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Name of the submitted project or idea (in English or both English and your language)
CIRCULAR ERP
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URL of a video introducing the work（under 5 minutes）
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQR2dhH3VT8
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Detailed explanation of the submitted project or idea (in English or both English and your language)
In 2024, sykell introduced CIRCULAR ERP, a pioneering SaaS platform designed specifically to manage reusable assets within the circular economy. Unlike traditional ERP systems, which cater to linear business models, CIRCULAR ERP addresses the unique challenges of circular business processes. The platform provides comprehensive tracking and management of assets across the entire supply chain, covering critical operations such as (reserves-)logistics, invoicing, asset management, and deposit clearing. It is highly versatile and capable of handling various types of packaging, including those used in the food, beverage, and cosmetics industries.
CIRCULAR ERP goes beyond software by integrating seamlessly with external partners to provide an end-to-end solution. This integration includes returns through reverse vending machines, optimized logistics, and efficient washing processes, making it easier for companies to manage reusable packaging systems. By simplifying the logistics and operational challenges of reusable packaging, the platform significantly enhances customer experience and contributes to more sustainable business practices.
What truly sets CIRCULAR ERP apart is its contribution to sustainability. By capturing detailed data for every asset cycle, the platform offers key performance indicators (KPIs) and valuable insights that drive continuous system improvements. It supports stock and ordering forecasts and assists companies in generating sustainability reports and assessments. The platform not only streamlines operations but also provides the analytical tools necessary to optimize circular systems over time.
The platform’s functionality includes specialized features that traditional ERP systems lack. CIRCULAR ERP enables companies to transition smoothly into the circular economy by offering access to sophisticated software and leveraging Sykell’s extensive partner network, which includes tested reverse logistics systems. This holistic approach ensures that companies can close the loop on reusable packaging and scale their circular systems efficiently. -
How does your work address the 3 P’s (for Planet, for People, for Profit) for Sustainability?
People
CIRCULAR ERP fosters collaboration among various stakeholders—businesses, logistics partners, and washing facilities—to create a fully functioning circular economy. This system promotes efficiency and reduces the workload for employees by automating tasks such as tracking, logistics, and invoicing. By simplifying these processes, employees are freed from repetitive administrative duties, allowing them to focus on higher-value tasks. Additionally, the platform supports the management of circular products indirectly contributing to the reduction of waste and cleaner cities and communities.
Planet
CIRCULAR ERP is designed with sustainability as a priority. The platform supports the extension of the lifecycle of reusable assets, reducing the need for single-use packaging and minimizing resource extraction. By optimizing logistics, it is making supply chains more energy-efficient. The system also ensures proper tracking and recycling of materials at the end of their lifecycle, keeping packaging in use longer and promoting circular practices. Through reducing plastic waste, CIRCULAR ERP helps tackle key environmental challenges, from pollution to biodiversity loss.
Profit
For businesses, CIRCULAR ERP is a powerful tool that drives profitability by increasing operational efficiency, and reducing costs and helps to scale circular businesses. By managing reusable assets more effectively, companies can minimize the need for constant production of new packaging, thereby saving on material and production costs. The platform’s automation of processes such as deposit clearing and reverse logistics also reduces administrative costs. Ultimately, CIRCULAR ERP enables businesses to scale their operations while simultaneously meeting sustainability goals, contributing to long-term financial success in a circular economy. -
Keywords
#circulareconomy #reusableassets #valuechain #software #ERP
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If you have a website for your submitted project or idea, please provide the URL
https://www.circular-erp.com/
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If you have a social media account for your submitted project or idea, please provide the URL
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sykell-reusable/mycompany/
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Special Prize Question 1: "Empowering nature to create a new loop”: How does your work strengthen or support nature’s ability to capture and convert waste into valuable resources? How does your work advance industry practices by introducing nature-positive alternatives?
CIRCULAR ERP enhances nature’s ability to transform waste into valuable resources by supporting the circular economy, where waste is minimized, and materials are reused rather than discarded. The platform enables businesses to manage the lifecycle of reusable assets, ensuring that packaging is returned, cleaned, and put back into circulation, reducing the amount of waste that would typically end up in landfills or the environment. By keeping materials in use for longer, CIRCULAR ERP mirrors nature’s regenerative cycles, where resources are continually reused and repurposed.
The initiative also integrates nature-positive methods by promoting a shift away from the linear “take-make-dispose” model. Instead, CIRCULAR ERP supports circular systems where the lifecycle of products is extended, reducing the need for virgin material extraction and lessening the environmental impact of manufacturing. This transformation reduces the depletion of natural resources and limits harmful industrial practices that contribute to pollution and ecosystem degradation.
The impact of CIRCULAR ERP is calculated by comparing the footprint of single-use assets with that of the reusable assets managed on the platform over their lifecycle. Efficiency gains in logistics and transportation, enabled by streamlined processes, reduce fuel consumption and emissions.
By optimizing reverse logistics and asset recovery, CIRCULAR ERP contributes to reducing the carbon footprint of transportation and waste, aligning industrial practices with ecological principles. In essence, it supports the transformation of conventional industry into a system that works in harmony with natural cycles, promoting sustainability and resource efficiency. -
Special Prize Question 2: “Regenerating ecosystems”: In what inspiring ways does your work contribute to the restoration and stabilization of natural ecosystems?
By helping companies manage reusable assets and therefore indirecrtly contributes to the transition from single-use packaging to reusable systems, CIRCULAR ERP reduces plastic waste, which is threat to ecosystems—particularly oceans, rivers, and wildlife. By keeping materials in circulation longer and ensuring their proper reuse, CIRCULAR ERP reduces pollution, resource extraction, and the environmental degradation caused by traditional linear business models.
The platform also encourages businesses to become stewards of sustainability by providing them with tools to track their reuse rates and optimize resources use in their supply chains. Through data-driven insights and reporting, companies can better understand their role in restoring ecosystems and take informed actions to minimize their ecological footprint.
CIRCULAR ERP enhances business efficiency, compliance, and sustainability credentials through detailed insights and analytics. It fosters a reuse network via partnerships with logistics operators, washing facilities, and sustainability initiatives, promoting sustainable consumption and production. Beneficiaries include consumers, businesses, and future generations, who benefit from reduced environmental harm, increased efficiency, and a healthier planet.
By facilitating a smooth transition to a circular economy and fostering collaboration, CIRCULAR ERP drives sustainable transformation and circular economy practices. -
Special Prize Question 3: “Education and storytelling”: How does your work make complex bioeconomy concepts accessible and engaging?
By emphasizing real-world environmental challenges, such as the projection that by 2050 plastic in the oceans could outweigh fish, we bring urgency and relevance to our message. This helps businesses understand the stakes involved in environmental degradation and the critical role they can play in the transition to a circular economy.
Through storytelling, we illustrate how CIRCULAR ERP empowers companies to reduce plastic waste, extend the lifecycle of reusable assets, scale their operations and optimize their supply chains. By linking these tangible actions to broader environmental benefits, we make the idea of a circular economy more relatable and actionable for our clients. We demonstrate how shifting from linear, single-use packaging models to circular, reusable systems not only mitigates ecological harm but also enhances business efficiency and profitability.
Our communication strategy goes beyond data; it creates a shared vision of sustainability, making complex topics like resource management and circularity easier to grasp. By telling stories of successful transitions such as the EINFACH MEHRWEG reusable packaging system and providing clear examples of how businesses can contribute, we inspire them to actively participate in restoring ecosystems and transitioning to a circular economy.
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CIRCULAR ERP
In 2024, Sykell launched 'CIRCULAR ERP,' a groundbreaking SaaS platform tailored to manage reusable assets in the circular economy. While existing ERP systems focus on a traditional linear business, CIRCULAR ERP embraces the complexity of the circular economy. It tracks all the movements of every single asset along the supply chain, managing complex operations including logistics, invoicing, asset management and deposit clearing. CIRCULAR ERP is able to handle a broad variety of primary and secondary packaging, including for example food or cosmetics packaging.
Sykell’s infrastructure extends beyond software and creates synergies with external partners, enabling an end-to-end solution including returns via reverse vending machines, streamlined logistics and washing processes. This approach simplifies the process and (return)logistics behind reusable packaging for the customer.
Sykell’s infrastructure extends beyond software and creates synergies with external partners, enabling an end-to-end solution including returns via reverse vending machines, streamlined logistics and washing processes. This approach simplifies the process and (return)logistics behind reusable packaging for the customer.
