Wayfair – Alexandra Bennett – 2020

Goals

Wayfair, a Fortune 500 e-commerce home goods retailer, faces the challenge of reducing environmental impacts across its vast supply chain. While the company has developed strong compliance systems for its thousands of suppliers, Wayfair enlisted EDF Climate Corps fellow Alexandra Bennett to assess the feasibility of a program to source more sustainable raw materials through volume purchasing.

Solutions

In order to better understand Wayfair’s global supply chain and current state of supplier sourcing practices, Bennett connected with internal and external stakeholders across the business. Through stakeholder engagement and market research, she outlined the risk mitigation and environmental impact opportunities in raw material sourcing. She analyzed the feasibility and viability of adopting a volume sourcing program. Bennett helped Wayfair develop a pilot plan to examine the long-term benefits of the sourcing strategy and identify implementation challenges. In addition, she worked cross-functionally to develop robust wood sourcing policies.

Impact

If implemented, the raw material sourcing program could help Wayfair mitigate environmental and legal risk across its global supply chain, decrease supply chain costs, and generate positive cash flow. 

Additionally, Wayfair can build its capacity to support sustainable suppliers and connect customers with sustainably-certified products. This sourcing model could help demonstrate a novel approach to supply chain sustainability in the industry and capture a first-mover advantage in comparison to traditional models.