Sustainability: business, life, environment

Businesses around the globe and across many industries find they have something in common: the search for greater supply chain value.  But who is leading the conversation?  Is sustainable supply chain management only a one-way conversation?

Work over the past few years has revealed that many business executives and their procurement organizations now view environmental and social responsibility actions within in the supply chain to be both a risk mitigating strategy and a business opportunity.   These companies are taking their strategic sourcing and procurement guidelines the next level of supply chain sustainability.

Stepping beyond the traditional ‘push-down’ models resulting in price concession driven savings, today’s leading supply chain actions recognize that all supply chain stakeholders must be ‘actively’ engaged in the value discussion.  Sustainable supply chain management is expanding the traditionally buyer/supplier power-centric one-way conversation to include active engagement with all key stakeholders, both up and down the chain.

•    Supply Chain Alignment: All business partners have input into the business sustainability direction and have equal value opportunity.

•    Supplier Integration: Integrated processes with supplier to improve communication, increase efficiency, and ensure common sustainable processes.

•    Customer Expectation Translation: Sustainable product expectations clearly communicated down the supply chain to material and service providers.

Creating supply chain management alignment begins with increased eco awareness, applied sustainability concepts, and active supplier/customer engagement.  By expanding the conversations with key business stakeholders, companies build a multi-aligned framework that is sustainable even when market conditions and balances of power change.