Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Systems is turning to digitisation technology from California-based ServiceNow to help companies meet the requirements of new German supply-chain legislation.

T-Systems is offering companies a way to meet the obligations of the Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains. From January 2023, large companies will have to document their compliance with human rights and environmental protection in their supply chains. Initially, this applies to companies with 3000 or more employees, and a year later to companies with more than 1000 employees

T-Systems’ answer is based on the Now Platform from ServiceNow. It covers the entire supply chain and enables comprehensive reporting.

For many companies, consolidated reporting on the status of their supply chain is difficult: They often maintain the data required for the reports on a departmental basis, from purchasing to controlling to legal. Not all key figures are available in sufficient quality.

T-Systems has developed an add-on to the Now Platform. With the available data, it creates the transparency in supply chains required by law. This links it to supplier selection, contract management and risk management.

Artificial intelligence can evaluate existing contracts with regard to obligations. A video transmission with augmented reality allows the checking of individual suppliers remotely. This reaches the quality of an on-site audit, but saves on travel expenses.

“Companies are not only responsible for the finished product and the processes in their own plant and those up to the retailer,” said Urs Krämer, T-Systems’ chief commercial officer. “The preliminary products and raw materials are just as important. This also applies to suppliers on the other side of the globe. Every company is affected by the Supply Chain Act. Procurement alone often uses several systems: on the one hand for approving and managing suppliers, and on the other for specific orders. Dashboards provide insights into the supplier portfolio and its quality at any time.”

The Now Platform is in use in many companies. The strength of this platform is it links data from different systems in a largely automated way, to display processes and to establish new ones.

“The Now Platform supports companies’ social and sustainable business efforts by providing all the data needed to ensure operational transparency,” said Robert Rosellen, senior sales director at ServiceNow.