PROJECTS

Commodity Mapping

About

TSC’s Commodity Mapping Tool is designed to help members visualize and communicate the risks present in their product supply chains. The Commodity Mapping Tool can help identify:

WHERE...

…commodities are produced for different supply chains

WHAT...

…potential issues or risks occur in these commodity producing regions

HOW...

…a user can address these issues by utilizing TSC KPIs and working with partners on the ground

The novel approach taken by TSC allows companies with limited supply chain knowledge to leverage commodity production and trade data to look past their own procurement information and visualize the connection between their products and the risks upstream in the supply chain.

Coverage

Over 100 high impact crop, livestock, and wood fiber commodities such as Beef, Cocoa, Coffee, Palm Oil, Soy, and Wood Pulp are included in the tool, as well as major risks associated with commodities such as Deforestation, Water Scarcity, and Forced Labor.

TSC uses scientific data provided by reputable third parties to inform the trade network models and risk layers, and the tool is designed to incorporate additional sources of risk and commodity production data as new information becomes available.

Custom Risk Analysis Tools

The Commodity Mapping Tool is built using powerful statistical software that enables a user to incorporate their own procurement data to analyze supply chain risk in a variety of ways across their business. By focusing, comparing, and weighting supply chain risk by relevant variables, a user can create custom risk analyses. Analysis options, among others, include:

Side-by-side supplier comparisons

Geographic hotspot identification

High level risk exposure overviews

Commodity and risk prioritizations

In addition to providing customizable risk reports, the Commodity Mapping Tool generates maps, dashboards, and other visual outputs that can be used to educate and engage leadership, buyers, and others within a business whose participation can help drive sustainability initiatives forward.

Focus

Focus risk analysis on a particular segment of your business

Example Variables

Single Commodity
Single Risk
Individual Supplier
Certification
Product Type
Purchase Location
Modeled Growing Region
Manufacturing Location

Compare

Rank risk exposure by category to identify how risks are spread across your business

Example Variables

Commodity Type
Risk Type
Supplier
Certification Type
Product Types
Purchase Location
Modeled Growing Region
Manufacturing Locations

Weight

Weight risk exposure by metric of your choosing

Example Variables

Volume
Spend
Sales
Percentage

A few examples of custom analysis options generated by the Commodity Mapping Tool are demonstrated below:

Coffee Commodity Mapping Report

The Coffee Commodity Mapping Report demonstrates TSC’s commodity mapping services, which helps downstream buyers learn more about where they are sourcing from, and what risks there might be in those regions.

Download

Beginning a project

If you are interested in taking advantage of TSC’s Commodity Mapping Tool, please contact Christy Slay or Forrest Follet. TSC staff will help guide users through the process of engaging their procurement teams to facilitate data collection and will help analyze and communicate results. To conduct an analysis, TSC will share a data entry template that helps to collect basic information on a user’s commodity sourcing. Note that all data is kept secure and confidential, and potentially sensitive information such as supplier names can be anonymized if preferred.

Information needed to conduct a project includes:

Names of the locations, regions, or countries that a user sources from (as precise as possible)
Type(s) of commodity sourced from each region.
Quantity of each commodity sourced from each region (volume, spend, sales, or percentage)
Whether it is known that the quantity was grown in a region or only purchased
Additional variables to guide custom analysis (product types, certifications, supplier IDs, etc.)