The Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) is a certification system designed for woody biomass used in industrial, large-scale energy production. The program aims to provide assurance that woody biomass is sourced from legal and sustainable sources, allowing companies in the biomass sector to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements. SBP’s Data Transfer System (DTS) holds a wealth of information on biomass supplied with an SBP claim. The DTS facilitates the collection and carriage of energy data throughout the biomass supply chain, enabling the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions and the identification of any carbon savings achieved by burning biomass in place of fossil fuel sources. Initially, SBP used a combination of questionnaires and checklists based on Microsoft Word and their CRM system to record information on certifications and audits. However, this system was not efficient and did not provide the level of data quality and insight required.

Closing the Loop, a company that collects and recycles scrap phones, was facing a significant challenge in managing the traceability of the scrap phones they collect in Africa. The e-scrap problem in Africa is growing daily, and proper recycling facilities are not available locally. Therefore, the scrap phones are shipped and recycled in Europe. This process creates jobs for phone collectors and entrepreneurs in Africa and reduces environmental damage, pollution, hazardous waste, and health issues. However, ensuring that every new phone is compensated with the collection and recycling of a scrap phone was a complex task. The scrap phones are collected in batches, paid by the kilo, and then consolidated into big bags, which are further consolidated into shipping containers to be sent to smelters in Europe.

Greenyard Fresh, a leading global supplier of fresh produce and logistics, faced the challenge of managing the residue monitoring process for thousands of product samples daily. The company, with an annual turnover of 3.2 billion Euros and 8000 employees, needed a system that could alert them if residues exceeded the permitted amount. The challenge also included the need for advanced analyses on the collected data to provide numerous insights. Furthermore, Greenyard Fresh wanted the ability to share anonymized information with its partners to collectively enhance understanding about processes, product quality, and food safety.

The organic food sector has been experiencing rapid growth, leading to increased pressure to meet supply demands. This growth has also heightened the need to ensure the authenticity of organic food and mitigate potential risks such as fraud in organic produce supply chains. Companies are faced with the challenge of identifying and assessing risks that could affect the quality of organic ingredients and products. They are also tasked with implementing appropriate measures to prevent these risks. Bionext, a company committed to promoting sustainable organic food and farming, needed a solution to manage these challenges, leading to the creation of Biotrust.

In conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRA), the extraction and trade of minerals such as tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold can contribute to conflicts and human rights abuses. These raw materials are used in a wide range of products, including everyday electronic devices. The challenge lies in promoting responsible mineral trade, which requires transparency and traceability in the supply chain. The lack of a reliable system to track and trace these minerals from their source to their final destination makes it difficult to ensure ethical practices in their extraction and trade. The ITSCI Programme was established to address this issue, focusing on the supply chains in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda.

The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs (EZ) is tasked with ensuring the safety of poultry supply chains in the Netherlands. One of the key responsibilities is the collection of salmonella data in the poultry supply chain, a task that has been delegated to AVINED. The challenge was to manage and offer a self-regulatory database for this purpose. The data collected is crucial for a variety of tasks such as registration of laboratory tests, reporting, and issuing important alerts. The poultry sector, like many others, has a complex structure with numerous stakeholders, making data management and collection a daunting task. The need for a system that could simplify this process, enable rapid response, and ensure transparency throughout the sector was evident.

GoodWeave International, an organization dedicated to eradicating child labour in the carpet industry, faced the challenge of effectively monitoring and verifying labour conditions across all tiers of production, including the often overlooked subcontracted homeworker level. The complexity of the supply chain, with multiple stakeholders and their intricate relations, made it difficult to ensure compliance with GoodWeave's no child labour standard. The organization needed a solution that could provide greater transparency, especially at the bottom of the chain, and enable proactive engagement with various actors, quick adjustments by producers, and collaborative efforts with importers to improve workers' conditions sustainably.

The Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) is an international initiative that was established in 2006 with the aim of promoting responsible soy production. The organization is committed to ensuring the growth of responsible soy production through the commitment of the main stakeholders in the soy value chain and through a global standard for responsible production. The RTRS standard for responsible soy production includes requirements to halt conversion of areas with high conservation value, to promote best management practices, to ensure fair working conditions, and to respect land tenure claims. However, implementing a certification scheme for production and one for Chain of Custody posed a significant challenge.

The safety of meat, dairy, and eggs begins at the farm level, with animal feed playing a significant role. The supply chain of compound feed involves suppliers of raw material, producers, and farmers. SecureFeed was established to ensure the safety and quality of compound feed. However, the compound feed sector has a complex structure with many different stakeholders, making it challenging to manage and collect data. This complexity is also seen in other industries such as pork, beef, fruit, vegetable, and horticulture. The challenge was to connect these supply chains and ensure transparency throughout the sector while responding rapidly to any issues.

The Rainforest Alliance, an international non-profit organization, is committed to conserving biodiversity and ensuring sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices, and consumer behavior. Operating in 74 nations, the organization collaborates with various stakeholders in the supply chain, including producers, suppliers, brand owners, and retailers, to improve sustainability and livelihoods, and preserve wildlife and forests. However, managing such a vast and complex supply chain, especially for commodities like cocoa, coffee, and bananas, presents significant challenges. The organization needed a way to collect and analyze data from the start of the supply chain to the finished labeled goods, to manage processes more efficiently and maintain the credibility of the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal.

Tony’s Chocolonely, a chocolate company founded in 2005 by Dutch journalist Teun van der Keuken, was established with the aim of transforming the cocoa industry and eradicating child slavery. The founder was appalled to discover the prevalence of child labour in the cocoa industry and decided to create a chocolate brand dedicated to achieving a 100% slave-free chocolate industry. However, the challenge lay in ensuring transparency and traceability in the supply chain. The company chose to work directly with farming cooperatives in Ghana and Ivory Coast, but needed a way to monitor and ensure that the cocoa beans were sourced ethically, without the involvement of child labour. The company also aimed to improve the livelihood of farmers and train them in better agricultural practices.

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), established in 2009 by organizations such as Adidas, H&M, IKEA, Oxfam, and WWF, was created to enhance the livelihood and economic development in cotton-producing regions, reduce the environmental impact of cotton production, and secure the future of the sector. The initiative was designed to address issues such as harmful crop protection practices, water misuse, declining soil fertility, and unethical practices like child or forced labor. To achieve these goals, BCI needed to define a more sustainable way of growing cotton and train farmers to adopt these techniques. In 2013, 680,000 farmers produced 905,000 metric tonnes of Better Cotton. The goal was to increase these numbers to 5 million and 8.2 million respectively by 2020. However, ensuring that retailers and brands could confidently make claims about Better Cotton was a challenge.

Cashew production is primarily handled by smallholder farmers in Africa, India, Vietnam, and Brazil, with Africa accounting for 40% of the global production. The challenge lies in the lack of a comprehensive system to monitor and improve the sustainability of the cashew supply chain. The absence of a robust Management Information System (MIS) hampers the ability to track progress on sustainability goals and indicators. This lack of visibility and control over the supply chain also affects the ability of training institutions, local business development organizations, farmer organizations, and companies to monitor, evaluate, and adjust their sustainability efforts. Furthermore, the absence of a system to facilitate the exchange of best practices and knowledge hinders the scaling up of collective action.

The European fruit and vegetable sector faced a significant challenge in terms of residue monitoring. Wholesalers and international traders needed a platform that could streamline the process of assigning, reporting, and analyzing product tests. The lack of a collaborative platform resulted in inefficiencies, increased costs, and a lack of quality information. Furthermore, the sector lacked a comprehensive system that could provide insights into trends and best practices by comparing products, residues, suppliers, regions, and periods of time. The absence of a user-friendly business intelligence tool made it difficult for managers to independently browse data and create visualizations to support informed decision-making within their organizations.

MSD Animal Health, a globally operating pharmaceutical company, faced a significant challenge in managing the order intake from thousands of veterinarians using their products. The company needed a system that could accurately predict the quantity of medicine each veterinarian would require each month. The lack of such a system led to inefficiencies and waste, as it was difficult to anticipate demand and manage inventory effectively. The challenge was to develop a software solution that could automate the prediction process, streamline order intake, and improve overall efficiency.

NEXT, a UK-based retailer with over 500 stores in the UK and Ireland and around 200 franchised stores in over 30 countries overseas, is committed to the responsible sourcing of timber and timber-containing products. The company's vision is to work with supply chains to deliver timber products that come from responsible or certified sources such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). NEXT aims to achieve a target of sourcing 100% of its timber from responsible and certified sources by 2025. However, the challenge lies in meeting the due diligence requirements as stated by the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which was designed to reduce illegal logging by ensuring that illegal timber and timber products can't be sold on the EU market.

The Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) is a non-profit association that promotes ethical sourcing, ensuring that companies and their suppliers source natural ingredients in a manner that respects biodiversity and human rights. UEBT provides advisory, training, and capacity development services related to ethical sourcing, particularly in Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), a key aspect of the UEBT standard. However, managing and verifying compliance with ABS rules and best practices across multiple stakeholders, including UEBT members, their suppliers, and certification bodies, posed a significant challenge. The organization needed a robust system to streamline and optimize its audit management process, facilitate supplier onboarding and risk assessment, manage certificate information, and generate comprehensive reports.