THE EVOLUTION FROM CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY TO SUPPLY CHAIN RESPONSIBILITY

The Evolution From Corporate Social Responsibility To Supply Chain Responsibility: The Case Of Waitrose



The Evolution From Corporate Social Responsibility To Supply Chain Responsibility

Supply chain management is a key business process focused on identifying and streamlining the ways to reduce costs, grow revenues and manage assets. It is a business process that begins with needs and ends with monitoring and evaluating the suppliers and relationships who meet those needs. It is a two-way network, a system of organizations, people, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from a supplier to a customer.

Strategic supply and purchasing management, while meeting immediate vital operating needs of companies are also focused on the long-term survival and prosperity of an organization. Imbedded in the supply and purchasing process are risks that fundamentally affect the overall survival, competitiveness and bottom line of every business.

In ideal risk management, a prioritization process is followed where the risks with the greatest loss and the greatest probability of occurring are handled first.In the supply chain there are operational risks - the interruption of goods and services: financial risks - significant changes in the price of goods or services: but "reputational risk" can be even more serious than operational or financial risks because the loss of reputation can be catastrophic for a company.

Because the reputation of a company's supply chain members has the greatest potential to effect its own reputation, this risk places new responsibilities on supplier and supply, not only to monitor environmental and social concerns but also to influence them.

Supply chain management focuses on bottom-line impact. This is where Corporate Social Responsibility in a MBA toolkit becomes closely linked as a tool in a business process that directly impacts financial and operational results of a company. In the context of CSR this is done by mindfully managing the reputational risks and challenges that companies, especially those with globally extended supply chains, inevitably face.

All businesses exist in the space between two entities - suppliers and customers. No organization can exist without them. For this reason, supply networks, are becoming the major determinants of corporate survival and success. Having risen to the level of strategic management policy and thinking, supply chain and purchasing management are being recognized for the impact that they are having not only on the strategic goals and objectives of companies but also on their results and bottom lines. Weaving CSR into the business processes of supply and purchasing management demonstrates how in a worldwide and hyper-competitive business environment that value creation and enhancement constantly require innovative approaches.

Effective purchasing and supply management contributes significantly to organizational success. The acquisition of materials, services and equipment of the right qualities, in the right quantities, at the right prices, at the right time and on a continuing basis is essential to the survival and success of any business. But supply chains are no longer just about technology, warehouses and distribution centers, or ...