 Supply Chain Management
Marketplace expectations for both suppliers and
retailers have shifted dramatically in response to concerns surrounding the sustainable
management of the world's natural resources, indicating a preference for products that
meet environmentally sustainable management standards.
For the wood and paper products industry, these
expectations have prompted some retailers to require their suppliers to ensure that their
wood fiber is not derived from old growth or endangered forests, that it is being
extracted from forests that have been certified as sustainably managed, and that paper
products incorporate higher levels of post-consumer recycled content.
A similar marketplace trend is developing within the
seafood industry, leading some processors, restaurants and retailers to specify that
product does not come from endangered fisheries and is derived from independently
certified sources.
Chain of Custody Verification
Responding to these marketplace expectations requires
both suppliers and retailers to identify the source of their products. Tracking product
"upstream" from the final link in the distribution chain is known as
Chain-of-Custody, and is relevant to all critical control points in the supply chain, from
resource extraction to the final recipient in the distribution channel.
Natural Strategies has experience in building supply
chain management systems that are designed to meet your customer's expectations and
standards for existing chain-of-custody certification programs. Our services in this area
include:
- Collection of data for all material sources
- Creation of source databases
- Design of efficient chain-of-custody systems for
identifying and controlling product streams
- Assisting a company's upstream suppliers in the
implementation of systems that will complement the company's own source identification
strategy.
Other Innovative Economics:
Understanding
Sustainability | Strategy
Management Systems | Program Implementation
Organizational
Development & Communications |
