Sourcemap provides a platform for businesses of all sizes to share stories about their products, and to engage in a conversation about supply chains.  Here are three ways that businesses are using Sourcemap today:

Private Mapping to Discover New Efficiencies:  Businesses are using Sourcemap to privately map company supply chains, then using the map images to collaborate with colleagues and suppliers.  Toggle the “private map” setting to create private maps.  By internally educating your organization on your supply chain, you can open new doors to efficiencies within your supply chain!  Designers and engineers can help design out expensive materials, factory managers can discover better material sources, and marketeers can make happier customers by aligning on supply chain expectations.

Story Sharing to Differentiate Products and Services:  Businesses are creating public Sourcemaps to share product stories with their customers.  Interaction tools include embedding product Sourcemaps on their website, and putting QR codes on products.  The QR codes, much like a barcode, can be scanned by mobile phones to show the customer the product story Sourcemap.  By sharing products stories, businesses are engaging socially with their customers and creating a more memorable brand.

Requesting Customization for Seamless Integration with Existing Software:  We offer customization and portal services to allow seamless interaction between your existing data systems and our online customer interaction platform.   To protect your sensitive data while enabling an active dialogue, we provide a data approximation feature.  Other features can be developed upon request and we work with businesses on a one-to-one basis to tailor a package that works for your organization.  Please email us at business@sourcemap.org to find out more about customization and software integration.

Finally, we would like to highlight a few businesses that are using Sourcemap to enhance their businesses:

Food Map Use Case

Robert Harris from Season to Taste Catering approached the Sourcemap team in early 2008 to develop maps that he could use in his events, which feature as many locally-sourced and organic ingredients as he is able to find. We worked with Robert to develop maps that could be printed out and posted at events, as well as to produce a map that he could continuously update for his Web site.

Robert uses two maps to distinguish the ingredients he can source locally from the ones that inevitably come from far away. In this way, he differentiates himself from many restaurants and caterers who only source a token number of ingredients locally.

Travel Map Use Case

Photo Courtesy:  The Lovat Loch Ness Hotel originally uploaded by boutmuet

As part of our partnership with the Highlands and Islands Enterprise, we’ve been fortunate to visit a number of independent small businesses in northern Scotland and work with them to address their sourcing and marketing needs. The Lovat, Loch Ness is an independent eco-conscious hotel overlooking the natural beauty of Loch Ness and its surroundings. Managing Partner Caroline Gregory operates the hotel and restaurant with an underlying respect for the environment and the surrounding region, as evidenced by the seasonal and locally-sourced menu, eco-conscious appliances and design, and ambitious initiatives to reduce the business’s overall environmental impact. She is accounting for the emissions incurred by her guests’ travel to the hotel in an effort to offer a carbon-neutral destination.

Caroline inspired the application of Sourcemap to travel and hospitality businesses. Her meticulous accounting for the energy use of the hotel and the carbon footprint of her guests is driven by a respect for the regional and global environment, part of an ethos she shares on her Web site. When presented with Sourcemap, she proposed to map her yearly guests’ journeys to the hotel and include the map on her site to reassure future guests that their travel footprint was being accounted for.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at business@sourcemap.org to discuss how we can enhance your business supply chain.