Excelia and Spread & Cole partnership to optimise the management of food crises and strengthen consumer safety.
Having a better understanding of the mechanisms and the economics of withdrawals and recalls of products in the food industry, from a safety and performance perspective, is the objective of the research that starts at Excelia’s IRSI (Institute for Sustainability through Innovation) within the framework of the Chair ‘Evaluating and Reporting on Global Performance’. Spread & Cole, the publisher of the 1st digital B2B withdrawal and product recall platform, supports and collaborates on this work, within a partnership agreement signed on 5th March.
The challenge of food safety and consumer protection
The partnership signed between IRSI and Spread & Cole aims to develop supply chain control tools. It is part of a rationale of social responsibility, whose objective is to prevent health risks and improve crisis management in companies in the food industry.
Research will allow them:
- to draw up an inventory of operational practices and warning systems in the event of imperfect products, in France and in the European Union
- to develop a method for evaluating the costs (direct and indirect) of health incidents for large retailers in the sector
- to provide the sector with a tool for assessing the effects of health incidents on the ROI (return on investment)
An innovative study enhanced by close collaboration between researchers and practitioners
Through its Chairs and research intervention, IRSI supports companies in the operational implementation of responsible approaches. In this regard, the Chair ‘Evaluating and Reporting on Global Performance’ will supply its expertise in the development of responsible finance tools (extended accounting, management control and extra-financial reporting). For its part, Spread & Cole will provide field data and genuine scenarios from its innovative management platform, detailing withdrawal and recalls by suppliers and distributors. This collaboration between researchers and practitioners will contribute to a better understanding of crises involving imperfect products. It will make it possible, in particular, to empirically test the method for evaluating the global costs related to products presenting health risks in the supermarket supply chain, and to evaluate the possibility of generalising this method to other contexts.
Knowledge that aims to feed companies and teaching
This research work can be exploited in several ways:
- dissemination of results (lectures, articles, research workshops etc.), conferences on setting up computer tools for more responsible management of the supply chain, identification and evaluation of financial and extra-financial costs
- developing case studies for teaching
- building a network of experts, institutions and companies around the assessment of overall costs
« This partnership is a good illustration of what drives the research community at Excelia, particularly its IRSI element: developing expertise that contributes to building a more sustainable world by producing academic knowledge that can be drawn on by companies and provide a source of a teaching founded on the reality of organisations. This partnership also testifies to the Group's regional anchoring and its ability to create relations with local economic players using the logic that social and environmental responsibility is synonymous with innovation and value creation. »
Pierre Baret, Professor at Excelia, Director of IRSI
« Spread & Cole has developed an entrepreneurial philosophy that is apparent through the company and its team’s total commitment to CSR, acting to protect consumers and make trade better. The partnership with Excelia is 100% part of this strategy: to build links within our area, La Rochelle, to develop useful innovation, create local employment and achieve our ambition: to be the reference solution for supermarkets, in applying GS1 standards, to better manage defective product crises. »
Olivier Prentout, Managing Director, Spread & Cole
