Regulation, including due diligence laws and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, has elevated supply chain traceability to a C-suite level issue. Although supply chain mapping is a shared objective, Inspectorio’s Antonio Leon de la Barra says it matters how companies go about achieving this.
In a fireside chat at Sourcing Journal’s Fall Summit on Nov. 2, de la Barra, head of go-to-market, strategic products at the quality and compliance software firm, noted that if companies focus their efforts solely on creating chain of custody mapping to protect their imports from seizures, they may discover down the line that their capabilities are limited. For instance, the solution may be lacking the ability to calculate carbon footprint or collaborate with suppliers.
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“There’s such a laser focus and such an onus…to get your supply chain mapped, that it’s given a lot of attention,” de la Barra said during a conversation with moderator Lauren Parker, director, SJ Studio at Sourcing Journal. “But that’s also come at the cost of making it somewhat of a silo.”
As companies are building traceability within their supply chains, de la Barra sees the opportunity for them to use this connectivity to support other activities. “Traceability is really just part of a broader operation to get your purchase orders produced effectively and out the door,” he said.
De la Barra explained that compliance is the first priority, however, the act of gathering this data also provides insights into other areas. Companies should locate any duplicate data gathering and input so they can streamline the process. For instance, fabric testing in a laboratory can provide data for chain of custody at the same time.
Suppliers play a key role in providing more supply chain transparency, but de la Barra said that it is a “tough sell” to ask them to adopt and input information to another platform with the sole purpose of preventing goods from being detained. “Your Tier 1 suppliers are really the first ones who should have their entire supply chain mapped out, so are you providing them with the tools necessary for them to do that in a way that empowers their strategic operations and sourcing activities? Or are you just imposing on them a requirement to log into a system and input some data for each purchase order, slowing down their operations?” he said. “If you’re taking that latter approach, you’re going to see a lot of friction. It’s going to be an uphill battle to get your supply chain mapped out.”
To improve efficiency for suppliers and reduce audit fatigue, de la Barra recommended that brands and retailers collaborate. By entering audit results into platforms that can communicate with each other, brands can reduce repeated tests.
Software companies are being asked to integrate and do more, and de la Barra has heard traceability platforms mention receiving requests to add quality capabilities. He suggested brands consolidate their platforms to ease the burden on suppliers for data entry, and highlighted the importance of choosing the right technology partners. “It’s going to take time for any different provider to really expand, to be able to offer all of the things that you need,” he said. “So be strategic from day one about who you engage with to provide you with such a core service, such as mapping out your supply chain, and developing that digital relationship with your supply chain partners.”
For its own platforms, Inspectorio is supporting customers with artificial intelligence. Users can ask the AI questions, and the tool will comb Inspectorio’s database to surface an answer, providing access to intel that is wider than the brand’s own data set. “It’s really important to have the ability to collaborate with platforms that can aggregate data from the supply chain in a way that allows you to derive meaningful insights,” de la Barra said.
