SUSTAINABILITY
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D ue to the rate that technology develops , businesses have a requirement to be lean and adaptable now more than ever before . Technology has become the right-hand man to companies worldwide and you will be hardpressed to find an organisation in the supply chain space that doesn ’ t see the value in the implementation of new technology .
However , while the introduction of Big Data and artificial intelligence ( AI ) has been felt industry-wide and further , there remains a responsibility to ensure that sustainability is also considered . Antony Bourne , Industries President of the Institute for Fiscal Studies ( IFS ), believes customer pressure has meant that companies ’ hands have been forced into adopting a more sustainable approach . “ Sustainability in procurement , manufacturing , and all across the supply chain has been driven by consumers – there ’ s no doubt about it ,” says Bourne . “ Companies have had to adopt a far more sustainable approach to their businesses due to this pressure . However , it is sometimes difficult to get the right historic data to see where sustainable practices could be brought in . But , nowadays , with the greater connectivity that new technologies afford the entire supply chain , companies have access to much more data to draw upon to make data-driven sustainability decisions . Unfortunately , a lot of this is still in siloed spreadsheets , but it is improving .”
OCTOBER 2019