Case Study: Teknion & Working Smarter with Streamlined Supply Chain Data

Leadership in Product Sustainability & Transparency with Sustainability Software

Today, when Teknion receives a request for an Environmental Data Sheet (EDS) from one of their customers, they can get that report in their customer's hands in a matter of hours. This high-speed and high-quality turnaround hasn't always been the case but is instead the result of a commitment to product transparency and sustainability.

Teknion is a private, family-owned business that specializes in modern office furniture. They also have two sub-brands – Studio TK and Luum textiles. Across their family of brands, sustainability is a common bottom line. In their words, “We understand sustainability as a basic tenet of good design. Sustainable principles guide the way we do business and govern our conduct every day.”

Teknion has always prioritized quality and wellness in the built environment but, as their team and product offering grew across multiple locations and continents, efficient and consistent organization of environmental data became more challenging.

To meet and exceed their transparency goals, they needed a solution that would support their efforts and streamline their data management and reporting processes.

Choosing the Right Compliance Management Software Solution

Many manufacturers have experienced the frustration of having different software for every function of their job – a supply chain management tool, a data storage platform, a reporting system, a collaboration software, and the list goes on and on. Teknion wanted software that could help them avoid the constant switch between platforms, while still answering to these core needs:

• Organization: How can we organize our data in one place, in a way that makes sense and is accessible to everyone on our team?
• Data Quality: How can we ensure higher quality data that translates to higher quality information and reports provided to our customers?
• Time Savings: How can we reduce the amount of time it takes for us to respond to our customers, while also reducing internal costs?

It didn't take long for Teknion to choose 3E Exchange as their all-in-one solution to meet their high-priority needs and expectations.

Streamlining Supply Chain Data with Sustainability Software

With data organization and accessibility being one of the core success factors for the team at Teknion, this was the natural first issue to tackle. The types of requests that Teknion gets from their customers usually fall into the category of 'sustainability reports'. These reports typically include a substance or material list, end-of-life options, and other environmental attributes. The complete reports appear to be concise, but the path to get to that point isn't always as straightforward. A comprehensive bill of material (BOM) breakdown is required, end-of-life options need to be defined by material category, and environmental attributes need to be backed by quality data. With a broadening product offering growing in quantity and complexity, managing this amount of data was becoming extremely time consuming. A data storage and organization tool was needed to keep pace with the growth of the data.

The Customer Success team at 3E worked with Teknion one-on-one to help get their existing data imported into the system so they were up and running in no time. This meant that data was organized, easy to navigate, and accessible across teams. The team also found that using 3E Exchange's Linked Materials capability streamlined data management in a new way. Linked Materials allowed the team to import material composition data into a unique record, then reference that material an unlimited number of times throughout their library. This means that a single material could be used across their library in product records but only have to be managed in the one material record – their data had never been so flexible.

“Once the original database was set up, our new product launch additions have become much easier to implement. We wouldn't have been able to say that before we started using 3E Exchange.”

The reliability of the 3E Exchange database was a real game-changer for the team at Teknion.

Achieving High-Quality Data with Compliance Management Software

With reliable data in an easy-to-navigate platform, Teknion was ready to start tackling the flow of incoming requests from customers. One of those commonly requested reports was an Environmental Data Sheet (EDS). This EDS isn't a standardized report that goes through a reviewing body but is instead a report that is created and distributed by manufacturers directly. Taking their specific needs into consideration, Teknion and the 3E Exchange team worked together to create a custom report for Teknion, right in their 3E Exchange account.

3E Exchange was able to take all of Teknion's required fields and created a new space within the system where all this information could be entered, in cases where their already existing data didn't fulfill the EDS needs completely. With their robust database and accessibility across the teams – having this simple and consistent EDS filled a long-term need with just a few clicks of a button. Their existing data is also able to be used for other sustainability reports that are commonly requested, like Declare Labels and HPDs.

According to the team at Teknion,

“The consistency of our reports is greatly improved as we use the central database to create them across our eight facilities in North America.”

The utility provided by 3E Exchange has resulted in high-quality and high-confidence data for the team at Teknion so they can go back to their customers knowing they've done their due diligence as a responsible and reliable manufacturer.

“Before implementing 3E Exchange, we didn't have a centralized way of verifying the quality of our product data. With 3E Exchange, we can quickly check the integrity of our product data across our entire product offering”

Time Savings with Supply Chain Compliance Software

As a result of the hard work and effort put into establishing their database and reporting structure, the return on investment in the form of time savings was significant. 3E Exchange's integration with the International Living Future Institute's (ILFI) Declare program and partnership with the Health Product Declaration Collaborative made the process of publishing these reports publicly just as easy. Most importantly, Teknion's customers have been a true beneficiary of the efficiency that 3E Exchange has provided to their team. According to the team,

“Our response time for customer reports went from weeks, down to days and even hours in some cases.”

This means that from the time a customer requests a report from their team, it would be just a few days, if not hours before that report is in their inbox. To an outsider, this would seem to be totally acceptable, if not an expectation.

However, it's important to understand the position that many manufacturers are in. Often when manufacturers are asked for an EDS, HPD, or Declare Label, they start by asking – do I even have the information to meet the bare minimum requirements for this report? Often, they do not, so they need to start from the bottom of the supply chain to define what their product is made of exactly before they can even begin answering these questions. For Teknion to be able to respond to these requests in just a few days or less is truly a testament to their commitment to sustainability and transparency. They are paving the way for other furniture manufacturers to follow in their footsteps and proving the feasibility of these ambitious goals.

Driving Sustainability Goals with Supply Chain Data Collection Software

Teknion takes their role in addressing the environmental impact of buildings and manufacturing very seriously and have made clear commitments in tackling those impacts with 3E Exchange at their disposal.

Whether your company is large or small, specializing in furniture or paint, or looking to do supply chain outreach or reporting, 3E Exchange can help you with your sustainability and compliance goals at any stage.

Join Teknion and our other customers in disrupting their industries in the best interest of people and the planet.