ANDY HANCOCK GLOBAL VICE PRESIDENT OF DIGITAL SUPPLY CHAIN CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE , SAP

Switching his focus to the supply chain landscape five years hence , Hancock says sustainability - and the circular economy - will be the defining factors .

He says : “ I think consumers are going to push the agenda on this . Just telling people a product is made out of recyclable material won ’ t cut it . People will want to understand about companies ’ supply chains - about how sustainable their manufacturers are in the Far East , for example .

“ They ’ ll expect an almost complete genealogy of a product , and also whether products that go to landfill are biodegradable , or if they are reusable . I think these things are going to keep everybody busy for the next ten years .”

He says that achieving such supply chain transparency will mean that data silos will have to become a thing of the past : “ Sustainability will be a data-driven process , which means if products are to have sustainability KPIs , then there can no longer be data silos in the supply chain , because that ’ s like looking at a product through a series of letterboxes , whereas what you need is complete visibility .” 44 April 2022