Enabling Ethical Sourcing and Sustainable Supply-Chain Practices
Introduction
Today, the global supply-chains are more than ever diverse, interconnected and highly scalable. Far-reach of global chains means its becoming harder for consumers to know where and how their products originate. This article explores how Seanode ensures and enables ethical sourcing of goods following 5 simple steps
The rise of the ‘consumer class’ and ‘consumer-driven economies’ has presented a complex challenge to procurement: how can sourcing meet demand while remaining as sustainable and ethical as possible? A profound CSR (corporate social responsibility) issue with the capacity to address several fundamental issues, from the living conditions of workers in primary industries to the environmental sustainability of operations, ethical sourcing offers a chance to make a substantial, positive impact in a company’s sphere of influence.
Similar to every other challenges, the problem of sustainable supply-chain presents opportunities within its core. It may be perceived as a burden to organizations, but the truth of the matter is trade transparency and supply-chain visibility can ensure long-term success of enterprises and strong brand-identification with the consumers. So where and how do you begin the journey of ethical sourcing, without going through a business transformation? Digital Supply-Chains.
Digitize Your Supply Chain
Having existing relationships with your supply-chain partners does not mean that organizations cannot adapt better ways to engage with them. Upon securing the desired trading partners, companies must then connect with them via a collaborative platform, such as Seanode, in order to establish a digital supply chain.
Ideally, the collaboration needs to be via cloud-based, data-integration environment, which allows the supply chain platform to scale in line with changing consumer demands and fluctuating market conditions. Embracing a digital supply chain also helps to prevent the falsification of manual, paper-based supply-chain documents, and therefore indirectly reduces the amount of counterfeit parts entering the supply chain, especially in the aftermarket sector.
Connect Trustworthy Suppliers
Before embarking on an ethical-supply chain strategy, organizations must first locate trading partners who share the same ethical practices and ambitions. You can search for potential partners based on specific criteria using Seanode — for example, whether the business in question maintains sustainable working practices, uses sustainable materials in its products, and/or engages in fair labor practices. It’s imperative that companies be able to trust the partners they work with, to ensure ethical working practices across the end-to-end supply chain.
Supplier Network Management
Executing a strategic sourcing program with new supplier information and appropriate onboarding processes to find the right suppliers that can perform despite the volatility of today’s marketplace is one of the biggest factors of sustainable supply-chain sourcing.
Supply-Chain Visibility and Trade Transparency
The key to building trust and protecting the reputation of an entity is knowing the source of all the parts that make up a product. Leveraging technology behind digital supply-chains, organizations can improve supply-chain visibility by tracking both the movement and condition of shipments. IoT sensors and AIS technology measure the temperature of frozen or perishable goods, shock levels as fragile goods are moved, and the location of expensive items via the global positioning system (GPS). In doing so, shippers can help to ensure against spoilage, damage and theft.
Globally Unified Trade Communities
Ethical practices and sustainable governance is not a one-off task. It needs to be managed in a continuous manner, and companies must think about how they can improve day-to-day collaboration within their supply-chains to achieve this. Effective collaboration with trading partners helps to drive greater adoption and adherence to ethical sourcing practices. The networks of supply-chains still remain disconnected in real-time, which is restricting a globally unified trade community.
Collaboration platforms can help to encourage this. After all, it’s difficult to collaborate with suppliers if are not on the same digital infrastructure as yourself. Invite, engage, and trade with your suppliers via Seanode platform, and ensure ethical sourcing with just a few clicks!
