MANIFESTO FOR A FRUGAL AND DESIRABLE SUPPLY CHAIN

Transport less, transport and store better

Experiencing journeys: a source of fulfillment

Today, we note that after a period of sobriety forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, and despite our efforts, our greenhouse gas emissions are still not on a virtuous trajectory. This acknowledgement of failure, together with other environmental challenges such as the collapse of biodiversity, the increasing scarcity of certain resources, and the fragility of our supply chains in an increasingly volatile and complex global context, has led us to improve our vision.

Our Supply Chains must become sustainably frugal and positive, i.e. sober to produce just what is needed, optimize flows, reduce fossil fuels and embody strong values based on collaboration, solidarity and the meaning of our professions. In this way, they will contribute to consolidating the organizational chains of companies and society as a whole.

Our supply chains must become sustainably frugal and positive, i.e. sober to produce just what is needed, optimize flows, reduce fossil fuels , and embody strong values based on collaboration, solidarity and the meaning of our professions.

For years, by optimizing flows, the Supply Chain has enabled globalization, while underestimating or failing to integrate the impacts it generates on the planet and its inhabitants. For greater agility and responsiveness, we have committed ourselves to ever more raw materials, ever more kilometers, ever more fossil fuels. In response to this strategy, France Supply Chain published its Manifesto two years ago.

Our supply chains must become sustainably frugal and positive, i.e. sober to produce just what is needed, optimize flows, reduce fossil fuels, and embody strong values based on collaboration, solidarity and the meaning of our professions. In this way, they will contribute to consolidating the organizational chains of companies and society.

Chapter 1

"Transport less, transport and store better" levers for a more sober supply chain

As the climatic, ecological and social impacts of our transport systems must be rapidly reduced, it is essential to take advantage of all available opportunities to act on transport modes: more sustainable energies, multimodal solutions and slowing down flows.

At the same time, we need to design new supply chain organizations to bring factories closer to their customers, relocate certain activities, and review the place and role of intermediaries. To achieve this, we need to pool more resources, maximize the use of all means to fill trucks, ships, trains, warehouses, etc., while banishing empty packaging.

New logistics and industrial buildings will have to be "energy positive", while renovated buildings will have to use the best possible solutions to achieve this objective.

Chapter 2

Making circularity possible

The linear model based on constant growth in consumption and waste of resources has shaped our supply chains. Faced with this unsustainable model, the circular economy proposes a different trajectory: " doing more and better with fewer resources ", preserving raw materials and products, and intensifying their uses. The Supply Chain bears the responsibility of making circularity possible now.

Standardization is the basis of the circular economy: a common language for data fluidity, products using interchangeable components and common maintenance.

The logistics of collection, return, reallocation of use and repair require mastery of data and flows. Tracing objects, their uses and their composition in order to maximize their lifespan, and recovering raw materials and waste at the end of their life, all require detailed knowledge of the products and raw materials available.

Thinking and organizing these spatial loops, and anticipating the perpetual evolution of supply chains in the face of variability and constraints on resources, are the foundations of a circular supply chain.

Chapter 3

Creating collaborative ecosystems

Faced with increasingly stringent requirements, the complexities of transport and storage responses, flow articulation and a circular Supply Chain vision, Supply Chain players will have to set up mutualization ecosystems based on trust, fair value sharing and respect for confidentiality.

The emergence of trusted third parties will accelerate the implementation of these principles.

The maturity of optimization tools(digital twins, machine learning, artificial intelligence, operational research) coupled with ever finer traceability, will increase the power of these ecosystems tenfold.

Chapter 4

A path to fulfillment

The diversity of our professions, ongoing training and greater inclusion will enable us to offer dynamic, qualifying and attractive career paths.

Contributing to the environmental transformation of society makes Supply Chain employees proud. The attractiveness of Supply Chain professions depends on strengthening training and skills, and reducing the arduousness of physical jobs. In the future, the Supply Chain will continue to be a social springboard, supported by a policy of continuous training to offer optimum skills and expertise to those who work in it.

France Supply Chain brings together companies, local authorities, associations, schools and universities. We are working to lay the foundations for a new, shared approach to the supply chain, one that is responsible for the planet and society as a whole.

Circularity and collaboration will be the pillars of the resilience of sober Supply Chains. Tomorrow, more than today, those who make up the Supply Chain will be proud of their commitment to meeting these challenges.

* Content reserved for members or on request

* The Manifesto is available in English and French.

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