Supply Pilot: Communicating the sustainability message
Data is central to supply chain transformation, particularly with sustainability near the top of the agenda for the world’s largest organisations. To understand how companies can collect, leverage, and act on supplier data, technology creates the opportunity for analysis, and solutions to meet a varying degree of needs through the use of supply chain data to deliver supplier scorecards, supplier engagement, and ultimately, collaboration.
James Butcher, CEO of Supply Pilot, previously spoke at Sustainability LIVE London, but this year marked another year of Sponsorship for the company.
The core business of Supply Pilot—born as ‘Solutions for Retail Brands’ in 2006—is supplier engagement, which is a key stage of the overall sustainability agenda, particularly when companies require more environmentally friendly and socially responsible norms within their supply chains.
“We all know that supplier and product sustainability is imperative, but driving real change and impact is simpler said than done,” says Butcher, who comments on the company’s support for Sustainability LIVE. “There are a multitude of reasons to push for more sustainable practices, but a major one is that not doing so is a risk to your business. Research from PwC shows that 55% of GDP is at material risk from climate and nature loss, but most of your business’ ESG impact comes from the supply chain.
Butcher continues: “The challenge here is that the vast majority of the complexity is within that same supply chain - and therefore not in your control - so any real impactful change on the sustainability front simply cannot be done without engaging those suppliers.
“This isn’t as simple as handing down mandates of what suppliers should or shouldn’t do - it’s about understanding their capabilities, readiness and appetite, and taking them along on the journey with you.”
Supply Pilot engages leading organisations in the demand for sustainability
This platform is all about communication: ensuring the message is shared to the necessary organisations that can have a huge impact on how supply chains adapt to the imminent climate challenges. The company projects a mission of consistency and clarity in terms of environmental, social and governance (ESG).
It’s the trusted partner of a number of major organisations, such as the Walgreens Boots Alliance, John Lewis Partners, Asda, Marks & Spencer, and Walmart. The Supply Pilot platform is built to demonstrate the truly achievable aspects of supply chain sustainability with use-cases for risk mitigation and supplier engagement.
The key to real progress, as mentioned by Butcher, is to build awareness of corporate sustainability between suppliers and ensure that the important conversations take place.
“The reality is that there is no point pushing suppliers for surveys and results if they don’t understand the ‘why’, so those at that end of the spectrum need more of an education-based strategy. Conversely, you may have suppliers that have a lot of knowledge and capability, so your strategy with them is more about action plans,” says Butcher.
Backing large supply chains to transform digitally
Much of the work carried out by Supply Pilot over the past decade and a half has focused on digitising communications with suppliers. The company’s success derives from its approach to some of the most pressing issues that brands face, and featuring at Sustainability LIVE London brought the company even closer to the supply chain to deliver these crucial insights to networking professionals.
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Other magazines that may be of interest - EV Magazine | Energy Digital
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