The Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM) has released a new set of standards designed to help companies assess the ethical, ecological and economic aspects of their supply chains.
Companies who meet the standards – which are thought to be the first of their kind – are eligible to apply for the ASCM Enterprise Certification to demonstrate their supply chain excellence and transparency. This is a growing consumer value as shoppers become more and more educated about supply chain practices supporting a circular economy, the ASCM says.
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“More than ever, consumers want to know that the products they buy are not only economically sound but also manufactured through practices that are ethically and environmentally conscious,” notes ASCM CEO Abe Eshkenazi. “Building these ‘triple E’ supply chains provide innovative companies with another platform to achieve competitive advantage, grow their market share and make the world better through supply chain – at the same time.”
An ASCM report released earlier this year found that 83% of supply chain professionals surveyed consider supply chain ethical dimensions either extremely or very important to their organisation. However, nearly four in ten companies aren’t monitoring their supply chains for ethical practices.
“This gap between mindset and action causes accountability to fall through the cracks, which can damage an organisation’s reputation, affecting its overall bottom line,” Eshkenazi adds.
The development of the ASCM Enterprise Certification leverages the entire APICS body of knowledge including the supply chain operations reference (SCOR) model and ASCM professional certifications – CPIM, CSCP and CLTD. The Standards Guide serves as a comprehensive checklist helping to strengthen supply chain strategy. The guide contains three sections.
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By GlobalData- Section 1: Organises criteria and questions for each stage of the supply chain (plan, source, make, deliver, return and enable) across ethical, environmental and economical dimensions.
- Section 2: Focuses on criteria and questions for key facilitators, which includes those involved in strategy, governance, workforce, and technology and knowledge management.
- Section 3: Centres on effective stakeholder engagement including customers, suppliers, government and community.
The Standards Guide is available to download on the ASCM website.
