Tracy Bolton, chief operating officer at 51风流Africa, says organisations face a number of barriers to realising the broader value of their sustainability initiatives. “Issues such as lack of engagement from company executives, ineffective use of data, siloed technologies, and a lack of collaboration undermine the impact of sustainability initiatives on a company’s operations and bottom line. Closing the so-called Green Gap requires that organisations reach across their business ecosystems to bring suppliers, regulators, employees and board leadership into their sustainability efforts.”

According to the report by Oxford Economics and SAP, so-called ‘Sustainability Leaders’ – those organisations that have embraced comprehensive sustainability programs and have achieved great outcomes as a result – account for only 9% of study respondents.

Leading sustainability efforts

“Sustainability Leaders set clear expectations of their sustainability goals and communicate those effectively to the broader organisation. Technology and data management is applied in key areas, and core audiences, such as supply chain partners, are regularly engaged. This creates a system of accountability that ensures sustainability efforts go beyond pure talk into action.”

The report found that, among nearly 2000 global executives, the most common sustainability efforts included waste reduction (65% of organisations surveyed), emissions tracking (53%) and minimising energy use (47%). “To unleash the true potential and impact of sustainability, organisations need to harness the network effect by developing policies and processes that enable partners and vendors to work sustainably with the business,” says Bolton.

The pay-offs for closing the green gap are significant. The report found that executives identified sustainability initiatives as driving benefits across the organisation, with 58% citing increased efficiency, 46% enjoying improved brand reputation, and 44% being better able to meet customer needs.

Sustainability Leaders that are leveraging the strength of their networks are also better positioned to reap the rewards of the circular economy.

“The circular economy depends on the strength of networks including customers, manufacturers, competitors, employees and regulators who are all aligned to sustainability goals,” says Bolton. “The organisations that lead with their circular economy efforts unlock a range of business benefits that include increased customer loyalty (74%) and innovation (79%), better brand reputation (80%), new revenue streams (70%) and reduced costs (59%).”

Bringing profitability and sustainability closer

Bolton adds that organisations can close the gap between sustainability and profitability by enhancing the impact of their sustainability efforts. “Research show five key areas of focus for organisations that want to overcome sustainability challenges and move into the Leaders category.”

The five key areas of focus include:

1. Driving sustainability from the top down through executive sponsorship. “Effective sustainability efforts start with an explicit plan driven from the top down and clearly communicated by company leadership,” says Bolton.
2. Providing clear, consistent communication that permeates every layer of the organisation. “Sustainability efforts may start at the top, but for any such effort to succeed, it needs to be adopted and driven by employees throughout the organisation. Establishing clear goals can also drive better sustainability performance among teams.”
3. Integrating processes, technology and data to provide a unified view of the organisation’s total sustainability performance. “Most businesses have not put sustainability at the centre of their strategies, which leads to disconnected or siloed processes that can hamper strategic planning and create discord between financial and non-financial information. By unifying these assets, organisations gain greater visibility into their sustainability performance and progress.”
4. Putting data at the centre of sustainability. “Data is critical,” says Bolton. “Organisations gain vital insight into resources and efficiency by capturing and analysing data. In addition, data helps measure sustainability outcomes and can point to areas for improvement.”
5. Extending sustainable practices to customers, partners and suppliers. “Sustainability is a team sport that requires participation across the entire supply chain,” says Bolton. “For example, more than a third (36%) of executives don’t view using sustainable energy providers as important to their carbon-reduction goals, despite the enormous impact energy providers have on overall sustainability practices. Getting internal and external stakeholders aligned around core sustainability goals can unlock the network effect and greatly enhance sustainability outcomes.”

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At the same time, in today鈥檚 connected, informed, and always-on marketplace, customers are demanding high-quality, individualised products delivered within shorter timeframes. To build up local production capacity and meet these requirements, companies must synchronise their demand chain with their supply chain.

鈥淚n manufacturing, where supply chain, distribution and service are the foundation of success, intelligent enterprises are using the latest ERP technologies to gain the edge on their competitors 鈥揻rom order placement all the way through to execution and delivery,鈥� says Navin D鈥機ruz, Head of Sales East Africa, Seidor Africa.

鈥淎utomation in the factory is nothing new, but the convergence of the digital and physical worlds has made the transformation of the supply chain increasingly possible.鈥�

In manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI) improves overall equipment efficiency production yield. This means manufacturers can use AI to increase uptime and ensure consistent quality, which makes for better forecasting.

Machine learning (ML) which requires data input, data training, defining and choosing algorithms, data visualisation and more, is applied to develop a mapping function with a level of accuracy that allows manufacturers to predict outputs when new input data is entered into the system.

Powered with AI, ML, and natural language processing, chatbots in manufacturing can streamline manufacturing processes by equipping stakeholders with the required data on the go. Deploying chatbots for manufacturing can help companies gain increased profits, enabling them to maintain a competitive edge in a global marketplace.

In 鈥淭he smart factory: Responsive, adaptive, connected manufacturing鈥�, part of a Deloitte series on Industry 4.0, the research team reports that the smart factory represents a leap forward from more traditional automation to a fully connected and flexible system, one that can use a constant stream of data from connected operations and production systems to learn and adapt to new demands.

D鈥機ruz says there are five key benefits to integrated ERP systems:

1. Accurate demand forecasts

How many times have business owners wondered what the next quarter is going to look like? ERP brings sanity to production, sales, procurement and inventory plans. It helps to generate forecast and sales reports based on historical transactions, increasing the accuracy and dependability of production and buying levels. This minimises both out-of-stock and excess inventory situations, keeping stock levels in line with the increase and decrease in demand.

With major advances being made in artificial intelligence and machine learning, businesses are investing heavily in advanced analytics to get ahead of the competition and increase their bottom line. One of those areas is called predictive analytics, where companies extract information from existing data to determine buying patterns and forecast future trends. By using a combination of data, statistical algorithms, and machine learning techniques, predictive analytics identifies the likelihood of future outcomes based on the past. This technology is being used to determine customer responses or purchases, forecast inventory, manage resources, and even detect fraud.

Predictive analytics is becoming more and more mainstream when it comes to demand forecasting, an area of predictive analytics focused on customer demand. Based on the analysis of historical data and current market conditions, it determines the estimated demand for the future and sets the level of preparedness that is required on the supply side to match demand.

2. Decreased costs and improved profitability

Industry leaders everywhere are focusing on increasing revenue in the next 18 months. Getting more work done for lower costs means business growth and improved profits. ERP helps manufacturers to react quickly to changes in the industry, such as raw material costs and delivery timeframes. Data is stored in a single, integrated database that allows fast information processing, and enables quick, high-quality decision-making. Increasing organisational efficiency highlights less profitable areas and cuts down on waste. It also reduces control and inventory management costs.

3. Mobility and increased employee efficiency

Working remotely can be challenging for companies that are experiencing it for the first time. In the strange new world we are living in, ERP enables employees to work remotely with ease, and to access all the information they need from a single portal. They can access business data from their phones, tablets, laptops and computers, no matter where they are based.

4. Increased flexibility

In a pandemic world, manufacturing flexibility provides the capability to respond quickly to shifts in market requirements. Flexible manufacturing enables a business to be collaborative in meeting market and customer demands, respond more quickly to changing demand, and build to order. Flexible approaches enable increased revenue and market share, improved efficiency, and lower cost.

5. Enhanced security and compliance

Whilst the number of data protection laws of Africa are increasing, on 1 July 2021 the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) becomes effective in South Africa.聽 Compliance with data protection laws is non-negotiable. ERP systems have many features that can assist companies with the protection of personal information. Data entered into an ERP system can be secured and coded. Access to the data can be restricted through identity and access management, ensuring data security.

鈥淐ompanies depend on technology systems to grow, but outdated, overly complicated architectures can hinder business agility,鈥� says D-Cruz.

鈥淚ntegrating legacy systems with new, intelligent ERP technologies to unlock scalability and unleash the potential for innovation is the start of a journey that leads to sustainable growth.鈥�

This article first appeared on FutureWave .

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