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Starting next month, publicly traded U.S. companies
will have to report their use of certain minerals and their
derivatives to the government. As an article (“Conflict
minerals and corporate supply chains: The challenge of
complying with Dodd-Frank”) in the Q1 issue of our sister
publication, CSCMP’s Supply Chain Quarterly, explains,
the regulations require publicly held U.S. companies to
report whether or not the tin, tantalum, tungsten, and
gold used in their products are “conflict minerals”—that
is, minerals derived
from ores mined in
areas controlled by
armed groups suspected of human rights violations in Africa. The
rules will affect tens of
thousands of manufacturers and suppliers
worldwide.
One company in the
warehousing/logistics
space that is putting
significant resources
into avoiding the use
of conflict minerals is
Motorola Solutions
Inc., the manufacturer of automatic data capture and
communication systems and equipment. In 2011,
Motorola and AVX Corp., an electronic components
supplier, founded Solutions for Hope, a program to
support responsible, traceable sourcing of tantalum in
the conflict-prone Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC). The Solutions for Hope platform oversees a
“closed-pipe” supply model in two regions of that country for a specified set of suppliers, including the mines and
smelters, the capacitor manufacturer (AVX), and the end
user (Motorola).
According to Motorola and AVX, the program has
allowed the companies to source tantalum (a material
derived from the mineral coltan that is used to make
certain capacitors) from the DRC “conflict free,” or
without the involvement of illegal armed groups. As a
result, Solutions for Hope not only validates that conflict
minerals do not enter the supply chain but also creates
economic benefits for local miners and their families, they
said. The partners are currently looking at expanding the
Solutions for Hope model to other minerals and locations
in the DRC.
Motorola aims to be
“conflict free” in Africa
AGiLE Business Media, parent of DC VELOCITY
and CSCMP’s Supply Chain Quarterly, has
announced the launch of AGiLE Applied
Research Labs, a joint venture with the consulting firm Supply Chain Visions Inc. AGiLE
Applied Research Labs is a collaboration
between a team of respected consultants, academics, and research scientists and a team of
journalists and marketing professionals with
decades of experience in logistics and supply
chain management.
AGiLE Applied Research Labs specializes in
providing actionable insights through applied
research, including, but not limited to, such
practices as standard brand awareness, image
perception, and other common types of studies
and marketing analyses.
“Our legacy as the leading provider of logis-
tics and supply chain business information is
reflected in our approach to AGiLE Applied
Research Labs,” said Mitch Mac Donald, pres-
ident and CEO of AGiLE Business Media LLC,
and group editorial director of DC VELOCITY
and CSCMP’s Supply Chain Quarterly, in
announcing the new service. “By providing
logistics and supply chain executives with the
highest-value, best-written, and most useful
information available, we stand apart. This new
joint venture with one of the best research and
consulting firms in the market reflects a natural
and exciting extension of our philosophy.”
Steve Geary, president of Supply Chain
Visions and a regular contributor to DC
VELOCITY, noted that the two organizations
together are uniquely qualified to enhance the
usefulness and availability of research in the
supply chain and logistics markets. “We are
really excited by the opportunities that become
apparent in linking our leading-edge research
capability with AGiLE’s content and marketing
expertise,” he said.
To learn more about AGiLE Applied Research
Labs, contact Gary Master, vice president of
business development at AGiLE Business Media
LLC. He can be reached via e-mail at gmaster@
dcvelocity.com or by phone at (719) 495-5050.
Announcing AGiLE Applied
Research Labs
