Business Chief USA October 2019

SUSTAINABILITY
80
businesses they interact with directly
accountable for the products or
services that are delivered. So, if it is
discovered that products contain parts
manufactured unsustainably that have
come from an external supplier, it won’t
be the supplier that faces the backlash
and suffers the consequences.
Qualifying the right sourcing partners
is a critical piece of the sustainability
puzzle, and it requires businesses to
enforce the same high sustainability
standards to which they hold themselves.
Establishing and communicating
expectations through a supplier
code of conduct is an effective way for
businesses to involve suppliers in their
sustainability efforts.
OPTIMISING DISTRIBUTION
When looking to improve sustainability,
logistics is one of the areas where the
biggest difference can be made. With
a large number of vehicles moving high
volumes of goods to diverse and dispersed
locations, there is a significant
risk of inefficiency when it comes to
transport operations.
In order to optimise their logistics
network, businesses should look at
whether their fleet’s size, type and
geographic spread remains optimal,
whether their distribution centres are
in the right places, whether customer
order profiles and delivery requirements
have changed since the original
transport operation was designed,
and whether a dedicated transport
operation is even still needed, or if
it could be more economical and
environmentally-friendly.
This will not only help to ensure
that the supply chain can operate as
OCTOBER 2019