Use of EPIs in supply chain communication
This strategy is based on a methodology and experiences from projects within
the European railway industry. The experiences from implementing EPIs in supply
chain
communication is therefore mainly from the railway industry.
The way of working suggested in this strategy is not yet part
of the daily business in the railway industry, but have opened
up the dialogue and even affected customer requirements. Today
it has become more common to perform material inventories and
analyses. Some of the EPIs developed within the railway industry
have been a demand to use for several years although not denominated EPI.
The establishment of a common set of EPIs, a common material list, and a common
communication format within a line of business is a consensus process that
requires a lot of time and resources.
The resource
demand is highly dependent on the information need of the
defined EPIs and the size of the material list, and can hence
vary much, from months to years of work. It is furthermore easy
to underestimate the calendar time needed for making the common
agreements.
Education programs do also
have to be set up since all involved parties need to have a common understanding
of the method and the EPIs. Through the
REPID project, a common
language has been created allowing a whole sector to communicate
easier. A sector wide understanding on definitions or terms
for
communication of environmental performance is
thus under development in the railway industry. Manufacturers
are introducing or sharpening their procedures to gather
information, operators are gathered in a project called
PROSPER
to set common requirements. All this is supported by EPIs and
aims at continue to give better rail vehicles.
Business value
The railway industry spent much time and
resources on this rather long process. It is however important to remember that
the results from the procedure are of vital importance not only in the area of
environment. A common material list, or well-defined translations between
different material lists, would also facilitate more cost-efficient management
of the data in many other areas within a company.
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