Site-Profile.com is a supply chain management system, embodying and exploring many of the general principles that underpin our systems. Developed since 2001 - and building on work and experience in the organic food industry - Site-Profile.com consists of various modules.

These represent a subset of NIP's general solution focus and capabilities, and have been initially-configured for the retail food industry, with Waitrose as a lead user. However, these could be readily-used by other food retailers or, indeed, any suppy chain:

• Interactive questionnaires for assessing relationships between distributors and suppliers, and agreeing actions on both sides to enhance these relationships
• The building and maintenance of directories
• Recording, monitoring and improving compliance with operational and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) requirements
• Facilitating communication and so driving continuous improvement by, for example, shared worksheets, distributed documents, etc
• Working with existing systems and processes

Site-Profile.com is a good example of how NIP's applications can fully realise the twin aims of rigorous standard enforcement and achieving new, value-adding connectivity between participants in a process - in this case, a supply chain.

It also shows how general principles and functionality can be bounded and focussed on specific industries and specific business challenges - in this case, any company or industry examining resourcing, CSR, traceability, collaboration, auditing or communication issues.

As lead users of Site-Profile.com, for example, Waitrose have focussed on both CSR and operational supply chain issues, with one major initiative being the annual complete assessment of the supply chain's compliance with the Waitrose Responsible Sourcing code of practice.

You can read more about this - and other aspects of the project - in the Waitrose case study.