Sustainability in the supply chain is a fundamental part of companies’ compliance with environmental commitments, experts agreed.
Margarita Gutiérrez, Procurement Manager at Ragasa, said that it is crucial to have a partnership between the areas of procurement, operations and manufacturing to meet the criteria focused on this process.
“Within supplier development programs, it is important to consider having programs to raise awareness of the impact that manufacturing processes and the supply chain itself have on the environment,” he said.
He explained that the purchasing department has a great impact in influencing suppliers to be responsible with the actions contemplated for the care of the environment.
Adrián Soto, Procurement Leader at Natura, mentioned during his participation in the Global Supply Chain Mexican Leaders organized by GrupoTiMéxico and TMSfirst, that in the case of the company, it has sought to have environmentally friendly packaging.
“There is a product that comes from Brazil, it is a product of the Amazon, we also brought it from other Asian countries, we also brought the packaging from Brazil but it is very complex for the environment, so we have started to develop local suppliers, with several from Toluca, we have negotiated long-term contracts to provide certainty,” he said.
He explained that this strategy has generated great results for them, also in Colombia and in other countries where they have a presence.
Lino Orozco, general director of Supply Chain Consulting Mexico, said that “procurement” is not only about reducing costs but also about reengineering some key inputs, as well as partnerships with some suppliers, with the aim of “creating a competitive advantage for the business.”
Margarita Gutiérrez recalled that, at one time, Amazon carried out a strategy where, when it arrived in Mexico, the boxes they used to distribute products were made with virgin fiber imported from the United States.
However, the cost was too high, so they sought out local suppliers and collected the cardboard, thereby “saving thousands of trees and millions of tons of carbon.”
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