To date, the contribution of ERP software to the economic performance of a company is well established. This management tool ensures better process consistency and better data integrity within industrial companies. But on the CSR side, what about? In a context where social and environmental issues take a prominent place, the imperative of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a major challenge for managers.
To deploy an effective CSR approach, having reliable
data on the environmental impact during the production cycle of a product
becomes essential. In this context, ERP is an effective tool for collecting
data and sharing information, in order to implement CSR actions.
Find out how an ERP software solution can contribute
to a company's CSR approach while improving its performance.
What is the interest of CSR for an industrial company?
What is CSR?
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) brings together
the practices implemented in a company in order to take into account ethical
and social issues in their activities. This approach contributes to the effort
of sustainable development and contributes to the public good. It can result in
a desire to guarantee well-being in the company, to take into account the
interests of stakeholders, to respect the normative framework of the CSR policy
as well as to align its strategic decisions with the commitments made.
What motivates companies to implement a CSR approach?
The CSR commitment is a factor of economic efficiency
and differentiation, for both small and large companies. First of all, the CSR
reputation of an organization helps to improve its image and retain its
employees. By supporting the environmental and social approach, the company
becomes attractive to its employees, customers, suppliers and future employees.
The exemplary nature of the company in the CSR approach and the place left to
initiatives are real factors of collective commitment and federation around
actions in favor of environmental and societal causes.
Faced with changing consumption patterns, consumers
are increasingly sensitive to the efforts of companies and to the notion of
"reasoned consumption". For this reason, companies have every
interest in jumping on the bandwagon in order to meet the expectations of their
customers and stand out from the competition. The implementation of a CSR
approach and the mobilization of the resources necessary for its deployment are
now essential.
In this approach, the ERP is positioned as an
effective tool at the service of CSR. The DNA of an ERP is to promote
collective performance through the fluid exchange and sharing of information at
all levels of the company. This global vision makes it possible to give
visibility to the contribution of each employee, as well as to report on the
company's commitments.
ERP and environment: a response to CSR issues
Beyond benefiting from better process management, ERP
is able to provide an answer to various challenges of the industrial company in
terms of CSR.
Resource optimization
The use of an ERP makes it possible to guarantee the
optimization of the company's resources: warehouse stocks, sourcing of raw
materials, etc. By optimizing the management of production processes,
industrial companies can make better use of the raw materials used during
production. production, limit breakdowns and scrap, avoid overconsumption and
loss of industrial energy, or protect equipment.
Carbon footprint assessment
From accounting to production, including development,
sales, purchasing and logistics, all of the company's businesses have an impact
on the carbon footprint. It has become essential to anchor carbon footprint
management as a strategic objective in an organization. For this to work
properly, the data must be correct and complete. It is in this respect that the
ERP is a management software capable of participating in carbon accounting.
This tool makes it possible to measure the carbon content of each energy used
throughout the manufacturing process. The industrial company is then able to
assign its carbon footprint to each production input and obtain an overall
carbon balance of its production.
Product traceability
The implementation of practices aimed at greater
transparency, particularly in terms of product traceability, is becoming a key
objective for industrial companies. Faced with the curiosity of consumers eager
to know the impact of products and regulations traceability of products for
certain sectors of activity, this transparency is possible with an ERP
committed to the environment. It makes it possible to establish and facilitate
the traceability of the entire supply chain. The ERP tool is able to map the
stages of the manufacturing cycle of a product with, in support, certified
information.
How to set up a CSR approach?
Opting for an ERP committed to a greener industry? It
is the choice of many companies in the industrial sector which attach
increasing importance to CSR issues and implement concrete actions.
Use more responsible channels
A company aware of CSR issues will question its way of
producing. It can choose to source its raw materials from sectors that are more
committed to an approach of respect for the environment. Or, it has the
opportunity to engage more strongly in the local industrial fabric by promoting
local sectors.
Make ERP a key support for mobilizing stakeholders
To be fully consistent with these CSR issues, the
organization must communicate to its partners in complete transparency about its
activities and their impacts. In this sense, the company will be able to retain
its employees and customers, or even attract new talent. The ERP tool then
plays a central role in the sharing of information and in the implementation of
all internal and external interactions. ERP is a real lever in the CSR approach
of a company that wants to involve its stakeholders in a sustainable way.
Adopting a global approach in the service of
performance
The ERP tool also helps companies to create a better
close relationship with their partners and suppliers, with the aim of achieving
a global CSR approach together. From this more fluid cooperation between the
various players results an improvement in performance. The company, then more
aware of its environment and the interests of the stakeholders, becomes in this
sense more efficient.
In this context, a company can thus move towards
innovation in order to find new ways to stand out from the competition or even
move towards a more ethical operation, whether at the level of the product or
its management. Combining industrial performance and CSR thanks to ERP is
possible! However, this is not easy, as it may require the deployment of new
tools or new interfaces, while ensuring that it remains in line with the
business strategy.
Today, ERP is at the heart of the CSR approach. This
management tool makes it possible to report on the commitments of the
industrial company by simplifying data collection. Thanks to the ERP committed
to the environment, the notion of "industrial just in time" will
perhaps tomorrow be replaced by "reasoned just in time". Industrial
companies are faced with many challenges in implementing a sustainable CSR
approach. It is essential to equip yourself with good management tools and to
mobilize all the necessary resources to carry out this change management.