Alcumus: Creating Compliant, Ethical and Sustainable Supply Chains

Digital Innovation talks to Anthony Hanley, SVP of Global Supply Chain Compliance at Alcumus, about how organisational visibility and control of a supply chain play a vital role in creating safe, ethical, and sustainable workplaces.

Alcumus’ vision is to create the safest, most ethical global network of responsible buyers and suppliers for a better working world. Alcumus helps organisations to gain critical visibility of the compliance and non-compliance of their supply chain from tier one to four and beyond.

Anthony Hanley MBA , SVP of Global Supply Chain Compliance at Alcumus, says, “We are focused on simplifying supply chain compliance, to create visibility and enable buyers and suppliers to connect with ease. Working with over 900 buyers across multiple industries, including 50 per cent of the FTSE 100, and over 45,000 contractors and suppliers across the globe, 2,000 of which are sole traders, no business is too big or too small. Our aim is to ensure the supply chain understands the requirements expected of it by their buyers from a compliance perspective. We act as the interface between the buyer, client, and their supply chain.”?

There have been catastrophic waves of disruption in recent years and there are no signs of it slowing down. Coupled with the rising trend of increased regulations, organisations have a battle to survive, let alone grow. As Anthony explains, “New regulations are coming thick and fast. Workplace safety regulations are commonplace, driven by the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), but now with the emergence and significant focus on sustainability, we’re moving to a world where implementing stringent ESG practices is the strategic priority. The pace of change is phenomenal.

“The tide is rising and in-flight regulations, such as the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, the EU proposed Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence, the EU Cyber Resilience Act, and the Procurement Bill, signify a permanent shift in expectations on organisations to do more. It’s hard to keep up. But they all have common ground and a legal spotlight that cannot be ignored to avoid huge financial and reputational consequences. It’s about having transparency of your supply chain, understanding who you are working with, and whether they have the same values as your organisation and meet your standards.”

The compliance conversation on modern slavery has accelerated. Anthony continues, “Organisations around the world are reacting to greater emphasis from governments, consumers, society, investors and regulations to be more transparent, especially around human rights. They need to make sure they are protecting people, the planet, and their bottom line, with profit being the third most important factor.

“A staggering 50 million people are currently estimated to be victims of modern slavery worldwide. Domestic work, agriculture, construction, and manufacturing are among the most prevalent sectors, with migrant workers being particularly vulnerable. Well-known brands will claim to be sustainable, when in fact the working conditions in factories are unethical. Fortunately, the prevalence of mobile phone footage, social media whistle- blowers and NGOs has brought this hidden side to the forefront. The days of plausible deniability are over.”

Virtually all supply chains have a dark side. They’re often exploitative and unsustainable, particularly to the poor or desperate. Supply chain and procurement experts need to make sure their operations are clean and clear, and that there are no violations that could negatively impact the brand or result in business licenses getting revoked.

On the consumer side, Generation Z is changing buying behaviours, basing them on how ethical a business is, and so how can organisations drive safe, ethical and sustainable ways of working? Anthony answers, “There is a real shift change at the moment. Implementing strategies to ensure that workplaces are not engaging in risky or unethical practices should be top of the agenda for every organisation. It all starts with the data. The first step for any organisation is to understand who is in their supply chain. What data do you have within your business about your supply chain? It is often manually-driven, paper-based and in silos. There is never a consolidated view, unless the organisation is quite mature.”

Alcumus has a large ecosystem of contractors and suppliers that are already compliant, having gone through a robust health and safety audit and ESG assessment. Anthony says, “Invariably, about 50 per cent of a buyer’s supply chain is already with us, so we can turn on the compliance visibility of their supply chain in very little time. Going from 0 per cent visibility to 50 per cent is a remarkable place to start. I’ve seen first-hand the immediate impact this has on the board, procurement, safety and supply chain teams by having the ‘lights turned on’ for the first time. The strategies then come in as to how you can unlock that visibility to 100 per cent, working at board level to interconnect the whole business with a consolidated, centralised data view, to ensure a compliant supply chain. Effectively, we are transforming the supply chain compliance position and the ability to manage and monitor it. We are the next generation approach, as we don’t just focus on tier one. We create visibility throughout the chain, and tackle the blind spot of subcontracting head on.”

Many organisations are tackling the issue of gaining visibility from their tier one suppliers and contractors, but fall short when it comes to tier two, three and four etc. Anthony elaborates, “The further you go down the tiers of a supply chain, the lower the visibility. It is not just blind spots, but the dark side of the supply chain. When you are focused on tier one, you don’t really understand the risk that sits deep into your supply chain. Without direct visibility of whether a subcontractor is safe, insured, competent, has rights to work, has modern slavery policies etc, it is a real problem. You need to take a whole supply chain approach, risk-mapping it to understand all the different layers and companies within them, from tier to tier. It is the only way to tackle compliance in your supply chain.”

Anthony says he is passionate about helping organisations to understand that compliance should not be driven just by regulations, but because it is the right thing to do. He continues, “If you do it because it is the right thing to do, it will open up endless possibilities about how you can create a compliant supply chain. Our job is two-fold; to help the buyer organisation understand how it gains visibility, and to educate the supplier and contractor community to ensure they are working to the compliance requirements set out by the buyer they work for. The understanding of compliance is still quite low, so the more you complete your ecosystem of suppliers and contractors that share the same ethical values, the more you will work towards creating a positive world.”

A compliance journey with Alcumus typically takes 12 to 16 weeks, with the target of reaching 85 to 90 per cent compliance within this timeframe. Anthony adds, “We get to our goal very quickly, so that is one of our USPs. The remaining 5 to 10 per cent is the challenge. These may be organisations that the client decides not to use in the future, as they will only work with suppliers and contractors who meet the compliance requirements.”

As a global organisation, Alcumus has a genuine appetite for global prequalification. Anthony concludes, “It is about embedding a compliance standard across your whole supply chain around the world, perhaps by different region or language. Our expert people support buyers and suppliers to ensure all information is accurate, relevant, and easily understood. As market leaders for over 20 years, we are heading towards a single global solution that will help organisations gain critical visibility of the compliance or non-compliance of their entire supply chain. Being able to bring all the data centrally back to the organisation is key. We are a hugely purpose-led business, helping organisations react to some phenomenal disruptions by building resilient supply chains.”

For further information on Alcumus, visit www.alcumus.com

This article was originally published in the?February 2023?issue of?Digital Innovation, Europe’s go-to digital technology magazine.

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