Agribusinesses operate in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, and recordkeeping and traceability of production inputs and outputs are arguably the most critical factors for driving continuous improvement throughout the supply chain. SIZA has recognised retailers’ and buyers’ need for a cost-effective and streamlined monitoring programme to evaluate and monitor their supply chains and, therefore has incorporated a digital recordkeeping traceability functionality as part of the well-established MySIZA platform.
The SIZA Digital Recordkeeping Programme provides cost-effective monitoring for buyers, such as retailers and supermarkets to evaluate their supply chains so that they can source sustainably with confidence. The programme further allows buyers to monitor and evaluate their suppliers to determine sustainability and the progress made to reducing their environmental impact in terms of a Carbon Footprint.
As the SIZA Environmental Standard follows an integrated approach towards environmental sustainability, SIZA Digital Recordkeeping allows producers and packhouses or processing facilities to keep records of their inputs and outputs in terms of product grown, packed, or processed; water, energy, and chemical usage; as well as waste production and to measure the efficiency with which these inputs are managed. This data can be uploaded to the SIZA platform, where it can be analysed and calculated into impact assessments to ensure buyers that their value chain is sustainable and without major risks.
Functionalities of the programme include visibility to buyers on annual reports on a supplier level, as well as digital dashboards summarising the data on all suppliers for a full year.
Another exciting function is the built-in functionality in partnership with Confronting Climate Change, where suppliers can request their carbon footprint to be calculated. These carbon footprint reports are integrated into the reports visible to buyers, thereby allowing visibility and traceability from one central platform, MySIZA.
With SIZA Digital Recordkeeping being a monitoring tool, it will allow stakeholders to keep track of their suppliers’ production inputs and monitor the effectiveness of day-to-day operations. This monitoring, in turn, allows buyers to have visibility on their suppliers to identify areas where improvements are needed and thereby improve the productivity of their suppliers in the pursuit of achieving sustainability targets toward improving water use efficiency, energy use efficiency, reducing waste going to landfill, and reducing emissions to air.
To learn more about the SIZA programme or the Digital Recordkeeping functionality and how it can be used throughout your supply chain, please contact the SIZA office on 021 852 8184 or send an email to admin@siza.co.za.