This is a guest blog, written by Alec Alessandra, M.B.A, former John Deere Executive, former IMEC Board Member, and Senior Strategist of Strategic Impact Partners, and our friend Robert Pojasek, Ph.D., Harvard University.
From the IMEC (Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center) blog
June 14, 2019.
Many small and medium-sized supplier organizations are receiving notices from their larger sourcing customers to implement a variety of different international standards at their facilities. These standards could include:
- ISO 9001: 2015 (for quality)
- ISO 14001: 2015 (for the environment)
- ISO 31000: 2018 (regarding risk management)
- ISO 45001: 2018 (covering health and safety)
- ISO 50001:2018 (covering energy management)
- The Ethical Trading Initiative Program
These requests are usually being driven by an increasing demand for improved accountability and risk management from their shareholders and larger investment firms. Their concern is understandable if you think for a moment about all the potential liabilities of conducting a global business today, including the complexity of supply chain operations and the unpredictability of volatile economic, political and social conditions around the world.
C-suite leaders are being subjected to hyper-scrutiny while Boards are under pressure to do what’s necessary to prevent any sudden financial loss associated with issues stemming from a company’s operations.
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