Sustainable Expectations are Creating Visibility in the Supply Chain

Today, leading supply chain focused organizations define visibility as a critical first step in managing business risk and defining the tomorrow’s business sustainability opportunities. Our sustainability consulting has personally witnessed these companies taking a total-view perspective to redefine the value characteristics and performance measures of a ‘new’ sustainable supply chain.

“Procurement can limit the amount of time it spends policing categories by providing clear guidelines to business partners and making sure they understand the benefits of following the rules. Leading companies create processes for stakeholders to follow when making spend decisions within categories and share compelling financial data to motivate ongoing discipline.” -Procurement Strategy Council

The next generation of sustainable category management includes a new level of responsibility across all activities. We believe successful implementation requires visibility, engagement, and stakeholder alignment with company defined sustainability objectives.

The key to success is to encourage active stakeholder participation in an organization's strategic sourcing and spending management processes and to create stakeholder ownership in the decision-making. – EBN post

Leveraging the above insights, our sustainability consulting encourages companies to build sustainable supply chain strategies, stakeholder engagement plans, and business improvement process to address:

Material sources: the quality of supply and manner in which it is obtained.

Supplier business practices: the ethical standards by which business partners conduct their business.

Supplier business processes: the environmental and social impacts of supplier operations.

Supplier business relations and affiliations: the quality of the category supply chain sub-tier relationships.

Building of a high value-impact and comprehensive business sustainability plan requires the incorporation of sustainability concepts in the supply chain. Our sustainability consulting provides information and resources to clients seeking to make a step-change in their traditional business practices.