Sustainability in Supply Chain

Strategic Supply Chain Management (SCM 503Z)

Submitted to: Mr. Kashif Shafiq

ENGLISH BISCUITS MANUFACTURERS (PVT) LTD

Submitted By:
M. Owais Siddiqui
Muhammad Naveed
Saba Binte Zohra
Shaileen Kareem

(13785)
(14983)
(16877)
(15466)

TERM REPORT COVER SHEET

STUDENTS TO COMPLETE
Course Number: SCM-503 Z
Student ID Number(s) and Name(s)
Muhammad Siddique (13785)
Naveed Ahmed
(14983)
Shaileen
(15466)
Saba Zohra
(16877)
Lecturer Name:
Sir Kashif Shafiq

Report /Name:
English Biscuits Manufacturers (EBM)
Date Due: 0ct,02,2014
Word Count:

Course Title:
Strategic Supply Chain Management

Lecture Day/Time:
Sunday/ 9:00-12:00 Noon

Date Submitted: Nov 16,2014

Declaration
(we) declare that this assessment item is (our) own work, except where acknowledged, and has not been submitted as
academic work elsewhere,
(we) certify that (we) understand the University Rules in respect of Student Academic Misconduct.

Student(s) Signature:
Owais
Naveed
Shaileen
Saba
Date: Nov 16, 2014

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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
Nov 16, 2014
Mr. Kashif shafiq
Lecturer
Department of Supply Chain
Institute of Business Management

Subject: Submission of Term Research Report

Dear Sir,
It gives us a great pleasure to submit the report on English Biscuits Manufacturers (Pvt) Ltd.
This report is submitted as the requirement to fulfill the research topic of Sustainability in
Supply Chain.
The research topic has been helpful for us to understand the Sustainability in Supply Chain
and its influence in business processes. It has been a wonderful opportunity of widening the
knowledge from the books to practical experiences.
We believe that report meets the research standards and will serve its purpose.
Regards,
Muhammad Owais Siddiqui
Naveed Ahmed
Shaileen Karim
Saba Binte Zohra

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

First of all we thank the Almighty ALLAH for all blessings.

We express our gratitude to Mr. Kashif Shafiq for his cooperation and encouragement
during the tenure of this course.
Continuing with the same, he has enlightened us in the various stages during the
development of this project and provided us with many insights and useful examples, which
proved to be of immense help in successful completion of this research project.
We extend our sincere gratitude to the Management of English Biscuit Manufacturers
especially General Manager Supply Chain and Production Engineer who provided valuable
knowledge and practical information.

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Contents
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 5
OBJECTIVES ......................................................................................... 6
LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................... 7
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .............................................................. 10
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................... 15
CONCLUSION .................................................................................... 17
LIMITATIONS AND EXTENSION OF THE REPORT................................ 18
REFFERENCE ...................................................................................... 19

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INTRODUCTION
English Biscuits Manufacturers (stated as EBM in this report) are the leading biscuit
manufacturers in Pakistan. With more than 50% market share, EBM holds the prestige place
in the biscuit manufacturing industry of Pakistan. EBM has wide supply and distribution
chain ranging from Inbound of raw materials to finish goods processing, packaging,
transportation and distribution to retailers.
EBMs policy is to pursue Triple Bottom Line (3Ps), People, Planet and Profit in their
business growth model. As per company policy EBM ensures the welfare and growth of
society at large (People), the preservation of the environment and precious natural
resources (Planet) and the pursuit of profitability (Profits) in an ethical manner. With
pursuance of these 3Ps, EBM strives for sustainability in their Supply Chain Operations and
business as a whole.
This report reflects the actions taken up by the company for achieving sustainability in their
Supply Chain Operations. This report also covers some findings and their recommendations
which can further help to bring Environmental Stewardship, Economic Viability and Social
Responsibility to the whole functions of its Supply Chain.
EBM is ISO-9001 (Quality), ISO-14001 (Environment Management System) and ISO-22000
(Food Safety Management) certified. In addition to these, it has achieved number of awards
for its business operations and social responsibility initiatives. This report also reflects the
actions that are being taken by the company to maintain these certifications and to find out
whether the company is actually meeting up with the requirements of these certifications
and awards.
The methodologies used for analysis and fact finding have been a visit to their Production
facility at Korangi Industrial Area, Karachi as well as discussion on questionnaire with their
Production Engineer and General Manager Supply Chain.

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OBJECTIVES
Objectives of this report are to assess whether EBMs Supply Chain operations are
sustainable in lieu of Environment Stewardship, Economic Viability and Social Responsibility.
Following are the main objectives of this report:
1) How EBM measures their Environmental actions?

2) How EBM manages its Solid/Liquid wastes?

3) How EBM enforces their 3rd party Supply Chain partners to consider Environment in
their operations?

4) How EBM makes sure Health and Safety of its employees as well as its customers
and society as a whole?

5) How EBM makes sure that their Economic achievements are in line with ethical
backgrounds?

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LITERATURE REVIEW
Supply chain sustainability is the management of economical, social and environmental
impacts and the encouragement of good governance practices throughout the life cycle of
goods & services.
The objective of supply chain is to create, protect & grow long term environmental,
economical & social value to all stakeholders involved in bringing products & services in to
the market.
According to the UN global compact guide, the reason to emphasize on supply chain
sustainability is that companies are taking actions that result in better social, environmental
& economic impact because end consumers are expecting this from manufacturers. By
doing so, companies can take care the interests of their stakeholders and interests of the
society at large.
The sustainable management of supply chains initiated by the combination of
environmental regulations and pressures enforced by the customers and shareholders has
soon willingly been accepted by the business world due to extensive returns including
improved efficiency, reduced costs, increased internal and external customer satisfaction,
increased sales and market share together with a more effective risk management.
Importance:
According to UN global compact guide, Sustainability in supply chain management is
important as it is necessary to ensure conformity with laws and regulations and to hold to
and maintain global values for sustainable commerce conduct. Moreover, sustainability in
supply chain management is important to ensure reliability of the brand and ensuring
business maintenance along with managing operational costs.
Principles of Supply Chain Sustainability:
UN global compact guide documented ten principles which are necessary for sustainability
in supply chain management. Firstly, international human rights should be protected and
conserved throughout in the business as its the fundamental responsibility of all. Secondly,
abuse to human rights is never acceptable in a business. Businesses should struggle to
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sustain global labor values within their supply chains, including the right to liberally select
service, the freedom of kids from work, freedom from favoritism and the freedom of
relationship and joint bargaining.
Implementations:
Putting up sustainability into an organizations supply chain is difficult but the failure to take
action may be the major risk of all. Numerous implementations are advised by Greenbiz
which can be followed by organizations and companies. Firstly, companies need to plan
their supply chain. For this, recognizing the most important ecological and communal
challenges and prioritizing efforts with suppliers is significant. Secondly, communicating
companys goals and expectations to the suppliers can also help in sustaining the supply
chain management. Thirdly, assessing suppliers performance through self-assessments (to
be filled by suppliers) helps suppliers to match their current performance with companys
standards and expectations. Along with this, organizing training and capacity building
programs for the suppliers can help in sustaining supply chain management by promoting
behavioral changes. It can also to keep suppliers on track and avoid mishaps. Apart from
this, sustainability in supply chain management also requires industry wide collaboration
instead of individual efforts.
Triple Bottom Line of Sustainable Supply Chain:
Economic Viability
Sharing of generated wealth with all stakeholders.
Ensuring adequate remunerations, rewards and retirement benefits for staff.
Assessing financial implications arising from change in technology, threats from new
entrants, minimum environmental standards etc.
Timely deposit of taxes / duties / levies with respective government authorities.
Increase dealer presence through improvement in coverage.
Assisting vendors in improving quality.
Evaluating implications of major threats and devise counter measures.

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Environmental Stewardship
Following the principle of four Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Responsible Disposal).
Ensuring strict compliance with environmental standards.
Reduction of carbon footprint and exhaust emissions from operations.
Implementing Green policies on all locations, including business partners.
Improving awareness for protecting the environment through continuous training and
development programs.

Social Responsibility
Ensuring equal opportunity employer-ship.
Updating human resource policies and practices in accordance with the best practices.
Strict adherence with employee safety and labor laws.
Implementing policies that counter corruption and fraudulent activities.
Training employees in modern health and safety standards.
Focusing on education and development of local communities.
Ensuring compliance with human rights initiatives.
Striving to make safer products and ensuring safety training of customers.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research for this report comprises of questionnaire filled and discussed with General
Manager Supply Chain and Production Engineer of EBM. In addition of this, findings from
visit to EBMs Karachi production facility have also been incorporated. Questionnaire has
been drafted in such a manner that gives a glimpse of how much sustainability EBM has
achieved so far in its Supply Chain operations as well to find any short comings and
improvement. Following are questions which were discussed with the stated personals
along with its replies:

1) Does EBM consider Environment in its Strategic Objectives and Business Processes?
Yes, EBM has a documented Environmental Policy which is accredited by 3rd party ISO-14001
certification. Environment is considered in every business and decision making policies. Biannual environmental audits are being carried out to measure the effectiveness of
Environmental Policy.
2) How solid/liquid wastes are managed at EBM?
Liquid wastes are being managed through in-house Waste Treatment Plant. All the liquid
wastes are treated in the plant with the controlled pH, BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) and
COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) values and is then released to drain channel.
Plastic wastes are sold to outsourced contractor who build plastic blocks and send it to
northern areas for the purpose house building. Other solid wastes are sent to Government
certified incinerator facilities.
3) What measures are taken to maintain the housekeeping of the facility?

Janitorial staff has been outsourced which ensures the housekeeping of the facility. In
addition to this weekly fumigation is also carried out. Employees and 3 rd party workers are
continuously educated and trained on maintaining the housekeeping of the plant. Use of
tobacco is strictly prohibited.

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4) Is smoking/tobacco allowed at EBM facility? If yes then is there any designated place?

Smoking is allowed only on 6 designated places. If any worker is found violating the policy
then fine of Rs.1000/- is imposed on him.

5) Is Environment Impact Assessment available for the facility?

Since, facility was built in 1960s no Environment Impact Assessment is applicable, however
Environmental Management Plan is implemented whose audit is carried out Bi-Annually as a
part of ISO-14001 Audit.

6) Are there ISO 14001 EMS and any NEQS standards implemented at EBM?
Yes.
7) Does the transportation vehicles and Plants machinery tested for Carbon Emissions?
EBM has Power Gas Generators and Baking Owen machines whose exhaust emissions are
monitored through in-house installed Continuous Emission Monitoring system. In addition
to this, Bi-Annually 3rd party emission tests are also carried out in compliance to ISO-14001.
8) Does EBM have any Environmental Policy? If yes is it communicated to employees and
Supply Chain stakeholders?

Continuous trainings on Environment considerations are conducted for employees and even
for outsourced staff. A strict supplier selection criterion has been setup and is imposed into
Product and Services agreements.

9) Does EBM measures efficiency and effectiveness of its suppliers and outsource service
providers on the basis of their Environment friendly initiatives?
EBMs Quality Control, HSE & Supply Chain dept regularly visits suppliers facilities to check
their environmental and food safety measures. Any shortcomings are informed to the
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suppliers, however currently there is no KPI developed to consider it in supplier selection

criteria.
10) Does EBM promote Energy Conservation and Recycling in its Supply Chain processes?
EBM has taken many initiatives for the Recycling of the materials. For the purpose of cooling
the plant machinery, evaporator type chillers are installed which are run by exhaust heat
being recovered from Power Gas Generators and Baking Owens. Utility dept monitors the
power usage of the facility through Energy meters installed at every power feeder. Initiative
has been taken to educate the employees on Energy Conservation.
11) Does EBM provide safe and healthy working environment to its employees? Does EBM
provide its employees with necessary PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)?
Yes, proper PPEs are provided to the employees along with uniforms. HSE dept has been
developed recently whose purpose to implement the health and safety measures within the
facility as well as develop and implement the procedures for the Safety of the workers.
12) What are fringe benefits which EBM offers to the employees and their families?

Life Insurance Policy for permanent staff, OPD Medical, Paid Leaves and Bonuses.

13) What is EBMs policy on Child Labor and does EBM promotes equal employment?
EBM strongly discourages Child Labor and 3rd party contractors are bound through contract
not employ the same. EBM is an equal opportunity employer with no discrimination of
gender, race, creed or religion.
14) Does EBM carry any CSR activities for nearby local communities and for whole society
if any?

EBM delivers its biscuits free of cost to NGO based schools for children of poor families.
Further to this, EBM with 80-20 % partnership with the Government setup a EBM causeway
road which connects Korangi Industrial Area to Main Shahra-e-Faisal. This road shortened
the distance between the two locations and helped to increase economical activities of the
area.
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EBM has partnership with World Bank, through which it develops special Energy Biscuits for
the pregnant women of countrys poor areas. This program is sponsored by World Bank and
the quality and nutrients are checked by both EBMs and World Banks food technologists.

15) How customer service is being handled by EBM and what is the procedure to cope
with customer complains?
Any complaints relating to EBMs products are delivered through Reverse Chain process, in
which the customer launch its complain to retailer than retailer informs the same to EBMs
Distribution and Sales Team.
16) How EBM does measures the quality of ingredients and packaging for its Products?
How does it make sure the quality doesnt deplete during finished product stage till
distribution cycle.

EBM has a Quality Control dept having Food Technologists whose responsibilities are to
check the quality and specification of inbound raw material supplies that are Flour, Sugar,
Egg, Water etc. EBM has setup a dedicated micro-biological lab in its facility for the same
purpose. For the finished product, EBM adds Sodium Meta Sulphite chemical in its biscuits
during stack process which preserves the freshness for a prolonged period.

17) What business processes are outsourced by EBM?

Transportation and Logistics from Plant to Warehouses

Packaging

Janitorial and Housekeeping

Scrap/Waste disposal

18) Are there any metrics developed for measuring the supplier performance?
Although EBM maintains multiple supplier policy however, no specific metrics have been
developed so far for measuring the performance.
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19) How does EBM do the market and environment scanning for streamlining the
production planning?
Production planning is carried on yearly basis with the help of past sales record and demand
trends. The production facility is flexible which can meet the demand in case of market
bullwhip effect.
20) What is the market share of EBM in Pakistan Biscuit Industry? What measures EBM is
taking to gain/retain the competitive advantage?
Current market share of EBM is about 52%. The main reasons for EBM to maintain its
market share for all those years is their Brand Image which is backed by no compromise on
Quality. EBM has highly skilled and experience employees and the employee retention
within the organization is high.

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FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

After the discussion with the GM Supply Chain and Production Engineer alongside EBM
Korangi Plant visit, following are our findings relating to the sustainability of Supply Chain as
well as their recommendations:
S.NO
1

FINDINGS
Smoke plume
near EBM
facility.

AREA
Environment

Lack of Fire Environment

Protection

Tough
operations
shift schedule

Social

DETAILS
Black smoke
plumes were
observed at EBM
facility. This
smoke was
coming from
neighboring
factory.

RECOMMENDATIONS
EBM should launch the
complain with SEPA (Sindh
Environment Protection
Agency) as well as local
Trade and Commerce
Authority to the
neighboring industry to
control its emissions,
otherwise the smoke is not
viable specially for food
manufacturing plant.
Although fire
EBM needs to install
extinguishers are Automatic Fire Suppression
placed after some system at least at Main
distance within
Production Hall along with
the facility but no Fire Alarm System for the
Automatic Fire
safety and environment of
Suppression and
the facility.
Alarm system
found
It has been found EBM HR dept needs to look
that current
into this matter and
operations shift
develop a shift Rota
schedule has
schedules according to the
been very tough
safety and health of the
for the
employees. Employee
employees. Some working hours should be in
of them have
compliance to local labor
been found to be laws. This will lead to
working 12 hour
employee motivation and
night shifts for 10 maintaining the employee
days straight.
retention.

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CSR activities
for local
community

Social

No metrics for
Supplier
performance

Economic

Improvement
in Customer
Service
Management

Economic

Although EBM has

been participating
in numerous CSR
activities, but no
major actions has
been taken so far
for nearby
communities.
EBM deals with
number of
suppliers for their
raw materials as
well packaging of
finish goods but
there is no
metrics created to
measure their
performance

Currently there is
no effective
Customer Service
Management at
EBM. It solely
depends on
traditional
customer
feedbacks from
the retail chain.

EBM can setup free medical

camps twice a year for the
relief of nearby
communities. This will bring
a good image of the
organization.

EBM needs to develop

metrics that can be a
simple Supplier Scorecard
with weightage of Cost,
Lead time, Order
Fulfillment rate,
Environment stewardship,
Social responsibility etc to
measure the performance
of the Supplier and create
programs for the Supplier
training accordingly.
EBM needs to develop
communication channels to
get the feedback directly
from the customers. This
can be achieved through
Product fairs, Participation
in Trade Expos and Visit of
Sales team to School,
Colleges etc. This will also
enable EBM to handle
Returns Management more
efficiently and will bring
further improvement in
Quality as well as ideas for
new Product Development.

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CONCLUSION
English Biscuits Manufacturers (EBM) is committed on achieving the Sustainability in their
Supply Chain Operations. With certifications of ISO-9001 (Quality), ISO-14001 (Environment)
and ISO-22000 (Food Safety) it makes sure the Sustainability is continuously achieved and is
measured accordingly.
Throughout our research, we have noticed the actions taken up by the management of EBM
for the protection of the Environment. The same is incorporated in company polices and
mission statements. EBM also incorporates the same in PSAs (Product and Service
Agreements) with its Suppliers and 3rd party contractors. However, there is still room for
improvement as there is no KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) developed so far to measure
the suppliers performance on the basis of Environmental Stewardship.
EBM has an efficient process of handling facilitys Solid and Liquid Wastes. This is achieved
through the operation of Waste Water Treatment Plant which discharges the liquid waste
after treating it within NEQS (National Environmental Quality Standards) limits. Solid wastes
are sent to Recycle contractor as well Government certified incineration facilities. The
performance of their waste management is monitored by their Micro-biological lab as well
as 3rd party ISO surveillance audit team bi-annually.
EBM incorporates the Environmental factors in their contracts with Supply Chain partners.
This includes emission testing and certificates of Supplier vehicles, quality reports of raw
material supplied. However, there is no procedure developed so far for Suppliers continuous
training on the same along with metrics to measure their performance.
Recently developed HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) department has developed
procedures for Worker Safety and protection of the environment. EBM provides proper
safety equipments to its workers. Strong actions are taken against those who dont comply
with the companys HSE procedures. LOTO (Lock Out Tag Out) procedure is in place for the
maintenance department for safe work on the equipment and machines. Improvement is
required in Fire Detection and Suppression system as currently only manual action related
system is in place. Workers shift schedule is also tough and HR department needs to make
sure that Shift ROTAs should comply with local labor laws.
Company has achieved remarkable results in its business with highest market share of
Pakistans Biscuit Manufacturing industry. However, in order to retain and gain the market
share EBM needs to do much more in the field of CSR and it needs to make sure that all of
its supply chain process complies with International and Local regulations.

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LIMITATIONS AND EXTENSION OF THE REPORT

The research on the topic has been limited by the following factors:

Time

Study resources

No access to Companys documents and Sales Record

Non-availability of Company Suppliers performance record

Following extension to this research report can be done:

Visit to Suppliers facility and finding out the Suppliers performance on achieving the
Sustainability.

Research on individual business functions and their contribution for achieving the
Sustainability.

Study of companys ISO Surveillance Audit Reports.

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REFFERENCE

1. English Biscuit Manufacturers. (2008). Social sustainability report 2007-08.

Retrieved from:
http://www.csrcp.com/Reporting%20Data%20Base/Search%20Sustainability%20Re
ports/2008/reports/English-Biscuit-Manufacturers-Sustainability-Report-2008.pdf

2. Salmona, M. A., Selam, A. A., & Vayvay, O. (2010). Sustainable Supply Chain
Management: A Literature Review. Retrieved from:
http://www.academia.edu/2063643/Sustainable_Supply_Chain_Management_A_Li
terature_Review?login=&email_was_taken=true

3. Sisco, C., Chorn, B., & Pruzan-Jorgensen, P. M. (2010). Supply chain sustainability.
Retrieved from:
http://www.bsr.org/reports/BSR_UNGC_SupplyChainReport.pdf

4. Wollmuth, J., & Ivanova, V. (2014). 6 steps for a more sustainable supply chain.
Retrieved from:
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/01/24/6-steps-more-sustainable-supplychain

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