Business Network:
The Circular Economy

CEO White Paper

Mark J. Barrenechea
OpenText CEO and CTO

Business Network: The Circular Economy

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this presentation, including statements about the focus of Open Text Corporation (“OpenText” or “the Company”)
on growth, initiatives, the impact of COVID-19, anticipated benefits of our partnerships and next generation product lines, thestrength of our operating framework and balance sheet flexibility, continued investments in innovation, go-to-market and strategicacquisitions, our capital allocation strategy, creating value through investments in broader Information Management (IM) capabilities,
the Company’s presence in the cloud and in growth markets, expected growth in our revenue lines, total growth from acquisitions,innovation and organic initiatives, improving operational efficiency, its financial condition, scaling OpenText to new levels, and othermatters, may contain words such as “anticipates”, “expects”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes”, “seeks”, “estimates”, “may”, “could”, “would”,“might”, “will” and variations of these words or similar expressions are considered forward-looking statements or information underapplicable securities laws. In addition, any information or statements that refer to expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives,
performance or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking,and based on our current expectations, forecasts and projections about the operating environment, economies and markets in which
we operate. Forward-looking statements reflect our current estimates, beliefs and assumptions, which are based on management’s
perception of historic trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors it believes are appropriate
in the circumstances, such as certain assumptions about the economy, as well as market, financial and operational assumptions.
Management’s estimates, beliefs and assumptions are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive and otheruncertainties and contingencies regarding future events and, as such, are subject to change. We can give no assurance that such
estimates, beliefs and assumptions will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors and assumptions that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially.
For additional information with respect to risks and other factors which could occur, see the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K,
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other securities filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other securities
regulators. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of thedate made. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update orrevise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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Contents
Introduction			3

Sustainability: A Global, Individual and Business Imperative			5

A Zero Waste Economy			

9

From Linear to Circular: Technology for Transformation			13

Obstacles to the Circular Economy			

21

Business Network: Supply Chains for Circular Economy			26

The Only Economy of the Future			

34

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Business Network: The Circular Economy

Introduction
With every epoch of society comes new ways to work, live, consume and create.
For most of humanity’s existence, we had a negligible impact on the earth thatsustains us. The hunter-gatherer way of life lasted millions of years without leaving
a footprint. Then, agriculture began in the fertile crescent roughly 10,000 years ago,
leading to permanent settlements, population growth, technological innovation andnew economic systems.1 Still, we did not use more resources than the earth could
comfortably provide.
It was not until the first industrial revolution—only about 250 years ago—that thingschanged drastically. It was a major turning point for society and our relationship withthe environment. With factories, machines and steam power, we could produce far
more goods than ever before. We could extract more resources from the earth. The
pace of technological innovation sped up. Standards of living increased. But, so didpollution, waste and the need to process more and more materials to support rapidly
evolving ways of life.
Since then, these trends have only accelerated. We are now in the fourth industrial
revolution, and it is exponential.
Figure 1:

Exponential Growth2 33

At the rate we are going, we will need five planet earths by 2050 to sustain us.4 We do
not have five planet earths.
It is time for another evolution. In Industry 4.0, our economic model needs to transition
from a destructive linear system to a restorative circular economy. Fortunately, while
the industrial revolutions have created this problem, they have also given us incredible
new ways to find solutions. The movement toward circular economy is about totransform society, realized through fourth industrial revolution technologies like theInternet of Things, artificial intelligence, cloud and big data analytics.
Industry 4.0 is the information age. And in the information age, disruptive digitaltechnologies will use information to solve the biggest challenges facing humanity
today. Companies must transform into information companies to lay the necessary
digital foundation of data connectivity, exchange, integration and visibility acrossthe extended business ecosystem to achieve circular economy. This is the business
opportunity of our generation. More importantly, it is the crisis of our time, which must
be resolved to ensure a habitable earth for tomorrow.
There is a new agenda: sustainability.

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Business Network: The Circular Economy

Sustainability: A Global, Individual and Business Imperative
We live on a finite planet.
Already, global resource consumption has surpassed 100 billion tonnes per year in aworld that is only 8.6% circular.5 Eighty percent of waste from consumer goods (food,beverages, packaging, clothes, etc.) winds up in incinerators, landfills and wastewater.6
By 2025 the world will have over eight billion people living in it, using even moreresources and producing even more waste.7 Ten billion people by 2055; 11 billion by
2088.8 That is a lot of people using a lot of materials, unless we clean up our act.
When linear consumption patterns come up against the very real physical constraintsof the planet, one or the other has to give—and we need to ensure it is not the planet.
How do we sustain a finite planet with a growing population that is using an increasing
amount of resources?
The answer is sustainability.
The model used to create products for hundreds of years is broken. The approach,often described as “take, make, use and dispose,” is a waste economy. Waste is anaccepted part of the process.
Figure 2:
The Linear Economy

Take

Make

Use

DisposeIn some instances, waste has been deliberately baked into the business model. In the
1920s, the Phoebus Cartel of U.S. and European lighting manufacturers colluded tolimit the lifetime of bulbs—to ensure a steady flow of new sales.9 Recently, Apple andSamsung were both fined for deliberately slowing down the performance of existingphones to drive the purchase of newer versions.10
When resources were considered infinite, unconsciously (or deliberately) building
waste into the system seemed consequence-free. However, as waste grows andresources shrink, the scale of the issue has become too large to ignore. The world’s
natural resources are becoming scarce. Shockingly, even fresh water—used in mostproduction processes and needed to sustain life—is running out.11
Today, the vast quantities of solid waste we are producing means more landfills. Whentaken together with increasing urbanization, this means more landfills closer to more
people. Living near a landfill has been shown to endanger human health.12 And what
happens when all the landfills are full?

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Air pollution is killing us. This is not hyperbole. According to the World HealthOrganization, air pollution kills seven million people every year.13 It has been associatedwith higher risk of cancer, stroke, heart disease and respiratory disease. New evidence
suggests it pollutes our minds too, with links to impaired judgement, mental healthproblems, poor school performance and increased crime.14
The equivalent of one truckload of plastic enters the ocean every single minute.15
From the 1950s when plastic was introduced until 2018, 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic
has been produced and at least 91% is not recycled.16 Plastic does not biodegrade orsignificantly break down over time, so this literal mountain of plastic waste will still bearound in hundreds, or even thousands of years—unless we can find a way to use it.
Over 600 million people live in extreme poverty.17 Many more go to bed hungry every
night. Yet a staggering one-third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted.18 Thatis enough to raise every human being out of poverty, with plenty to go around.
Climate change will make our planet unlivable without drastic intervention. Carbon
dioxide emissions, mostly from burning fossil fuels, are warming the planet. It is already1 degree Celsius (or 1.8 F) warmer than pre-industrial times, and this increase is having
a major economic impact.19 Over the last 10 years, extreme weather has caused $129
billion in economic losses—an increase of 86%.20 Flood damages for the world’s 136
largest coastal cities could cost $1 trillion annually over the next 20 to 30 years.21
Warming beyond 2 degrees Celsius (1.8 F) will accelerate catastrophic effects likelethal heat waves, droughts, severe storms and rising sea levels. Scientists have given
us a “point of no return.” Based on current projections of energy use, the world needs
to transition to clean energy sources by 2035.22 The clock is ticking.
We need a circular economy to confront the mounting crises caused byindustrialization, globalization and the growing population. And we need it now.
We know it is possible. Consider how rapidly the world responded to COVID-19, andthe impact those sweeping changes had on the environment. Pollution was down 50%
in New York. The proportion of days with good air quality went up 11.4% in China.23
Global carbon emissions fell by an estimated 5.5%, the largest annual decrease
ever seen.24
We can do this.
This challenge already has its champions; Millennials and Gen Z are leading the charge.
The generations whose futures and children’s futures will be most impacted by climatechange and the misuse of the finite planet are taking up arms. They are mobilizing,
online and at global activism events like Zero Waste Youth.25 They are demanding
change from world leaders. Building disruptive businesses. Reimagining applicationsof technology. Holding governments and industry accountable. And rejecting the very
concept of obsolescence.

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Business Network: The Circular Economy

These generations are the world’s current and future consumers, employees andentrepreneurs—and they are demanding change. We are in the midst of a massive
shift in consumer behavior, from an economy of ownership to an economy ofsubscription, sharing and reusing. Sustainability is becoming a central concern inpurchasing decisions. In fact, Gartner reports that 81% of consumers already believe
it is “very” or “extremely” important for businesses to contribute to a sustainableeconomy, forecasting that by 2029, wasteful supply chains will be viewed byconsumers and governments as “unacceptable.”26

Sustainability-marketed Products

Delivered50.1%
of Market
GrowthGrew

5.6x
FasterFigure 3:
Consumer Demand for Sustainability27

Overperformedin Over90%of ProductCategories

The momentum is reaching a tipping point. Just look at the impact of a single BBC
program in 2017, Blue Planet II. It brought the effect of plastic pollution on our oceans
and sea-based food chains to the world’s attention. The influence of this televisionseries was remarkable.
The broadcast resulted in public outcry, and within months governments across theglobe began to legislate to address the problem. In 2018, the EU voted to ban singleuse plastics by 2021—plastic straws, cotton swabs, disposable plastic plates andcutlery are among the banned—while setting stringent targets for recycling plastic
bottles.28 To date, 127 countries have now passed laws to prevent plastic products
from entering seas and oceans.29
This response was so extraordinary that Professor Richard Thompson, theperson who discovered microplastic ocean pollution, describes it as the“Blue Planet II effect.”30
And while the response has been far more immediate than anyone could haveexpected, the role of business is most instructive. Not only have organizations beenquick to move away from single-use plastics, some have turned waste plastics intobusiness opportunities.
Adidas is an excellent example. The company partnered with nonprofit Parley
for the Oceans to produce shoes from marine plastic waste. Its first run of 7,000
sneakers sold out instantly. Adidas anticipates a revenue of more than $1 billion fromthese products and has a strategy to make all its products from recycled materials
by 2024.31 32
The circular economy equals good business.

7New regulations based on sustainability concerns are expanding rapidly, impacting
energy costs and establishing limitations or bans on specific materials andpractices. Meanwhile, investors are increasingly examining environmental, social andgovernance issues when evaluating corporate behavior. Organizations must adapt.
But businesses can do more than simply adapt—they can thrive. Those who areable to solve the challenge of cultivating prosperity in a world of finite resources willachieve significant long-term benefits. They will realize substantial material savings,
mitigate price volatility and supply risks, meet regulatory requirements and appeal to
the new wave of consumers and investors.
Some companies, like Adidas, are already reaping the rewards of their forwardthinking business models. Renault, a leader in automotive engineering, was the firstcarmaker to invest in the circular economy. Their remanufacturing operations, which
reduce their use of raw materials and transform end-of-life parts and vehicles into
resources, are a 200-million-euro business.33 34 Similarly, construction machinerycompany Caterpillar reuses more than 150 million pounds of materials per year aspart of a sustainability portfolio that produces almost one-fifth of the company’s
total revenues.35
Resource scarcity, stringent guidelines and consumer demand are here to stay.
Businesses that become circular will be rewarded while linear businesses turn out tobe as unsustainable as their system of economy.
It is time to embrace the zero waste economy.

8Business Network: The Circular Economy

A Zero Waste Economy
The World Economic Forum describes the circular economy as “the mostprofitable business model of the 21st century.” 36

We need to rethink the economic system. In the past, business has focused onminimizing waste where possible, using lean methods within specific parts ofproduction and supply chain processes. This is no longer good enough.
We must reconcile our inability to fully remove waste from production processes withthe reality that waste will no longer be an acceptable byproduct of doing business.
This seems incongruous, but the solution is simple: the circular economy.
Zero waste is not simply “reduce, reuse, recycle.” It is starting from scratch to reinvent
the production, distribution and disassembly systems that usher materials throughsociety. Business leaders must reconceptualize resources and waste, turning the(abysmally inefficient) linear system into an infinite cycle. And in so doing, develop
new business models where waste is not the cost of doing business, but arevenue driver.

Linear Economy Creates Waste

Circular Economy Eliminates Waste

(R
e

ake
)m

Figure 4:

Rethinking the Linear Economy

R e c ov
er

Re

u se

Us
e

R e c yc l e

The key difference is a shift from waste management to resource management. The
circular economy decouples economic value from the use of natural resources andtransforms “waste” into a valued resource. Through this system, everyone wins. The
economy wins, as new business models are introduced and resource management
becomes more predictable. The environment wins, as human activity becomes moresustainable. And the individual organization wins, as it can now extract maximum andrepeating value from resources while cutting costs associated with waste.
Unilever is widely seen as an exemplar of what can be achieved by adopting a circularsupply chain. The company had previously sent 140,000 tonnes of waste to landfills
each year. In 2015, it announced that 240 of its factories were to operate on a zerowaste to landfill model. By 2016, Unilever had 600 zero waste facilities around theworld.37 The company reports that it has realized cost benefits of $227 million thanks
to its zero waste program.38

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Unilever’s results came from a circular strategy based around what it termed thefour “Rs”:39• Reduce: The easiest place to start is to reduce the resources used, thereby
reducing the waste created. Unilever employed a strategy that recorded andreported all waste against usage. Piece by piece, the company could then reduce
the waste going to landfill.
• Reuse: View waste as a resource and identify how waste resources can be reusedor redeployed.
• Recover: Determine how previous waste products can re-enter the loop and berecovered. For example, use the original items for parts or reconditioning.
• Recycle: Where it is not possible to reduce, reuse or recover waste, look at how
waste can be recycled into another useful material or product.
The circular economy means that, perhaps for the first time, organizations must
consider the complete lifecycle of a product—including product use and end-oflife processes. And it means asking unprecedented questions of supply chains andproduction processes.

Reuse

Figure 5:• Are your products designed to be reused?

Key Questions for the Circular
Supply Chain• Are the components within your product designed to be reused?

• Are you currently reusing the reusable parts within your product? If not, why not?
• Are you encouraging reuse and repair within your customer base?

• Have you developed business models that revolve around reuse rather thanreplacement?

• Are there new revenue opportunities available by increasing reusability withinyour product portfolio?
• Have you set in place the logistics strategy to enableprofitable reuse?

Reduce• Does your product need all the resources
currently used?

Recycle• Can it be designed to use less resources?

• Can you recycle your products?

• Are your suppliers creating products with theminimum resources?

• Can you recycle components of your product?

• Can you use recyclable components within yourproduction process?

• Are you using recyclable components rather thanvirgin resources? If not, why not?

• Have you set in place the logistics strategy to enableprofitable recyclability?
• Are there new revenue opportunities available byincreasing recycling?

• How can you work with suppliers to ensure only
the minimum resources are used?

Recover• Can the components within your product be recovered?

• Are you currently recovering everything that can be recovered? If not, why not?
• What are the current recovery options available to you?
• Can you design products to enable greater recovery?

• Are there new revenue opportunities available by increasing recovery withinyour product portfolio?
• Have you set in place the logistics strategy to enable profitable recovery?

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Business Network: The Circular Economy

Many sustainability programs have focused on recycling, often limited to products at
the end-of-life. The four Rs deployed by Unilever are looped and iterative.
Figure 6:

Iterative Loops for Circular Economy40

Mining / Materials Manufacturing
Farming / Collection
Parts Manufacturer
BiochemicalFeedstock

Restoration

Product Manufacturer
RecycleService Provider

BiogasRefurbish /Remanufacture
Reuse /
RedistributeCascadesMaintenanceConsumer

Anaerobic
Digestion /Composting
Extraction of
BiochemicalFeedstock

User

Collection
Leakage to Be
Minimised
Energy Recovery

Landfill

Top Benefits of a Circular Approach

Zero waste can be thought of as 100% yield. It brings maximum value from resources
while reducing inefficiencies and risks.

Environmental
ImpactRegulatory
Compliance

Brand
Reputation

New Revenue
Streams

Figure 7:
Benefits of Circular Economy

Environmental Impact

The circular supply chain ensures minimal resources are deployed for any specificproduct and any waste created is turned back into a resource. Imagine a world in which
our garbage joins other eco-friendly renewable resources in the revolution to save theplanet. Zero waste is how humanity will sustainably coexist with the environment.

Regulatory ComplianceWorldwide, government regulations around sustainability are growing and will
increasingly push organizations toward a circular supply chain. Legislation isparticularly active in areas like recycling and waste management.
Examples of current legislation include the EU Packaging Directive, the Japanese
Recycling Laws and California’s Recycled Content Laws—and more are coming into
force all the time.41 42 Adopting a circular approach is the best way to meet evolving
compliance requirements anywhere in the world.

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It can also bring financial rewards, as organizations benefit from industry andgovernment incentives.

Brand Reputation

Sustainability is becoming a vital part of the buying decision for many customers.
Trading partners of all sizes increasingly demand that companies align with theirsustainability strategies and goals. Value chain partners, such as banks and financial
institutions, are developing new products and seeking to engage with clients in new
ways based around circular business practices.43 Creating a circular supply chain is
one of the most effective ways to boost an organization’s reputation in its market.

New Revenue Streams

As regulations around recycling and disposal become tighter, there is a greater
emphasis on using the byproducts of manufacturing processes. This is leading toinnovations and new revenue streams. It may be as simple as converting byproducts
into green energy or as complex as creating entirely new products.
For example, global brewery AB InBev is turning the protein content from its grain
byproducts into a “co-product” nutrition drink. Through its brewing process, thecompany generates enough of this protein to satisfy the needs of 25 million people
each year.44
Circular strategies add new dimensions to the supply chain that in turn create
additional value for businesses. It is not surprising, then, that the supply chain
is transforming.

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Business Network: The Circular Economy

From Linear to Circular: Technology for Transformation
The traditional linear supply chain model is evolving as companies invest in
multidimensional partner ecosystems that encourage innovation and new ways ofmanaging production and supply chain operations.
We are at the beginning of the journey to close the circularity gap.
Figure 8:
Closing the Circularity Gap

W
a

e
st

M
a

ke

Optimize What We
Already Havet ra
to p E x

in
ct

g

C ir

C lo

a
yG

p

he

T

S

e
Ta k

c u l a rit
C yc l e

se M ate r i a l L o o

ps

St

D
op

is p

Wa

ose

s tin gOrganizations that already have global trading partner ecosystems are ahead of thecurve when it comes to rethinking the business models, product design and the supply
chain processes necessary to close the circularity gap. Because these ecosystems
require new process flows and formats, new service networks, many more touchpoints
and frictionless information flows, overlaying circular capabilities can become
an extension of activities already underway. For example, organizations can build
new types of business partners into their ecosystem, such as specialist repair andremanufacturing providers.
According to senior executives surveyed in a Newsweek Vantage report, the scientificand R&D communities are the most important group for driving the transition to thecircular economy. In other words, there is work to be done to develop the processes
and technologies that will enable widespread recycling and reuse of manufacturingbyproducts. And with 95% of executives agreeing that the circular economy
poses an opportunity for their organization, we will no doubt see more businesses
collaborate with partners in these fields to take advantage of technology and scientificbreakthroughs as they happen.45
The survey also discovered that although people from within sustainability or
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) functions tended to lead the shift toward circular
economy, supply chain and procurement professionals played an extremely importantrole in implementing the strategies.46
Two further developments in supply chain management are helping facilitate thecircular economy. First, new technologies are giving companies a far greater andmore granular understanding of their products in use. It is now possible to gather
data on how customers actually consume products and services, which features aremost important, and how people deal with products at the end-of-life. Thoroughly
understanding use and disposal is essential for designing better and more resourceefficient products, as well as determining how end-of-life products can be mosteffectively and profitably reintroduced into the production lifecycle or redeployed for
new products or revenue streams.
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Second, organizations are moving toward what has become known as the “bimodal
supply chain”—a two-tier supply chain where one tier is managed for predictability tomaintain and manage existing, predictable operations and the other is designed forinnovation by encouraging experimentation and exploration.47 The second tier is also
built for dealing with uncertainty, which can be created by circular strategies or byunanticipated disruptions. Employing small collaborative teams that can fail fast andevolve models quickly, an organization can test different operational approaches to
identify those that best suit the business. In terms of a circular supply chain, this may
involve looking at new ways to engage and reward suppliers beyond cost and priceconcessions or performance KPIs.

The Technical Foundation of the Circular Supply Chain: An Information
Management Platform

Building a circular supply chain involves rethinking packaging, shifting sourcing
strategies, restructuring production processes, transforming distribution systems anddeveloping closed-loop supply chain methods. It must be based around a scalable andflexible digital ecosystem of partners.
Job one, therefore, is to ensure all parties in the digital ecosystem can smoothly andsecurely access and share the data they need. This includes integrating new sourcesof data related to the expanded supply chain scope, such as product use and disposal
information. Organizations need an end-to-end view of both the supply chain and the
product or service lifecycle.

SolenisSolenis is a leading global supplier of water treatment and process chemicals
that also supports customers with application insights and practical expertise.
They produce chemicals that go into process manufacturing for primarily heavy
industries. Solenis’ global supply chain previously relied on manual processes
using legacy systems that made the company’s B2B process and supply chain
management complicated and cumbersome. They were seeking a solution to help
build a digitized conversation, where systems can be managed from beginning toend, so they could focus their attention on top line growth, innovation and sales.
Solenis turned to OpenText’s cloud-based B2B Managed Services to simplify the
management of their global supply chain and automate internal processes suchas the flow of transactions with suppliers and customers. With this platform, thecompany can quickly onboard new customers and suppliers. Further, Solenis isable to leverage OpenText experts to lead the implementation and help manage
everyday operations of the solution, freeing up Solenis staff to focus on their corebusiness and new opportunities.

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Business Network: The Circular Economy

The World Economic Forum states: “Supply chain managers need to extend the focusof data analysis to the whole value chain. Only then they will get the right information
to help both themselves and their supply chain partners harvesting the multiple
benefits of a circular economy.”48
This means taking a fresh approach to application and data integration—one that not
only encompasses all departments within the organization but extends to partners andexternal data sources. Holistic integration ensures correct and accurate data is always
available within the supply chain.
Figure 9:
Financing

Insights
l i cat i onpps

Logistics

fo

wo

Plat

Information
Integrationrk

A

End-to-end Data andApplication Integration

Sourcing

et

m

r

N

Sec
Fulfillment

Production

urit ySales

A unified information management platform is essential for seamless data flow throughthe digital ecosystem. Such a platform provides a central foundation that delivers
performance, scalability and security to meet the key requirements for a circularsupply chain, including enabling an organization to connect with its entire trading
partner community, regardless of location or technical ability.

Trust

Trust lies at the heart of circular strategies. Organizations must be able to trust theirpartners. A major part of building trust lies in the ability to trust the information thatis being shared. Partners must be assured that the data flowing between systems,
facilitating elements such as product redesign and closed loop production, is current,
accurate and secure.

15

Consider how Mastercard is partnering with OpenText to build one such networkof trust:

Mastercard

Mastercard, a technology leader in the global payment industry, has partneredwith OpenText to help companies increase financial efficiencies across global
supply chains, starting in the automotive industry. Given that B2B has become ahuge priority for the company as it looks to expand services beyond credit cards,
Mastercard realized that payment is just one piece of the puzzle. There is often apatchwork of processes and lack of interoperability in the whole B2B space which
results in a lack of trust within the auto industry ecosystem.
The new solution from OpenText and Mastercard will streamline many of theoperations processes while providing peace of mind to business buyers. The
goal is to increase the speed, compliance and security for business information,
payments and financing in the automotive supply chain. It is designed to facilitate
integrated payments and to enhance the management of vendor master data,
enabling suppliers to better manage risk for trade finance, accelerate cash
flow for outstanding invoices and secure financial transactions with enhanced
digital identity. This collaboration further advances a connected and scalable
digital ecosystem, allowing companies, irrespective of size, location or technicalcapability, to build increased trust and security into trading partner relationships.

Collaboration

Sustainable innovation calls for deeper collaboration, for example between internal
product designers and suppliers or between external data sources and internal
decision-makers. This requires much more open access to internal systems andconnectivity with partners and data sources. Organizations must break down theinformation silos that have built up over the years to bring together internal functionsand various players within the supply chain.

Transparency

Both trust and collaboration are built on a new level of transparency within the
supply chain. An organization must know the production processes, work practices
and sustainability agendas of its partners. It must be able to see quickly whether
its suppliers and partners are complying with its own sustainability goals. Everyorganization must be more open about how it operates and willing to share that
information with existing and prospective partners, suppliers and customers.
A central integration platform allows organizations to manage and share theircircular credentials.

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Business Network: The Circular Economy

Visibility

A circular supply chain eliminates waste from operations, recovers materials for reuse,and educates consumers about reuse and reclaim. But to achieve this, organizations
must reach the holy grail for supply chain operations: full end-to-end supply chain
visibility. An enterprise-grade integration platform enables the information flows
needed to gain full visibility into all suppliers, customers and others involved in thevalue chain.

Cloud

For organizations implementing a unified management platform and reimagining theirbusiness models, cloud is essential. With near-limitless resources, it facilitates ideas
across the entire business ecosystem, enables information to flow end-to-end andsimplifies interactions between applications, businesses, people and things. It is theconnective tissue of the modern business that acts as a force multiplier for innovation.
Cost Savings(TCO)
SecureFigure 10:
Staff
Productivity

Cloud Is the Destination for Innovation

Increase
AgilityTime-to-Market

Integration

Decrease
Complexity &
Risk

Scale
Seamlessly

Furthermore, the cloud (along with the rapid advance of mobile devices) has playeda central role in dematerializing products—that is, replacing physical things withdigital alternatives. Think of the fate of CDs, newspapers and brick-and-mortar
travel agencies. Cloud-based, digital business models have already disrupted entire
industries. They are more efficient. Customers get hyper-personalized content whilesaving time and money. It is the perfect groundwork for a sustainable system. Without
physical goods to manufacture and ship around the world, the environmental footprintof these businesses is smaller. For example, digital music creates between 40-80%
lower carbon emissions than its physical counterpart on CDs.49 Cloud also supports
the subscription and share models of consumption.

The Internet of Things

Few innovations will be as essential to creating a circular economy as the Internet ofThings (IoT). IoT devices are becoming smaller, cheaper and more intelligent. With
the IoT, it is now possible to achieve complete visibility throughout the entire supply
ecosystem and production process. Factors like temperature, usage and quality
issues can be monitored to improve logistics, make production more efficient anddramatically reduce waste. As the IoT is increasingly embedded in consumer spaces,
it is also becoming possible to monitor products after purchase, as some automakers
are already doing. As materials reach the end of their “first” lifecycle, they can betracked and flagged for recycling and reuse, putting them back into the production
system rather than the landfill. Supply chain spending on IoT devices is forecasted toincrease by over 20% between 2017 and 2023.50
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The IoT is revolutionizing supply chains worldwide. The EU has even establisheda framework for IoT in the circular economy to “drastically change the nature of
products, services, business models and ecosystems.”51
IoT offers benefits across the entire supply chain:
Figure 11:
The Internet of Things and theSupply Chain

Asset
Track-andTrace
Predictive
MaintenanceSupplier
Performance

Internet ofThings
Product Use &Performance

Inventory
Management

Asset Track-and-Trace

IoT devices allow organizations to track products from the materials stage to thecustomer and beyond. Almost every aspect of a product can be monitored, including
granular data like an item’s temperature, how long it spent in cargo and how longit spent in store. Forrester found the track-and-trace sector to be the largest IoT
spenders, with 24.2% growth.52

Supplier Performance

IoT can be extended into managing supplier performance. Organizations can track how
well suppliers are performing across many metrics, including sustainability standards.
Within the circular economy, organizations have a responsibility to monitor how
vendors are creating and handling the supplies they are sending, wherever possible.
Ignorance will not be an excuse for being associated with unsustainable orunethical practices.

Inventory Management

IoT sensors can provide far more accurate inventories, indicating where the inventoryis within the supply chain and how fast products are moving off the shelves. Tracking
and processing orders becomes more accurate and efficient, and the organization isaware of the status of all supplies in real time. In addition, this IoT data can be fed into
analytics systems to fine-tune inventory planning and performance.

18

Business Network: The Circular Economy

Figure 12:

From vendor-managed inventory
to‘device-managed inventory’Cloud
Analytics
Platform

Material
Consumption
TrendsIntegration

Cloud
Business
NetworkInventory Management with IoTDistributor
Replenishment
Process#3452
Material Storage Racks
GPS

Analytics Platform

Customer location

MobileGPS

B2B Web Portal

Distributor/3PL

Distributor location

GPS

Product Use and Performance

For the circular economy, IoT offers the breakthrough ability to understand how a
product is being used in the real world. For the first time, a company can see exactly
how customers use their products and what features are popular. They can then attune
product design to customer needs, limit unnecessary features and materials, andstimulate increased reuse and recycling within the customer base.

Predictive Maintenance

The IoT, combined with intelligent analytics or AI, gives organizations major
new capabilities for predictive maintenance to manage planned and preventive
maintenance. This allows production assets to be monitored in real time to minimize
repair and part replacements while extending the life of the asset—and, in some cases,
automating remedial actions. It also reduces the likelihood of failures that can result insafety or environmental catastrophes.

Artificial Intelligence and Analytics

Combine the IoT with big data, artificial intelligence, real-time analytics and machineto-machine (M2M) communication, and the applications are endless. This is all about
unlocking the power of the data we already have.
To start, big data and AI will help businesses analyze the supply chain and makesmarter decisions at every step. These technologies can provide insights on
product use patterns and customer preferences, as well as optimizing supply anddemand, product maintenance schedules, and labor and resources needs. Along withdelivering predictive maintenance suggestions, AI will be able to improve our ability toautomatically disassemble, sort and separate all kinds of used products so they can bereused or put back into the system as resources.

19

Great opportunity also exists to analyze and minimize waste patterns. For example,
start-up Zabble combines smart monitoring technology with intelligent data analytics
software to provide businesses with actionable suggestions for their waste streams,
from diversion to contamination to greenhouse gas emissions.53 We could also
optimize every part of our food’s journey from farm to table—IoT technologies cancollect sensor data at harvest, storage and consumption while AI and analytics step in
to improve yield, streamline distribution and enable surplus food to be shared before
it perishes.
Beyond that, these technologies are our best tools for accelerating the transition toa circular economy. AI can be used to help design new products, components andmaterials based on very specific criteria needed for success in the circular economy.
Big data analytics can optimize circular economy business models and crunch
massive amounts of data to give us new solutions faster and with more precision thanhumans are capable of alone.
However, to truly realize the circular supply chain and successfully implement powerful
information technologies, certain obstacles must be overcome.

20

Business Network: The Circular Economy

Obstacles to the Circular Economy
Although the circular economy is where we are headed, the reality of implementation
is a challenge. When asked, 80% of organizations admitted they struggle to include
sustainability in their supply chain management, with 47% doing little or no work with
suppliers to manage sustainability.54
Businesses must surmount many hurdles to achieve a circular supply chain andsustainable business model.
Figure 13:
Obstacles to the Circular Economy
The CSR
Conundrum

Building a
Business Case

The Growing
Importance ofReverse Logistics

Consumer Preference
versus Consumer
Behavior

Data Tsunami andInformation Sprawl

The Supply Chain:
From Cost to
Value Center

The Internet of Things:
A Double-edged
Sword?

The CSR Conundrum

Conflict between commercial and CSR goals is the single most significant challenge toimplementing a circular business model, according to the Newsweek Vantage survey.55
The research group suggests that circular initiatives should not be seen as a naturalextension of existing sustainability or CSR programs.
Professor Cory Searcy at MIT Sloan takes this even further: “Corporate sustainability
is often framed using the triple bottom line (TBL) of economic, environmental andsocial performance. … But the TBL does not connect company performance to theeconomic, environmental and social resources on which they rely. Performance isassessed relative to the company itself or its peers, rather than against thresholds
linked to those resources. This makes it impossible to assess true sustainability.”56
TBL performance metrics must be built into operational measurements. Supply
chain managers need to develop KPIs that take sustainability into account and build
relationships with supply chain partners that revolve around sustainable businesspractices. To do this, resource thresholds and targets—such as those set out in the UN
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—need to be translated into tangible businessactions and supply chain models.57

Building a Business Case

Another big challenge is simply the lack of a proven business model.58
Businesses are focused on cost-savings; in many instances, using virgin resources ismore immediately economical than recycled or reusable alternatives. It takes a lot ofwork to communicate—and ultimately build understanding and acceptance of—thelong-term value of the circular approach across the organization and to partners
and customers.
21

Many examples of circular supply chains delivering tangible benefits involve largeorganizations that were able to change primarily internal processes with little or noeffect on their supply chains. Implementing a “cradle-to-cradle” circular approachacross the multidimensional digital ecosystem of the modern supply chain remains amajor challenge for supply chain managers.
The World Economic Forum points to the process-related industries to explain
the difficulty of deploying circular strategies across the supply chain: “Chemicalcompanies work upstream as a tier-one value creator after the extractive industries.
Since most partners are downstream, laying out a circular economy scenario is likepushing a rope.”59

Consumer Preferences versus Consumer Behavior
Do consumers say what they mean?

There is a mountain of evidence that consumers say they want sustainable products
and are willing to pay more for them.60 However, when it comes right down to it, they do
not always put their money where their mouths are. In industries such as fashion andfood, consumers have said they want sustainable, responsible products but have notactually been willing to pay for it.61 62
While meeting consumer expectations on sustainability and ethical business isimportant, in the short term organizations should view the brand reputation boost
not as the main goal but a beneficial byproduct. Eliminating waste, increasing thevalue of resources, delivering a smaller environmental footprint and benefiting fromgovernment incentives are likely to carry more weight at the board level.
In the longer term, sustainable products will likely outperform traditional options.
Evidence suggests that markets are already moving in that direction—representing an
impressive 50.1% of all market growth between 2013 to 2018.63

The Supply Chain: From Cost to Value Center

The supply chain has traditionally been viewed as a cost of doing business. However,through digital transformation the supply chain evolves into a multi-tier ecosystem andstrategic driver of business growth, agility and differentiation.
Unfortunately, achieving the required level of digitization has been slow. For
example, recent research demonstrates that 85% of U.S. retailers still rely on
manual processes.64
The days when suppliers did only that—supply—are in the past. Most organizations
look to their partners for collaborative product development. In fact, as much as 65%of the value from a company’s products or services are derived from its partners.65
Ongoing innovation relies on organizations selecting the right suppliers for any
specific project and working closely with them. At the same time, the supply chain
must be flexible enough to manage increasing complexity and to shift rapidly, whennecessary, to meet changing customer demands or significant disruptions (as theworld discovered during the COVID-19 pandemic).

22

Business Network: The Circular Economy

No single company can excel at everything. In the context of the circular economy,organizations must build strong and transparent relationships with a growing rangeof suppliers that are able to align their production capabilities with the company’ssustainability strategy, help redesign supply chain processes, and reach new market
segments with products or services tailored for them. In many areas, new recycling
and reuse solutions are becoming available as innovative solution providers emerge tomeet the demand.

The Growing Importance of Reverse Logistics

Reverse logistics is “the cornerstone of the circular economy.”66 Providing input into
product use, end-of-life, and the processes related to reusing products and materials,
reverse logistics is essential for the circular supply chain.
It is not just about product returns; there is a great deal of complexity in the process.
It involves planning, implementing and controlling the efficient flow of raw materials,
in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from the point ofconsumption to the point of origin for the purpose of recapturing value or effective
disposal. Remanufacturing and refurbishing activities can also be included as part ofreverse logistics.
Making reverse logistics cost-effective is the central challenge. In the U.S. alone,customers return over $360 billion in merchandise annually—and that number ison the rise.67 Many ecommerce organizations now build reverse logistics into theirbusiness models, since 30% of ecommerce goods are returned.68 Some categories
are even higher, with returns of shoes bought online estimated at a massive 70%.69
To meet the increased pressure on revenues as more products and materials reenter
the production and manufacturing process, all trading partners in the supply chain
must work together to reduce costs and drive efficiencies in the reverse
logistics process.

Data Tsunami and Information Sprawl

The supply chain has been slow to adapt to big data; despite compelling benefits,
implementation is difficult for most organizations. They struggle to collect andanalyze the huge amount of information across processes, data sources and siloedapplications. And that is only the internal picture. Fewer still have visibility and control
over data within the systems of suppliers and partners.
However, fully leveraging this data delivers an information advantage that is pivotal tosuccess for every supply chain venture, including the circular economy. To compete intoday’s digitally transformed business landscape, organizations must evolve or die.

23

Figure 14:
Information Drives Disruptive Models

Enhanced
Decision-making

RadicalPersonalization(Internet of Me)

Hyper-efficiency

Information
Perfect Supply/ Demand /Pricing

Hyperscale
Real-time
Matching

Displacementof Repetitive
Human Work

Forbes notes: “The future of supply chain digitization will be driven by data andanalytics. Data is a commodity, which is not necessarily valuable in and of itself—
insights from that data are far more useful. Numerous advances powered bytechnologies like predictive analytics and location intelligence are improving the way
the entire supply chain makes use of data.”70
Pioneers in big data analytics have seen impressive tangible benefits, including
visibility into inventory levels, order fulfillment rates, and material and product delivery;
optimization of supply chain strategy and commercial priorities; and launching entirely
new ventures.
We have a paradox. More information means greater opportunity for insight andinnovation. But it is also more difficult to analyze and gain the value in such enormousvolumes of data. We are close to an inflection point. Technologies such as AI andadvanced analytics are making it possible to tame the data tsunami and enable theseamless information flows and visibility needed to drive a circular supply chain.

24

Business Network: The Circular Economy

Matson Logistics

As one of the top logistics providers in North America, Matson Logistics offers
domestic and international rail intermodal services, long haul and regional highway
brokerage, and supply chain services, as well as third-party logistics services that
include warehousing, distribution and international freight forwarding. Matson
Logistics sought a B2B platform with world-class EDI capabilities to securely
exchange business documents, such as purchase orders and invoices, in astandard electronic format with its network of business partners.
Matson Logistics wanted to focus on their core competencies and move awayfrom the daily grind of managing B2B integration operations. The company
was spending too much time and money onboarding new trading partners andmanaging trading partner issues, rather than on its primary focus of delivering
first-rate logistic services to customers.
OpenText B2B Managed Services was the ideal solution to manage the company’s
B2B network needs, including onboarding and enabling trading partners, mapping,translation, document tracking and monitoring. Matson Logistics consolidated
its EDI operations from four different service providers to a single platform andhanded off the day-to-day responsibilities to OpenText. With OpenText B2BManaged Services, Matson Logistics achieved cost savings and operational
efficiencies, as well as enhanced service delivery to its customers. The company
was able to reduce support costs by 24%, cut down trading partner onboarding by
five weeks, reduce advanced shipping notice (ASN) fines by 12% due to improved
ability to meet service level obligations, and redeploy their IT staff to other valueadded functions.

The Internet of Things: A Double-edged Sword?

While IoT has significant benefits, it also represents a new style of computing and cantherefore be hard to deploy. Implementing an IoT network for the circular economy
means tackling new issues in integration, device management, data privacy, IT security
and access management.
IoT is not simply about managing devices on an internet-based network. For the firsttime, the organization is creating a complex ecosystem of people, applications andthings. Each must communicate and interact with each other. Gaining value from IoT
investments involves a wide range of other technologies—such as cloud platforms,
sensors, connectivity, machine-to-machine communications and data analytics—thatmust interoperate and be managed as one integrated solution.

25

Business Network: Supply Chains for Circular Economy
Over the past decade, linear supply chains have evolved into collaborative
ecosystems, driven largely by the globalization of many of today’s businesses and thechange from local to global sourcing of products. Through the cloud, companies canconnect with suppliers anywhere in the world, collaborate with them on a regular basis
and ensure information is available anytime, anywhere, from any device.
Like the shift from linear to collaborative, organizations transitioning to the circular
economy must automate manual business processes and leverage cloud-based
integration across both internal and external business ecosystems. A unified businessnetwork platform is the digital foundation needed to support organizations as theyembrace more ethical and responsible supply chain practices:• Connect: Connect and transform data for seamless information flows with any
person, system or thing• Optimize: Gain insight into transaction trends to optimize productivity andmitigate risk
• Grow: Accelerate time to market, exceed customer expectations and comply
with mandates
Figure 15:

cess Managem
tity & Ac
ent
Iden

Supply Chain Ecosystem:
People, Systems, Things

Contractors

Operationsnd Visibility
End -to-E

A Frictionless Business Network Solution

VehiclesMarketing

AgentsInventory
Position

Vendors
Info Security

Devices
SecureUniqueDigital ID

Corporate
Customers

Brokers andDistributors

Consumers

Point of Sale

Product Design
Contract(CAD)
Manufacturing

Purchase
Order

Ship
NoticeandStatus

3PLs andCarriers
InvoicesandFactoring

Business Network

Help Desk
Financial
Institutions

Misc. BusinessTransactions

Unified Data Integration and Data Management

ERP

TMS

WMS

Sales

Payments andBank Reporting

POS

Operational Systems

Personalization | Self-service | Audit | Intelligence

3rd Party Cloud/ Network

CRM

Human
Resources
Instant
AccessNew
Collaboration

For the circular economy to operate seamlessly, organizations must not only think
about how they receive parts to make products and distribute them to customers—
they must also embrace reverse logistics and consider how they can facilitate
recycling and reuse. Companies will need tracking and visibility on materials andproducts from end-to-end, all the way from material sourcing, to production anddelivery, to consumer use and the eventual return of the product or material into thesystem for reuse.

26

Business Network: The Circular Economy

To illustrate how business network solutions can empower the circular economy, let’s
consider a car manufacturer:
Accelerating its electric vehicle development strategy to compete with new market
entrants such as Tesla Motors, a North American OEM is about to embark on a newelectric vehicle project. Given the green nature of these vehicles, the OEM wants allparts going into the vehicle to be ethically sourced and up to 90% of the vehicle to berecyclable. One of the main components is the battery—what happens when thesebatteries reach their end-of-life? How are the materials that make up the battery
recycled? And how can these batteries be tracked during their lifetime and throughto recycling?
This is where a suite of cloud integration solutions can help. Imagine a businessnetwork securely connected to hundreds of thousands of trading partners, including
the top vehicle manufacturers and suppliers around the world.

Identify Potential Suppliers

Our automaker wants to ensure all components and sub-systems used to
manufacture the new electric vehicle are ethically sourced and that suppliers follow
their responsible sourcing guide. Considering the thousands of parts that go into
manufacturing a car, how does a procurement team quickly identify suitable suppliers
to work with?
Ethical sourcing relies on the ability of businesses to swiftly and easily find andonboard new suppliers, based on compliance with environmental and social
responsibility standards. To do this, organizations have traditionally resorted tointernet searches and referrals from trusted partners—often ending up with either anendless list or just a handful that may not even qualify to do business with.
Today, a new generation of trading partner directories allow organizations to searchand identify suppliers based on specific search criteria, including B2B capabilities
and ethical qualifications and certificates. The directory could also hold informationon the recyclable nature of the products being supplied. These directories enableorganizations to:• Manage supplier communities strategically and ethically• Accelerate onboarding and time to market with pre-qualified partners• Gain quick visibility over a supplier’s ethical credentials• Ensure compliance with ethical supply chain initiatives and goals• Gain agility and control from the supplier community• Increase global sourcing options and flexibility• Gain supplier insights for efficient supply chain processes

27Secure Trading Partner Relationships

Our electric vehicle manufacturer has now selected key suppliers to work with. They
need to secure all information exchanged and set conditional access for internalbusiness applications, such as design or inventory management systems, that support
the electric vehicle project.
Today’s supply chain is a complex network where suppliers collaborate with othersuppliers, access an organization’s internal system and applications, and use datafrom IoT devices connected to assets within the production and supply chain
processes. Suppliers may need secure access to inventory systems if they areoperating within a vendor-managed inventory system, and other external contractors
may need secure access to enterprise systems and information based on their role.
To manage all of this securely, businesses need a platform with central, robust identityand access management (IAM) capabilities. Trading partners, systems and things
across the business ecosystem must be assigned unique digital identities with varying
levels of access, from external business partners such as third-party logistics carriers
to internal logistics and warehouse management systems.
Securing the supply chain increases trust and minimizes risk across trading partner
relationships—just as important in the circular economy as it is today.

Auto Club GroupThe ACG represents over 9.4 million members and is one of the largest AAA clubs
in the national association.
Using OpenText Identity and Access Management, ACG will create a single digital
member identity across all business units to reduce complexity, increase security
and streamline the digital experience for customers. ACG wants its members to beable to securely access any of its products and services from any digital channel,
whenever and wherever they choose. By securely connecting ecosystems ofpeople, systems and things, ACG believes it can enable new service offerings,
optimize operations, develop new business models and ultimately take advantageof the connected economy business model.
The platform will be a game changer for the organization operating in today’s
digital ecosystem where identity awareness and secure access is at the core ofmanaging all interaction, whether human or machine generated.

28

Business Network: The Circular Economy

Digitize Information Flows

Having secured the supplier network for the electric vehicle project, the next stepis to facilitate electronic information exchange across every partner in thedigital ecosystem.
Developing an ethical and sustainable supply chain should be the goal of every
procurement and supply chain leader. To do this, the organization needs to know it cantrust its information. This means capturing accurate data linked to its ethical strategy
from all areas of the supply chain. And to do that, the flow of data and transactions
must be digitized.
Replacing manual, paper-based purchase orders and invoices with digital Electronic
Data Interchange (EDI) transactions is more cost- and time-effective. It also greens the
supply chain, saving millions of trees each year. Even small suppliers can exchange
information through fax-based communications converted to an EDI format. Fax
remains a critical and widely used method of sharing document-based information,
particularly in the healthcare and financial services industries.
For delivering end-to-end trading partner integration and collaboration, the ideal
platform is a single cloud solution that provides:• Seamless integration with internal applications, including APIs and web
services integration• End-to-end visibility of all transactions and documents exchanged over the network• Fast and secure connections to hundreds of thousands of pre-qualified
trading partners• Workflow orchestration to ensure supplier compliance to the organization’s policies• Complete community management beyond initial onboarding, including
customer tools for ethical qualification, community collaboration andinformation management
Figure 16:
Partners

Visibility,
Alerting

Suppliers

ERP
Integration

Data & Process
Intelligence

Data
Translation

Partner
Onboarding

ProgramManagement

Global System
Management

Customers

24/7 Monitoring& Support• People, Process, Technology• Development, Set Up• Lifecycle Support• Program ExcellenceBlue Yonder

One Platform for Information to Flow

Devices

Microsoft

Trading Grid
Your Company• Self-service• Programmable• Visibility• UI/UX/Mobility

SAP

Oracle29Modern cloud integration solutions provide a foundation for trading partner
ecosystems to work and collaborate effectively. The organization and its suppliers
can exchange business transactions and documents to deliver complete supply chain
visibility and transparency, ensuring that all business happens in an ethicallycompliant manner.

Esprinet

Esprinet is a wholesale technology distributor in Italy and Spain established in
the 1970s that today supplies more than 600 brands to over 40,000 resellers.
Esprinet’s unique internet-based business model is especially focused ondelivering technology to resellers that address small-to-midsize businesses,
retailers and corporates. Top brand names, such as Apple, IBM, HP, Toshiba andLenovo, among many others, form their portfolio. The range of technology includes
personal computers, tablets, supplies, consumer electronics, servers, networking,storage, peripherals and software with more than 45,000 Stock Keeping Units(SKUs). For more than a decade, many of Esprinet’s large suppliers have mandated
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) as the only means to exchange documentation
relating to orders. These include the orders themselves, acknowledgements,shipping notices, receipts, invoices and credit notes. With a growing number ofsuppliers moving to EDI, Esprinet found it was expending greater amounts ofprecious internal resources on establishing new connections. Added to this, many
existing suppliers would periodically require changes to be implemented.
Having researched potential solution suppliers, Esprinet selected OpenText andestablished their first connections, mapping the various data points internallyto enable the exchange of data. Being able to release staff from the workload
involved in establishing and maintaining these connections has meant that focus
can be applied elsewhere. With OpenText B2B Managed Services, their system
now automatically checks the invoice against a PO, confirming goods have been
received and matching delivery notes. Esprinet can now save time, reduce thepotential of human error during data entry and have a complete audit trail.

Monitor Shipment ProvenanceOur car manufacturer needs end-to-end visibility of inbound shipments so their justin-time production system can operate seamlessly. As COVID-19 has highlighted,
improved visibility helps ensure inventory stock is available when needed—especiallyduring periods of disruption. Once the electric vehicle has been manufactured,
the automaker must also track the shipment across the delivery network and let
customers know when it will be delivered. Finally, when a vehicle or part reaches its
end-of-life, it will need to be tracked through the reverse logistics process to ensure
it goes through the recycling process. These are the three main supply chain visibility
stages that support the circular economy.
30Business Network: The Circular Economy

Supply chain visibility solutions enable companies to track and trace the flow of goods,
products and transactions through the full production and distribution process.
Figure 17:
B2B Transaction
Sensor Information

IoT Platform

Track-and-Trace

Cloud
Business
Network

Temperature and GPS
location sensors fitted toshipment packaging

2ºC

NA Supplier

Retail Store
5ºC

Last Mile 3PL

9ºC

In Country 3PL

5ºC

2ºC
2ºC

Customs Depot

International
3PL

Using Industry 4.0 technologies, it is now possible to track the movement and monitor
the condition of goods as they traverse the supply chain. Everything can be IoTenabled so its location and condition can be continuously monitored. The combinationof an IoT platform with other technologies, including blockchain, can capture source
information and retain the provenance of goods. IoT solutions will become a key
enabler of reverse logistics environments in the future.
In our electric vehicle example, a sensor could be placed on the battery pack for
performance monitoring. Then, at its end-of-life, a GPS location sensor could be
activated to provide visibility as the battery is tracked to an appropriate recycling
center, confirming it has been ethically recycled or disposed of.
Blockchain stands to transform ethical sourcing practices. Many companies are justbeginning to understand the technology and how it can be applied. For example,
blockchain could provide a permanent, immutable record to verify that parts ofthe electric vehicle have indeed been recycled. Once written to a blockchain, thisinformation cannot be falsified, providing another way to secure the information that
supports the circular economy.

Manage Supplier Communities

While our vehicle manufacturer is producing their new car, they will need to manage
collaboration between all trading partners associated with the new vehicle.
Experts anticipate the growth of collaborative platforms for trading partner
communities to store, share and report on information related to the supply chain,such as purchasing practices, labor rights and ethical standards. Organizations mustfind an integrated way to engage with strategic suppliers, leveraging their knowledge
and capabilities while enhancing customer service and experience.
Compliance—both in terms of ethical standards and regulatory mandates—must be
vigilantly maintained across the entire supply chain. Companies that do not comply
can face fines, lost contracts and legal action. However, this is a complex endeavor as
regulations change over time and differ across industries and regions.
31

The solution is a supplier information management (SIM) platform that delivers a single
source of the truth for each supplier. It lets companies digitally exchange key businessdocuments with suppliers and share vital information on how each trading partneris operating.
SIM has the technology, tools and processes to drive efficiency and collaboration in
the supply chain by:• Creating a centralized, real-time source of supplier information, including ethicalqualifications, contacts, performance and compliance• Delivering a single, shared view of all supplier information across the organization• Facilitating the process of adding and updating information to ensure total accuracy,
including supplier self-service• Expediting supplier information organization, search and retrieval• Improving the execution of supply chain initiatives, such as regulatory compliance,
green standards and supplier chain visibility• Minimizing risk and disruption across the supply chain

National U.S. Retailer

As an example, consider a leading national retailer that delivers name brand family
apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear and houseware goods across the U.S.
The retailer faced immense challenges with suppliers that were unaware of its
requirements. The compliance and vendor relations team had to show suppliers
how to ticket, pack and comply with the retailer’s requirements and guidelines.
To be successful, the team needed to streamline the communication process thatwould advise the suppliers of the company’s requirements, alert suppliers when
they were non-compliant and create a clearly identified communication path forthem to ask questions and receive responses in a reasonable time.
The other challenge was the company’s manually intensive processes. Doingeverything by hand created time-consuming bottlenecks to getting problems
resolved. It also did not foster a friendly environment with suppliers.

32

Business Network: The Circular Economy

To solve these pain points, the company choose OpenText™ Active Intelligence,
which now keeps its supply chain running smoothly with real-time transaction
visibility and automated deduction management, reporting and analysis formonitoring partner performance. The solution helps improve the accuracy,completeness and timeliness of the company’s B2B transactions. By combining
the Active Intelligence solution to help automate processes with the humanelement of the compliance team, the company can communicate more efficiently
with suppliers and be even more vigilant with enforcing compliance.
Beyond cost savings and compliance, a SIM platform delivers confidence in the quality
and accuracy of the supplier information. It helps provide assurance that suppliers aremeeting environmental and social commitments and builds trust and transparency tomeet customer expectations.

Gather Ethical Insights

Our automaker is eager for insight into its end-to-end operations—not just across theexternal ecosystem, but its internal business environment as well. With these insights,
it will be able to optimize the processes associated with the new electric vehicle.
It is not easy to get insight into trading partner performance and understand theethical pulse of supply chain operations. Massive, unruly amounts of data arecreated every minute within global supply chains. Fortunately, we now have powerful
technology that can unleash the value in that data.
Big data analytics, AI and machine learning deliver the insights that today’s supply
chain executives need. A comprehensive analytics platform empowers companies
to manage social performance, determine compliance, manage risks and improve
profitability. AI is transforming every aspect of business, including supply chain
operations. In support of the circular economy, supply chain professionals can use
sophisticated self-service AI-enabled analytics dashboards to monitor the ethicalperformance of trading partners and apply measurable KPIs tied to sustainable goals
and standards. With this information, organizations can weed out partners that are
not living up to their sustainability requirements and find other, higher
performing, suppliers.
Intelligent, connected and secure business network platforms along with Industry 4.0
technologies are key to closing the circularity gap and evolving business models forcircular economy—the only economy of the future.

33

The Only Economy of the Future
The call for a new economic model cannot be ignored. The revolution is transforming
linear chains into dynamic ecosystems. It is reorganizing markets. It is reshaping
relationships between materials, products, consumers and businesses.
The opportunity is now. It is time to transform or be left behind.
We are in the pioneering phase of the circular economy, where scalable sustainablebusiness models—based on methods made possible by Industry 4.0 technologies—
will soon unseat long-standing incumbents. This is an economic opportunity
worth billions.71

Consumption

Un

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Raw
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Materials

ud
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Energy

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Packaging

E

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Figure 18:

ONOMY TECHNO
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Leading global businesses are taking action. Organizations including Unilever,Amazon, Target, Cisco, Walmart and Nike have already begun making investments
in circular economy models. For example, both Unilever and Walmart have madehuge commitments to ensure that 100% of their packaging is reusable, recyclable orcompostable by 2025.72 73 Cisco has set an ambitious goal for 100% of new products
to include circular design principles by 2025 and was a founding member of theEllen MacArthur Foundation, whose mission is to accelerate the transition to acircular economy.74
A recent study from the United Nations Global Compact and Accenture Strategy
reports that 99% of CEOs from companies with more than $1 billion in annual
revenue believe sustainability will be important to the success of their business.75
Ninety-nine percent.
To stay competitive, business leaders must make real change within their businessmodels and supply chains, forging ethical ecosystems that reuse and renew.
34

Business Network: The Circular Economy

Disruptive digital technologies will be at the center of the zero waste circular economy.
They are the result of humanity’s ingenuity, and now it is time to put that ingenuity towork crafting the innovative products, business models and global ecosystem needed
to thrive in the sustainability crisis of our era.
The circular economy promises enduring benefits. Production cost savings and lessresource dependence. A more resilient economy. An economic system built to last. A
healthy, thriving planet for future generations.
We are at the beginning of a massive movement, predicted to go mainstream in thenext ten years.76 This is the biggest opportunity of our lifetime. Entire industries arerising and falling. Yet, no organization will conquer these challenges singlehandedly—
it will take collaboration between suppliers, retailers, partners, governments andindividuals to build a future of responsible consumption. Business leaders who makethe choice now to embrace circular economic practices will catch this wave at the startand ride it with a strong competitive advantage—a circular advantage.
The circular economy is not just the preferred economy of the future. It is the only
economy of the future… and for the future.

35

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25

 ero Waste Youth USA: http://www.zerowasteyouthusa.org/
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1112

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K
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Business Network: The Circular Economy

I bid.

39

 obin Andrews, “The European Union Just Voted To Ban Single-Use
R
Plastics By 2021,” Forbes, October 25, 2018, https://www.forbes.com/
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40

27

28

29

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30

 fdhel Aziz, “The Power Of Purpose: How Adidas Will Make $1 Billion
A
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33

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35

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36

I bid.

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37

38

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N
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I bid.
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4142

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K
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pdf (accessed May 2020).

45

I bid.

46

I bid.

 hristy Pettey, “Innovate Under Every Condition: The Bimodal
C
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A
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50

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37

53

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38

Business Network: The Circular Economy

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