Building a Sustainable Supply Chain with Market Intelligence

Global businesses are making a move towards being more environmentally conscious and creating sustainable supply chains. Supply chains have traditionally been some of the most environmentally harmful activities businesses partake in. However, supply chains form the very foundation of businesses and global trade.

However, with new technologies & strategies businesses can counter this trend by creating greener supply chains that are both beneficial to their business and their environment. Supply chain sustainability is a key area of investment for global companies for the past 2 years.

However, supply chain sustainability is a slow & continuous process that businesses must partake in. To begin the journey towards sustainability and supply chain management businesses must understand what sustainability means for their supply chains. And they need to know what role market intelligence plays for them.

What Sustainability Means for Supply Chains

Supply chain sustainability for businesses refers to the efforts they make to reduce the impact on environments and humans that their products have while going through a supply chain.

Everything from manufacturing to shipping has a net negative impact on the environment. In a time where the climate crisis points to a bleak future, sustainability in supply chains can help buck the negative trend.

From a business sense, the goal of supply chain sustainability is to create supply chains that minimize their impact on the environment with the help of new technologies & strategies while continuing to drive revenue and stay profitable. Early adopters of sustainable supply chain management already tend to perform better than traditional supply chains!

Why You Need to Create a Sustainable Supply Chains

One of the reasons why businesses are slow to adapt to sustainable supply chain strategies is that most don’t realize the value of a sustainable supply chain. Here are four reasons why creating a sustainable supply chain is crucial –

Cost Effective in The Long Run

Businesses are always looking for new and improved strategies to reduce their costs. If early adopters of responsible supply chains are anything to go by, well-optimized supply chains tend to be extremely cost-effective & actually help businesses drive revenue.

Many sustainable supply chains rely on strategies such as nearshoring, leveraging freight forwarders & reducing the physical transportation their products/product categories require. Sustainable supply chains also adopt newer technologies & automate tasks where possible, driving down the energy costs that they require.

Improved Branding and Consumer Goodwill

Multiple regions around the world are facing climate-related protests with large global and local businesses being the targets. Businesses that have n-tier suppliers known for their poor track records when it comes to sustainability also tend to be caught in the crossfire.

For example, popular sportswear brands such as Nike, Adidas, etc. have faced criticism for pollution, energy consumption, & more caused by their suppliers & manufacturers located in China. Creating sustainable supply chains can help businesses show themselves in a new light & build consumer goodwill again. An HBR research shows that consumers are 5-10% more likely to buy from a brand with more sustainable supply chains.

Changing Investor & Employee Relations

Continuing on the point above, investors & employees are no different. In recent years, investors are cautious about what businesses they invest in. Investors are aware of the effect irresponsible supply chain practices can have on stock prices.

Employees in developed countries also prefer to work & stay longer in companies that are more conscious about their environment actions and are working towards creating a sustainable supply chain.

Climate-Related Government Regulations

Last but not least, governments around the world are coming together and pledging to deal with the supply chain crisis with better legislation and are planning mandatory supply chain sustainability measures for businesses. Most of these pledges have 2030 as a target date.

Being ahead of the curve and adopting faster may help businesses protect themselves from violations & penalties. Some governments are also willing to invest in businesses that aim toward sustainability.

The Role of Market Intelligence in Sustainable Supply Chains

Market intelligence can be defined as the data, information, and insights that a business can leverage by analyzing billions of data points for its markets. Top businesses have been analyzing market intelligence for years to build supply chain sustainability.

Here’s how market intelligence can help build sustainable logistics and supply chain management:

• Insights for Key Supply Chain Nodes: With the right import export data, businesses can gain insights into key supply chain nodes. Apart from that, analyzing the market can help discover alternate trade routes, logistics companies with more responsible chains, buyers/suppliers that are more environmentally conscious, and more.
• Find Alternative Markets: By relying on market Insights for markets in countries, businesses can find new sustainable buyers/suppliers and alternative products/product categories for their business. For example, here’s how Jans Food uses Trademo Intel to find new suppliers around the world.
• Understanding Consumer Preferences: Leveraging market intelligence can help you study your target markets. By analyzing a consumer’s perception towards you & your competition’s brands, you can take efforts to the right sustainability metrics and overall increase your brand’s retention rate.
• Building New Supply Chain Sustainability Strategies: The right market intelligence data can help you find current & future market trends. You can use this data to build new responsible supply chain strategies and accelerate your business growth.

Summing Up

According to research by Microsoft, 70% of organizations building a sustainable supply chain also tend to create more resilient supply chains in the process. Resilient supply chains are better at tackling disruptions and delays. However, market intelligence is your first step towards building both. So why wait? Start building today. Trademo’s solutions can help you start. Check them out!