
to drivekuendesha more salesmauzo
and providekutoa a better experienceuzoefu.
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ili kupelekea mauzo zaidi na
huduma bora.
02:54
What we didn't realizekutambua
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Ambacho hatukutambua
02:56
is that this would leadkuongoza to more itemsvitu
beingkuwa returnedalirudi as well.
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ni kwamba hii itapelekea kurudishwa
kwa bidhaa nyingi vile vile.
03:01
In the US, companiesmakampuni lostpotea
$351 billionbilioni in salesmauzo
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Nchini Marekani, makampuni yalipoteza
dola bilioni 351 katika mauzo
03:08
in 2017 alonepeke yake.
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kwa mwaka 2017 pekee.
03:11
RetailersWauzaji are scramblinginapigania
to recoverkupona theirwao losseshasara.
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Wauzaji wa rejareja wanapambana
kuondoa hasara zao.
03:15
They try to placemahali that returnedalirudi itemkipengee
onlineonline to be soldkuuzwa again,
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Wanajaribu kuweka kua bidhaa
zinazorudishwa mtandaoni ziuzwe tena,
03:18
or they'llwatakuja sellkuuza it to a discountdiscount partnermpenzi
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au wataziuza kwa mtoa punguzo
03:21
or a liquidatorni.
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au dalali.
03:22
BasicallyKimsingi, if companiesmakampuni cannothaiwezi find
a placemahali for this itemkipengee
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Kimsingi, kama kampuni haziwezi kupata
sehemu kwa ajili hii bidhaa
03:26
quicklyharaka and economicallykiuchumi,
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kwa haraka na unafuu,
03:28
its placemahali becomesinakuwa the trashtakataka.
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inaishia kwenda kuwa taka.
03:32
SuddenlyGhafla, I feltwalihisi very guiltymwenye hatia
for beingkuwa that shoppershopper,
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Ghafla, nilijisikia hatia kwa kuwa
mnunuzi wa aina hiyo,
03:37
somebodymtu who contributesinachangia to this.
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mtu ninayechangia katika hili.
03:39
Who would have thought
my innocentwasio na hatia shoppingununuzi behaviortabia
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Nani angewaza kwamba tabia yangu
nzuri ya kufanya manunuzi
03:42
would be hurtingkuumiza not only me,
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ingeniumiza sio mimi tu,
03:45
but our planetsayari as well?
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lakini sayari yetu vilevile?
03:48
And as I thought about what to do,
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Na nikiwa nawaza nini cha kufanya,
03:50
I keptimehifadhiwa thinkingkufikiri:
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Niliendelea kuwaza:
03:52
Why does the itemkipengee have to be returnedalirudi
to the retailermuuzaji in the first placemahali?
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Kwanini bidhaa zinatakiwa kurudishwa
kwa muuzaji tangu mwanzo?
03:58
What if there was anothermwingine way,
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Inakuwaje kama kungekuwa na njia mbadala,
04:01
a win-winkushinda-kushinda for everyonekila mtu?
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inayofaidisha pande zote?
04:05
What if when a personmtu
is tryingkujaribu to returnkurudi something,
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Inakuwaje kama mtu anajaribu
kurudisha kitu fulani,
04:09
it could go to the nextijayo
shoppershopper who wants it,
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kiende kwa mnunuzi anayefuata
mwenye uhitaji nacho,
04:12
and not the retailermuuzaji?
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na siyo muuzaji?
04:14
What if, insteadbadala yake of a returnkurudi,
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Inakuwaje kama, badala ya kurudisha,
04:18
they could do what I call a "greenkijani turnkugeuka"?
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wangeweza kufanya ninachokiita
"kona kijani"?
04:24
ConsumersWalaji could use an appprogramu
to take picturespicha of the itemkipengee
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Watumaiji wanaweza kutumia programu
kupiga picha ya bidhaa
04:28
and verifykuthibitisha the conditionhali
while returningkurudi it.
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na kuhakikisha hali ya bidhaa
wakati wa kurudisha.
04:31
ArtificialBandia intelligenceakili systemsmifumo could then
sortfanya these clothesnguo by conditionhali --
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Mifumo ya akili bandia itaweza kupanga
nguo hizi kutokana na hali --
04:37
mintmint conditionhali or slightlykidogo used --
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hali ifananayo na upya au iliyotumika
kidogo --
04:39
and directmoja kwa moja it to the nextijayo
appropriatesahihi personmtu.
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na kupeleka kwa mtu mwingine
ambaye anafaa.
04:42
Mint-conditionHali ya mint clothesnguo could
automaticallymoja kwa moja go to the nextijayo buyermnunuzi,
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Nguo zenye hali nzuri zitaenda moja
kwa moja kwa mnunuzi anayefuata,
04:45
while slightlykidogo used clothesnguo
could be markedalama down
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na wakati zilizotumika kidogo
zitawekewa alama
04:48
and offeredinayotolewa onlineonline again.
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na kutolewa ofa mtandaoni tena.
04:50
The retailermuuzaji can decidekuamua the businessbiashara ruleskanuni
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Muuzaji anaweza kuamua sheria za biashara
04:53
on the numbernambari of timesnyakati
a particularhasa itemkipengee can be resoldresold.
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katika mara ngapi bidhaa husika
inaweza kuuzwa tena.
04:57
All that the consumerwatumiaji would need to do
is obtainkupata a mobilerununu codemsimbo,
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Mnunuzi atatakiwa tu kupata
tarakimu maalumu,
05:02
take it to the nearestkaribu shippingmeli placemahali
to be packedimejaa and shippedkusafirishwa,
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kuzipeleka sehemu ya usafirishaji iliyo
karibu kwa kupakiwa na kusafirishwa,
05:05
and off it goeshuenda from
one buyermnunuzi to the nextijayo,
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na inatoka kuanzia mnunuzi mmoja
kwenda mwingine,'
05:08
not the landfillsehemu.
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sio jalalani.
05:11
Now you will askkuuliza,
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Sasa utauliza,
05:13
"Would people really
go throughkupitia all this troubleshida?"
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"Kweli watu watataka shida hii yote?"
05:16
I think they would if they had incentivesVivutio vya,
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Nadhani wanaweza kufanya kama wangepata
motisha,
05:19
like loyaltyuaminifu pointspointi or cashfedha back.
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kama alama za uaminifu na
kurudishiwa fedha.
05:22
Let's call it "greenkijani cashfedha."
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Tuiite "pesa ya kijani."
05:25
There would be a wholeyote
newmpya opportunitynafasi to make moneyfedha
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Kutakuwa na nafasi pana
mpya ya kupata pesa
05:28
from this newmpya customerwateja basemsingi
looking to buykununua these returnsinarudi.
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kutoka kwa hawa wateja wanaohitaji
kununua hizi bidhaa zinazorudishwa.
05:33
This systemmfumo would make
a funfuraha thing like shoppingununuzi
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Mfumo huu utatengeneza jambo la
kufurahisha kama ununuzi
05:36
a spiritualkiroho experienceuzoefu
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jaribu la kiroho
05:38
that helpshusaidia savesalama our planetsayari.
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ambalo linasaidia kuokoa sayari yetu.
05:40
(ApplauseMakofi)
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(Makofi)
05:49
This is doablekitu kinachowezekana
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Hili linawezekana
05:50
and would probablylabda take sixsita monthsmiezi
to weaveweave some of our existingzilizopo systemsmifumo
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na angalau itachukua miezi sita kusuka
baadhi ya mifumo yetu ambayo ipo
05:54
and runkukimbia a pilotmajaribio.
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na kufanya majaribio.
05:57
Even before any of these
logisticalugavi systemsmifumo are in placemahali,
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Hata kabla ya mifumo hii ya miamala
kuwa katika mahala husika,
06:00
eachkila mmoja of us shopperswanunuzi can acttenda now,
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kila mnunuzi anaweza chukua hatua sasa,
06:05
if everykila singlemoja adultwatu wazima in the US
madealifanya a fewwachache smallndogo changesmabadiliko
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kama kila mtu mzima Marekani
afanye mabadiliko kidogo
06:11
to our shoppingununuzi behaviortabia.
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kwenye tabia yetu ya ununuzi.
06:13
Take the extraziada time
to researchutafiti and think --
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Chukua muda wa ziada kutafiti na kuwaza --
06:17
Do I really need this itemkipengee?
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Nahitaji bidhaa hii?
06:20
No: Do I really want this itemkipengee? --
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Hapana: Kweli naitaka bidhaa hii? --
06:24
before makingkufanya a purchasekununua.
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kabla ya kufanya manunuzi.
06:26
And if everykila one of us adultswatu wazima in the US
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Na kama kila mtu mzima nchini Marekani
06:30
returnedalirudi fivetano lesschini itemsvitu this yearmwaka,
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angerudisha chini ya bidhaa tano mwaka
huu,
06:33
we would keep 240 millionmilioni poundspounds
of clothesnguo out of the landfillsehemu.
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tungeepusha paundi milioni 240
za nguo kuwepo katika jalala.
06:40
SixSita percentasilimia reductionkupunguza, just like that.
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Pungufu kwa asilimia sitini, hivyo tu.
06:44
This environmentalmazingira problemtatizo
that we have createdimeundwa
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Hili tatizo la kimazingira ambalo tumelitengeneza
06:48
is not thousandsmaelfu of yearsmiaka away;
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halipo mbali miaka elfu moja;
06:50
it's happeningkinachotokea todayleo,
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linatokea leo,
06:52
and mustlazima stop now to preventkuzuia growingkukua
landfillsavfallsdeponierna acrosskote the globeglobe.
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na linatakiwa kukoma sasa ili kuzuia
majalala yanayokua ulimwenguni.
06:58
I want to leaveshika my daughterbinti
and my daughter'sbinti daughterbinti
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Ninataka kuwaachia binti yangu
na binti wa binti yangu
07:01
a better and cleanersafi placemahali
than I foundkupatikana it,
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sehemu bora na safi kuliko nilivyoikuta
mimi,
07:04
so I have not only stoppedkusimamishwa overorderingoverordering,
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kwa siyo tu kwamba nimeacha kuagiza kuliko
kawaida,
07:08
I recyclerejesha religiouslyimeruhusiwa as well.
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Ninarejeleza kiimani vile vile.
07:10
And you can, too. It's not difficultvigumu.
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Na unaweza, pia. Sio ngumu.
07:13
Before we fillkujaza our shoppingununuzi cartsmikokoteni
and our landfillsavfallsdeponierna
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Kabla hatujajaza toroli zetu za manunuzi
na jalala zetu
07:17
with extraziada itemsvitu that we don't want,
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na bidhaa ambazo hatuna uhitaji nazo,
07:20
let's pausepumzika nextijayo time
we are shoppingununuzi onlineonline
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tusite kwanza tukiwa tunafanya
manunuzi mtandaoni
07:23
and think twicemara mbili about what we all
hopefullykwa matumaini really do want:
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na kuwaza mara mbili kuhusu kile
ambacho kweli tunakitaka:
07:29
a beautifulnzuri EarthDunia to call home.
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dunia maridhawa tunayoweza kuita nyumbani.
07:32
Thank you.
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Asante.
07:33
(ApplauseMakofi)
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(Makofi na shangwe)
Translated by Nelson Simfukwe
Reviewed by Doris Mangalu

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Aparna Mehta - Global supply chain leader
UPS's Aparna Mehta works with the top-tier retail customers to develop innovative, profitable solutions that enhance customer experiences.

Why you should listen

The exponential rise of e-commerce has changed the way we shop and driven retailers to offer things like "hassle-free" returns policy, to keep up with customer expectations. But what's the true cost of these returns to our planet? This was a life-changing question for Aparna Mehta, who went from being a serial returner of online purchases to finding a solution to mitigate returns.

As a Global Solutions Director at UPS, Mehta is skilled at assessing business processes to develop innovative solutions that are profitable and enhance customer experiences. She has been engaged with inspiring teams to peak performance and develop future leaders for more than two decades. She holds two master's degrees: an MBA and a master's in applied computer science from Illinois State University. In her personal time, she's on the leadership team for Ellevate, a professional networking group for women aimed at reducing the wage gap.

More profile about the speaker
Aparna Mehta | Speaker | TED.com