Procurement Magazine spends five minutes with Jack Macfarlane , Founder & CEO of DeepStream
Q . GOVERNMENTS ALL OVER THE WORLD ARE PUSHING ORGANISATIONS TO BE MORE SUSTAINABLE . WHAT DO YOU THINK SUPPLY CHAIN AND PROCUREMENT ORGANISATIONS WILL NEED IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS SUCH AS ZERO-CARBON SHIPPING BY 2040 ?
» The demand to " go green " across the board will only accelerate and the industrial business world has to be at the epicentre of this . Procurement teams in particular will have to find transparent ways of working . Transparency and access to information will drive collaborative processes which in turn encourage purchasing decisions that take into account carbon-related criteria .
In terms of what procurement teams need , I think that integrating carbon-related criteria in the selection process of suppliers will be key . Procurement processes in the industrial supply chain are often very complex , with high volumes of information being exchanged with suppliers before getting to any “ award ” decision . Furthermore , automating the informational flows in the evaluation process of selecting suppliers , such that carbonrelated criteria are not ignored , is essential . Businesses need real-time governance and visibility around how their procurement departments are making these choices .
To this end , businesses are increasingly adopting digital procurement / RFx software to replace email chains . Buyers need to be able to find and source new suppliers who are willing to demonstrate sustainability credentials . Using digital platforms with low barrier engagement is important to keep supplier behaviour sustainable and introduce more competition into the market .
Q . DO YOU THINK THAT THESE GOALS ARE REALISTIC AND OBTAINABLE ?
» Yes , I do believe so . We are already seeing our big partners adapting to these more innovative and sustainable ways of working . This change is already in motion and companies are increasingly being held accountable by public opinion and governmental commitments . Businesses are beginning to understand that the days of wasteful practices and unregulated carbon emissions are over . Better digital tools lead to greater transparency , which means that suppliers have nowhere to
“ The demand to ' go green ' across the board will only accelerate and the industrial business world has to be at the epicentre of this ” procurementmag . com 19