Sustainable Supply Chains

1101 Words3 Pages

Sustainable supply chains (SSC) are a process, which employ purchasing policies and procedures that assist sustainable development at the centers of tourism. This aspect of tourism is particularly vital to implementing feasible tour operator practices. The final tourist product featured in both glossy brochures and enticing websites must be considerate of viable sustainable supply chain management to create long lasting destinations for the consumer. This report will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of SSCs, and attempt to assess how SSCs are used as a popular management tool in the tourism industry. “Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) encapsulates the trend to use purchasing policies and practices to facilitate sustainable development at the tourist destination.” (Font and Tapper et al., 2008, pp. 260--271). To expand on this, there is an expectation that Supply Chain Management “emphasizes the logistics interactions that take place among the functions of marketing, logistics, and production within a firm and those interactions that take place between the legally separate firms within the product- flow channel.” (Pulevska-Ivanovska, L, 2007: 11) This definition encompasses the three main components of supply chain management: marketing, logistics and production. According to Dr Xavier Font, the tour operators’ product depends on 3 major sections: accommodation, transport and activities. (Font, X, 2011: 260) Supply chains vary depending on the nature of product and/or service. (‘UNEP’ 2013: 273) The diagram below illustrates the three main areas of impact: economy, society and environment. The Economy incorporates, growth, employment, competitiveness and efficiency. Society includes health and safety. The environm... ... middle of paper ... ... chain | Thomas Cook Group Plc. [online] Available at: http://www.thomascookgroup.com/strengthening-relationships-with-our-partners-to-support-and-promote-a-sustainable-supply-chain/ [Accessed: 10 Nov 2013]. Travelife. n.d. Travelife - Travel Companies. [online] Available at: http://www.travelife.info/index.php?lang=en [Accessed: 10 Nov 2013]. UNEP. 2013. Green Economy and Trade: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities. [online] Available at: http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/Portals/88/GETReport/pdf/Chapitre%207%20Tourism.pdf[Accessed: 5 Nov 2013]. UNEP, ‘Leakage’ 2013. Negative Economic Impacts of Tourism: Leakage. [online] Available at: http://www.unep.org/resourceefficiency/Business/SectoralActivities/Tourism/FactsandFiguresaboutTourism/ImpactsofTourism/EconomicImpactsofTourism/NegativeEconomicImpactsofTourism/tabid/78784/Default.aspx [Accessed: 10 Nov 2013].

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