Nordic Source improves the transparency of its customers’ supply chains through effective management of responsibility information, reporting, and information management.

The importance of responsibility continues to grow in companies’ operations and reporting, and for a valid reason.
The European Union’s CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) will be applied for the first time in the 2024 financial year. The new European sustainable development reporting standards aim to improve the transparency of companies’ sustainability and integrate sustainability into business strategy and decision-making.
The directive obliges companies to report on responsibility regarding environmental and social impacts and human rights, which may require changes in the company’s operations, such as supply chains and marketing.
The role of responsibility reporting has expanded to cover the various parties in the supply chain, such as among companies in the food industry.
Nordic Source Cooperative Society offers procurement services to its owner-customers, including well-known brands such as Anora, Atria, Fazer, Olvi, Paulig, and Valio. Nordic Source helps its customers optimize their procurement processes and bring transparency to their supply chains by finding the best operating models and procurement concepts.
“We do outsource procurement specifically in indirect procurement, i.e., we make contracts, tenders, and supplier management related to, for example, travel, cleaning, and factory services. Our customers take care of the operational purchasing themselves,” explains Eija Repo, Nordic Source’s Managing Director, Sourcing Director & Senior Advisor.
Her role includes developing and maintaining responsible procurement practices and ensuring the cooperative’s actions always comply with customers’ responsibility requirements.
Responsibility starts with knowing suppliers
Responsibility is at the core of everything Nordic Source does.
“We implement the wishes and needs of our customers, for example, in terms of responsibility, as required of suppliers. This means supplier requirements, audits, and responsibility reporting, measured by, for example, quality certificates, environmental commitments, and the ability to calculate carbon dioxide emissions.”
From the customers’ point of view, responsibility means that their suppliers meet specific standards of responsibility and that purchases are made ethically.
“Ensuring the ability of suppliers and bringing it to the fore is what we do. We report the findings of supplier audits to both our customers and the audited suppliers. The supplier audit has proven useful in determining how well we know the supplier’s operating methods. It also gives the supplier the means to develop their own operations,” adds Repo.
Nordic Source’s audits ensure that suppliers can demonstrate what is being done for responsibility through process descriptions and operating methods.
“I don’t remember when I’ve been able to make such an impact in procurement work as what I’m able to do here.”
Efficient management of responsibility information
Nordic Source has developed a comprehensive database for managing the organization’s customer information, procurement projects, supplier information, and responsibility information.
“We have all responsibility-related information in the database, and we strive to ensure that the information is saved there only once and it’s always up-to-date,” Repo clarifies.
The database is built in Microsoft SharePoint and covers all the necessary information about suppliers and their responsibility activities. It includes, among other things, quality certificates, environmental commitments, and audit results and findings.
“The database has all the possible reporting and management views we need,” Repo adds. In this case, Nordic Source can monitor and report on responsibility efficiently and accurately.
Responsibility reporting at Nordic Source
Nordic Source reports on responsibility to its customers regularly. “We have monthly reports in which ESG i.e., environment, social responsibility, and good governance, is its own section, but in the future, we will share a report based on responsibility data with our customers twice a year,” says Repo.
Customers receive reports on suppliers’ responsibility issues and how they meet the set requirements. “Our customers will then be able to use this information in their own responsibility reporting,” says Repo.
These reports help Nordic Source ensure all responsibility actions are transparent and documented. In this case, responsibility and information management are practical and documented measures that add value to the cooperative and its customers.
“Now that we are actively using the reporting tool, we can tell our customers that this is the situation regarding suppliers’ ability to be responsible,” states Eija.
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