Supply Chain Transformation

How can companies successfully transform their supply chains to be both sustainable and business-efficient?

Companies now have the opportunity to deeply embed sustainability in their core business strategy. However, as they aim to extend their sustainability efforts beyond their own operations and incorporate suppliers into the process, they often encounter complex challenges. How can one ensure that demands for change don’t result in the loss of critical suppliers? How can one maintain optimal product quality and sales while pursuing sustainability? If the decision is made to eliminate high-risk commodities, will replacement products meet expectations and continue to maintain and attract customers?

A Code of Conduct Strategy Fit for the Anthropocene

The production, delivery, and consumption of products typically have big impacts on the environment, human rights, and health. In the Anthropocene, companies need to transform to continue doing business. As retail companies source their products from a variety of suppliers, ensuring these suppliers are able to embrace the company’s new sustainability standards in a mutually beneficial way is crucial. This requires a new, responsive Code of Conduct for suppliers that reflects this change.

A Code of Conduct fit for the Anthropocene (that is to say, one that sets holistic sustainability standards) can help companies:

  • Catalyse new consumer demands
  • Stay ahead of upcoming regulations
  • Develop sustainable business models to take larger shares of emerging markets
  • Begin transformation ahead of competitors
  • Ease suppliers into a shared vision and journey

“Holistic sustainability” includes social-ecological impacts of products, the health of customers, their role in society and values, and their ability to build a future-oriented company. Starting with a Code of Conduct that is based on this perspective is a winning strategy for business, employer branding, customers, and Earth.

A Code of Conduct appendix: The next level

To account for the complexity of sustainability challenges in the Anthropocene, an appendix to the Code of Conduct can be made that provides science-based sustainability guidelines for the following:

  • Risk commodities
  • Strategy to face out risk commodities, step by step
  • Together with your key suppliers

Risk analysis

Due to the scale of the changes required for a Code of Conduct fit for the Anthropocene, a detailed risk analysis is key to manage the following potential challenges:

  • What happens if you lose key suppliers?
  • Loss of control over value chain
  • Identifying risk commodities
  • Identifying substitutions

Collaboration

Identify key partners to collaborate with to reach your goals together. Focus on collaboration instead of a “take it or leave it” approach.

Step-by-Step Transformation

What can we help you with?

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with your questions!

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