Monday, December 8, 2014 by Tim Greiner

A whopping 97 percent of environmental impacts in the retail sector come from the product itself — from raw materials, transportation and product manufacturing. With impacts so heavily weighted in the supply chain, retailers are increasingly and creatively wading upstream to partner with their suppliers on their greatest impacts. The key to success lies in selecting the appropriate supplier engagement method and then using that approach as a vehicle to deeper collaboration. But can successful retailer approaches truly motivate meaningful supply chain improvements?

The benefits of engagement

Probing a vast supply chain that may extend across the globe and include thousands of raw material suppliers and as many materials and processes is not easy. But retailers don’t have to go it alone; there are many well-respected, third-party tools and surveys that they can leverage to support this work. And as retailers turn their attention to this challenge, they are finding exciting opportunities for collaboration and innovation. Read more here.