Supply Chain Management

The European Commission has introduced a new carbon tax on imported goods called the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). This is meant to make sure that European companies and companies from other parts of the world are on the same page when it comes to carbon pricing and environmental commitments. Here are the main changes: 🔴 Emissions Reporting: Starting in October this year, companies have to start keeping track of how much carbon is linked to the goods they import. They need to start reporting this data by January 2024. This reporting will continue until the end of 2025. 🔴 Carbon Leakage Prevention: CBAM is a way to prevent companies from moving their production to places with weaker environmental rules to avoid carbon costs. It makes sure that European products and products made outside of Europe have similar carbon costs. 🔴 CBAM Certificates: Importers have to get CBAM certificates to match the carbon pricing between EU and non-EU products. They need to provide details about the product's carbon footprint, where it's from, how it's made, and its emissions data. This includes emissions during production and indirect emissions, like electricity use. 🔴 Covered Sectors: CBAM applies to industries with high carbon emissions like iron and steel, cement, fertilisers, aluminium, electricity, hydrogen, and some downstream products like screws and bolts. It also covers certain indirect emissions under certain conditions. Importers mainly need to report emissions during the transition phase until 2026. To help importers and producers outside of the EU adapt, the EU Commission is providing guidelines and tools to calculate emissions. They're also offering training materials and webinars. Some important data points to consider: 🟢 Carbon Leakage: A study by the European Environmental Bureau warns that unchecked carbon leakage could cause a 15% increase in global emissions, undermining climate efforts. CBAM aims to prevent this. 🟢 Emissions Differences: The World Trade Organization says that different countries have different emissions rules, leading to different carbon costs. CBAM aims to make this fairer. 🟢 Economic Impact: The European Commission estimates that the global carbon allowance market could be worth €4.5 billion per year by 2030. CBAM will significantly affect international trade and revenues. 🟢 Industry Shift: A study by the European Parliament Research Service shows that without CBAM, high-emission industries might move to places with weaker rules, leading to job losses and less competitiveness in the EU. 🟢 Green Transition: The International Monetary Fund says that well-designed carbon pricing like CBAM can encourage industries to become more environmentally friendly, contributing to a greener global economy. 🟢 Regulatory Challenges: CBAM's reporting requirements might be tough for importers initially. However, the long-term benefits of fair carbon pricing are expected to outweigh the challenges.

The shift from seats to agents pressures SaaS margins. At the same time, the longstanding practice of getting enterprise customers to pre-commit and also prepay for functionality they may never deploy will get harder as CIOs look to free budget for their own LLM costs. To weather the storm, some SaaS companies have increased prices. This boosts revenue and margins in the short-term but can't be done repeatedly and creates even greater scrutiny over shelfware as procurement teams right-size and shift contracts to "pay as you go." To achieve sustainable growth, SaaS companies need to become hyperefficient at sales and marketing. Here are common ways to do so and who's doing it well: 1. PLG. Shopify and Atlassian exemplify efficient go-to-market based on product-led growth with free trials, low-friction upgrades and upsells. Their sales teams only need to get involved in the biggest opportunities at the largest accounts; every other step in acquisition, commercial transaction, activation, onboarding, and growth is self-service and automated. 2. Vertical SaaS. Guidewire Software and Veeva Systems are laser-focused on insurance and life sciences, respectively. Rather than casting a wide net, they spear-fish with deep domain knowledge and purpose-built solutions for that industry's specific workflows and regulatory requirements. Guidewire doesn't need to buy Super Bowl ads– their annual customer conference is the Super Bowl for property & casualty insurance executives. Nearly zero GTM effort is wasted– unsurprisingly they're the two most efficient on the list. We modeled Hearsay Systems after both these companies, and this focus allowed us to win incredible market share among Fortune 500 banks & insurers despite only raising $60M in totality. 3. Relocate operations to lower-cost regions and AI. This is private equity's favorite playbook to take costs out of companies they buy. Field sales continues to shift more to Zoom, which means you can hire AEs anywhere. Inside sales contributes a greater % of revenue as PLG motions are established. AI handles top-of-funnel leads qualification and generating marketing content and campaigns. 4. Focus on gross revenue retention. Because of high customer acquisition costs in #SaaS, leaky buckets are margin killers. Use LLMs to help customer success teams analyze product usage, segment cohorts, and identify opportunities to increase value realization. Put in guardrails to prevent sales reps from overselling an account, as doing so only creates churn in the next renewal cycle. 5. Introduce another product line. This only works if your new product has the same buyer as your existing products. Many SaaS acquisition pro formas fail to actualize for this reason, as it's not actually feasible to have the same AE sell both old and new products. Every SaaS company right now needs to double down on one or more of these levers in the AI era.

𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲. Because most people explain it from the inside out: policies, councils, standards, stewardship. But the business does not buy any of that. The business buys outcomes: → trustworthy KPIs → vendor and partner data you can actually use → faster financial close → fewer reporting escalations → smoother M&A integration → AI you can deploy without creating risk debt Most AI programs fail for boring reasons: nobody owns the data, quality is unknown, access is messy, accountability is missing. 𝗦𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗶𝘁. 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: → ownership → quality → access → accountability 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝟰 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀: 1. Data Products (what the business consumes) → a named dataset with an owner and SLA → clear definitions + metric logic → documented inputs/outputs and intended use → discoverable in a catalog → versioned so changes don’t break reporting 2. Data Management (how products stay reliable) → quality rules + monitoring (freshness, completeness, accuracy) → lineage (where it came from, where it’s used) → master/reference data alignment → metadata management (business + technical) → access controls and retention rules 3. Data Governance (who decides, who is accountable) → data ownership model (domain owners, stewards) → decision rights: who can change KPI definitions, thresholds, and sources → issue management: triage, escalation paths, resolution SLAs → policy enforcement: what’s mandatory vs optional → risk and compliance alignment (auditability, approvals) 4. Data Operating Model (how you scale across the enterprise) → domain-based setup (data mesh or not, but clear domains) → operating cadence: weekly issue review, monthly KPI governance, quarterly standards → stewardship at scale (roles, capacity, incentives) → cross-domain decision-making for shared metrics → enablement: templates, playbooks, tooling support If you want to start fast: Pick the 10 metrics that run the business. Assign an owner. Define decision rights + escalation. Then build the data products around them. ↓ 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗔𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: https://lnkd.in/dbf74Y9E

Actions to Reduce Scope 3 Emissions 🌎 Scope 3 emissions typically account for the largest share of a company's carbon footprint, covering indirect emissions across the entire value chain. Addressing them effectively requires a multifaceted approach that engages suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders. This framework outlines clear actions across key Scope 3 categories, ranging from procurement to investments. Each action is categorized into three progressive levels, encouraging companies to start with quick wins and advance toward deeper integration and systemic change. In purchasing and capital goods, strategies include substituting high-GHG materials and equipment, applying GHG criteria in investment decisions, and engaging suppliers to standardize emissions reporting. These measures aim to embed sustainability criteria across the sourcing process. For energy-related activities and transportation, reducing energy consumption, switching to lower-emission fuels, and electrifying fleets play a critical role. While some listed actions—such as on-site renewable generation—typically fall under Scope 1 or 2, they remain integral to broader decarbonization strategies. Operational waste and product lifecycle emissions require both upstream and downstream interventions. Companies can minimize waste at source, enhance recycling processes, and design for recyclability, ensuring materials remain in circulation and emissions are mitigated across product life cycles. Business travel, employee commuting, and leased assets offer opportunities to reduce emissions through virtual collaboration tools, promotion of public transport, retrofitting for energy efficiency, and improving facility operations—highlighting the value of internal policies and infrastructure upgrades. Downstream logistics and product use demand focused improvements in logistics efficiency and product energy performance. Encouraging efficient product use and adopting low-GHG energy sources can reduce the footprint associated with sold goods and services. Franchise and investment-related emissions emphasize the importance of supporting energy-efficient operations and prioritizing low-carbon investment portfolios. Channeling funding into clean tech and applying rigorous climate criteria to investment decisions are essential for long-term impact. The success of Scope 3 reduction strategies depends not only on technical interventions but also on clear governance and collaboration frameworks. Accurate data collection, traceability, and continuous engagement across the value chain ensure sustained progress. Comprehensive Scope 3 management is vital for achieving credible net-zero targets. This framework provides a roadmap to operationalize reductions, integrating climate action into the heart of corporate strategy and ensuring alignment with global decarbonization goals. #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg #emissions

Sustainability in Pharmaceutical Industry 26% of Emcure’s revenue comes from injectables but did you know that syringes are one of the toughest to recycle ? Around 16 billion syringes are used annually around the world and they are typically disposed of by incineration or end up in landfills. Most recycling firms are unwilling to accept syringes due to the potential dangers of needle sticks and contamination with pathogens and biological fluids. As you can see from this one example, pharma industry truly has its unique set of environment related challenges. Below I have tried to summarize a few industry specific sustainability issues. Manufacturing . Using Safer solvents (eg Pfizer’s switch to using ethanol and water instead of methylene chloride in the synthesis of Viagra reduced hazardous waste by over 95%), Using Better Catalysts (eg Merck’s use of an enzymatic process in the diabetes drug Januvia reduced waste by 56%), implementing advanced process control and automation (eg Precise temperature and pressure control in reactors helped Astra Zeneca reduce energy consumption by 20%). Finally by recovering and reusing waste heat, overall energy demand can be significantly reduced. Eli Lilly saved an estimated 8000 MWh of energy annually. R&D - Use of digital twins, which are virtual copies of physical assets that provide insights into the performance of their real-world counterparts reduces the use of material and energy consumption. Delivery Mechanisms: E.g. in inhalers, the evolution of propellants from Chloroflurocarbons (damage ozone layers) to dry-powder inhalers has cut carbon emissions by 95%. Packaging: Companies have started recycling, re-using material, and ensuring proper disposal of plastics. Astellas used biomass based plastic from sugarcane for their blister packages. Adoption of QR codes on packaging reduces the need for physical pamphlets. Cold-chain: Keeping products at 2-8 degrees uses a lot of energy and plastic packaging. Optimization of route and improvement in packaging are being worked on. Sourcing: Most companies are now evaluating vendor partners on sustainability criterions. However the sad reality is that most API is sourced from India and China where environment issues are rampant. The documentary “ An unequal fight” on the severe impact of industrial pollution in Patancheru is a shocking tale. Waste management: The Environment Protection Rules 1986 requires installation of Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) to treat waste generated before it is disposed off. Emcure uses ETP and has invested in renewable energy. At a corporate level, better lighting, less paper, such policies are implemented across the board. Emcure is also using modulation of its Cooling Tower Pump at Kurkumbh (precision heat and pressure) to reduce energy consumption. Bottomline - While pharma companies are working on sustainability measures, the reality is that this space remains challenging and we have only scratched the surface !

I’ve had 4 legal battles since starting my business. Could I have avoided them? Probably. But to be honest, I didn't have the funds to pay a proper lawyer, or the network of founders to ask the right questions to. I don't want that to happen to you. Here are 5 clauses I put in my contracts that might help you protect your work, your business and most importantly.. your sanity ↓ #1 Non-cancellable, non-refundable contracts. This shouldn’t even be an issue if you qualify your clients properly. BUT if someone signs, onboards, and then ghosts? We still get paid. And so should you 🤗 #2 Immediate or short payment terms Most businesses accept 30-to 90-day payment terms. I don’t. You wouldn’t work for 3 months without pay—so why should your business? Cash flow is your business’s lifeline. Protect it. #3 While we’re on payment terms… Your contract should include: → Interest on late invoices. → A clause that stops work if invoices aren’t cleared. → A guarantee that if a client delays the project, you still get paid. Your time isn’t free! #4 Your IP stays YOURS. Anything we bring into the agreement at Klowt stays ours. Anything we create for you is yours. Simple. I once ran a training session, and the client recorded it—then tried to sell it behind a paywall. Now, our contract states a £10,000 fine per breach. (And for that particular case, per breach = per view. 😅) #5 Don't work with d*ckheads. This isn't a legal clause, more legal... advice? 🤣 If someone is giving you red flags in any way at the beginning of your relationship, do not work with them. This could include but not limited to: - Focusing on immediate ROI. - Cost or discounts being a primary concern. - Pushing for work to kick off before contracts or payments. - Reaching out at inappropriate times - or in inappropriate ways. - Delaying initial payments. Legally binding contracts are a good insurance policy, but they're lengthy and expensive to implement if you actually have to go to court. So the best LEGAL advice I can give you as a 2x founder is, don't work with d*ckheads. And learn from my mistakes. It's a lot cheaper than learning from your own... trust me 😂. Was this helpful? 💜 I write a 2x weekly newsletter for founders and freelancers on topics like this. Join us here: https://lnkd.in/ejDbD94R

A multinational customer once emailed me directly ,bypassing four layers of our escalation hierarchy. That’s when I knew something needed immediate attention. As Managing Director, I do not involve myself in daily operations. We have a capable team and a clear structure for a reason. But when a customer moves past every level and lands in my inbox, I pause and assess. This was not just any customer. This was a relationship built over 20 years with that customer. Two decades of trust. Shared growth. Consistent business. The plant had shut down. A critical component was missing. In that moment, the customer felt unheard. I did not debate. I did not analyse first. I simply told my team, “Arrange the component. Immediately.” From the time I received that email until the material reached the actual site, I personally tracked the movement. Not only to our customer, but to their end user. Because leadership is situational. And in certain moments, speed matters more than process. Later, I reviewed the complete communication trail. My team had responded to every email. Every query was addressed. Every clarification was documented. The issue was not absence of response. It was escalation driven by urgency and frustration. Then came a difficult moment. The customer requested supply without a Purchase Order, expecting immediate dispatch due to the emergency. In business, crises test not only systems, but relationships. We supplied the material. We ensured the plant resumed operations. We protected the long standing relationship. But I also had a candid conversation afterward. Because while customers deserve commitment, responsiveness, and accountability, suppliers deserve professional respect. A strong business relationship is not built on dominance. It is built on mutual dignity. Somewhere along the way, many of us were taught “Customer is God.” I believe something slightly different. The customer is a partner. At Filter Concept , we will always step up in genuine need. But we also stand firmly for our team’s integrity and professional value. To every supplier reading this: Protect your team’s dignity. It is not a negotiable clause. To every buyer reading this: Your vendor is part of your success ecosystem. Treat them like one. Have you faced a similar situation in your leadership journey? #Leadership #BusinessEthics #Manufacturing #MutualRespect #FilterConcept #IndianBusiness

The economics of electric trucking have flipped sooner than expected. Australia's first all-electric long-haul delivery has just been completed between Sydney and Canberra. On the same route, compared to diesel: ✅ Energy costs were 85% lower ✅ The delivery was completed 25 minutes faster on a single charge. This was a 460 km interstate run, carrying Who Gives A Crap products - the kind of route many assumed would be among the last to electrify. So what changed? ➡️ Trucks are high utilisation assets, so lower energy and maintenance costs compound quickly ➡️ Fixed routes such as Sydney <> Canberra or Sydney <> Melbourne make charging infrastructure easier to deploy ➡️ Battery range has improved enough that inter-city freight is now operationally viable There are also secondary benefits - lower noise and less vibration, as well as reduced emissions. On high-utilisation corridors like Sydney <> Melbourne, the economics are already strong enough that fleet electrification can pay for itself in under four years. Upfront costs are still a challenge for many operators, especially the smaller ones. Building out more charging infrastructure will also help catalyse the shift. But the timing is striking. Diesel prices are rising globally, governments are stepping in to cushion the impact and freight costs remain exposed to volatile fuel markets. At the same time, Australia has just seen its first fully electric long-haul freight run completed, faster, at lower cost and using locally-generated energy. The signal is getting harder to ignore.

It's astonishing that $180 billion of the nearly $600 billion on cloud spend globally is entirely unnecessary. For companies to save millions, they need to focus on these 3 principles — visibility, accountability, and automation. 1) Visibility The very characteristics that make the cloud so convenient also make it difficult to track and control how much teams and individuals spend on cloud resources. Most companies still struggle to keep budgets aligned. The good news is that a new generation of tools can provide transparency. For example: resource tagging to automatically track which teams use cloud resources to measure costs and identify excess capacity accurately. 2) Accountability Companies wouldn't dare deploy a payroll budget without an administrator to optimize spend carefully. Yet, when it comes to cloud costs, there's often no one at the helm. Enter the emerging disciplines of FinOps or cloud operations. These dedicated teams can take responsibility of everything from setting cloud budgets and negotiating favorable controls to putting engineering discipline in place to control costs. 3) Automation Even with a dedicated team monitoring cloud use and need, automation is the only way to keep up with the complex and evolving scenarios. Much of today's cloud cost management remains bespoke and manual, In many cases, a monthly report or round-up of cloud waste is the only maintenance done — and highly paid engineers are expected to manually remove abandoned projects and initiatives to free up space. It’s the equivalent of asking someone to delete extra photos from their iPhone each month to free up extra storage. That’s why AI and automation are critical to identify cloud waste and eliminate it. For example: tools like "intelligent auto-stopping" allow users to stop their cloud instances when not in use, much like motion sensors can turn off a light switch at the end of the workday. As cloud management evolves, companies are discovering ways to save millions, if not hundreds of millions — and these 3 principles are key to getting cloud costs under control.