CPA Bulletin

30 CPA Bulletin > August 2022 www.cpa.uk.net NEWS FROMCPA MEMBERS: 4 New JCB Store Set to Revolutionise Machine Purchasing JCB has launched an innovative new online platformwhich will transform the way customers can buy the manufacturer’s equipment. Available at https://machinestore.jcb.com/ , the new JCB Store is an online machine marketplace which allows customers to search for JCB plant and equipment within one centralised platform and view all machines available to them from their local dealer. The new system offers four times as many machines for online order than was previously possible and the site will display exact machines specifications and dealer specific pricing - giving the customer all necessary information to make a purchasing decision. JCB started to sell machines online for the first time in its history in May 2020 to support businesses with their plant requirements during the first Covid-19 lockdown. A select range of compact equipment was available for direct delivery. The brand new JCB Store offers a wider range of machines, greater insight and added flexibility to provide an even more enhanced customer experience. The machines available to purchase via JCB Store include JCB’s full mini excavator, site dumper, vibratory tandem roller and JCB Access ranges along with a selection of JCB light equipment. The Sustainability Tool, a software application designed to help organisations and their supply chains measure and monitor their sustainability performance, has launched the 2022 employee diversity benchmarking survey. The annual employee diversity benchmarking exercise, carried out within the Sustainability Tool is a collaborative effort to better understand and improve the diversity of the built environment industry. Between July and September 2022, organisations are invited to anonymously report their diversity data within the Tool, with categories including Gender, Age, Religion and Belief, Ethnicity, Sexual Orientation, Disability, Voluntary Leavers, Part-Time Status, and Attraction and Recruitment. Suppliers with over 250 employees will be automatically directed to complete a more detailed submission, while those with less than 250 employees can complete a ‘Lite’ version – encouraging smaller SME and Tier 2 business engagement. Respondents will gain free access to in-depth and interactive dashboards that they can use to benchmark their diversity data against their sector, industry and the ONS data set. Client and contractor organisations can also use the exercise to collect and benchmark diversity data from their supply chains. Partner organisations already doing this include Cadent, the Environment Agency, Morgan Sindall, National Highways, Network Rail, Transport for London and VolkerWessels. While the exercise is live, the Supply Chain Sustainability School will be running free online webinars to support organisations with completing the survey. At the end of the exercise, the results will be used to set aspirational targets for recruitment, retention and progression of under-represented groups that reflect the demographic of the UK population. Last year’s survey collected data from over 250,000 employees across 88 supply chains, making it the largest-ever UK data survey on employee diversity. Ian Heptonstall, Director of Supply Chain Sustainability School (and owner of the Sustainability Tool), said: “Last year’s survey was the largest and most comprehensive to date with over 250,000 people included. It provided us with important insights into ‘what good looks like’ and where we can take action to make improvements. I’m delighted therefore that this year we’ll be expanding to other sectors and organisations, after all the more information we have, the better our decision-making can be!” Organisations wishing to participate in the 2022 employee diversity benchmarking exercise can do so for free by registering on the diversity tool website at http://diversity.sustainabilitytool.com/. Employee Diversity Benchmarking