Lux Research Unveils RISK Platform to Analyze Growing Resource Risks

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Nov 17, 2015) - Companies with complex supply chains can be exposed to unexpected risks -- or miss valuable opportunities -- that stem from their dependence on natural resources, from water to land to energy. Resource scarcity, price volatility, and increased social and environmental pressure all threaten supply disruption and unplanned price spikes -- but for most companies, the impact of resource dependence remains hard to evaluate.

Lux Research's Resource Intelligence for System Knowledge (RISK) platform is designed to help navigate this treacherous landscape. RISK integrates more than 200 data sources on subjects like land use, water needs, and energy into a decision-support system to visualize value chains with geospatially accurate data.

"Natural resource dependence is becoming one of the biggest risks that a company faces, so companies are now looking to optimize their resource efficiency across their value chains," said Ory Zik, VP of Analytics at Lux Research.

"The RISK platform can help companies benchmark their global operations from the perspectives of profitability, resilience, and sustainability, determine where substitution strategies can be deployed, and foresee where breakthrough innovation can have the most impact," he added. 

Lux Research's RISK platform allows companies to:

• Analyze and mitigate vulnerability in their complex value chains. A food and beverage company in the Northeast U.S. found that the price and sustainability risks from water scarcity happened upstream in the supply chain in California. The RISK analysis identified the water consumption hotspots and, using Lux's expertise in precision agriculture, offered best practices to mitigate them.
  
  
• De-risk supply chains. A fully integrated agricultural company knew that the highest cost element in its animal feed value chain was proteins. By visualizing the supply chain and then analyzing and comparing the conventional (soy) and alternative protein sources (pea, canola, crickets), the RISK platform allowed them to diversify feedstocks, improving supply cost resiliency.
  
  
• Direct innovation efforts and optimize new product launches. A chemical company expanding its bio-based materials efforts used RISK to evaluate the resource threats presented by different outside conversion technologies it was evaluating. After choosing a partner, it was also able to optimize site selection for a pilot facility with nearby suitable land for harvesting the necessary feedstock.
  
  

About Lux Research

Lux Research provides strategic advice and ongoing intelligence for emerging technologies. Leaders in business, finance and government rely on us to help them make informed strategic decisions. Through our unique research approach focused on primary research, data and analytics and our extensive global network, we deliver insight, connections and competitive advantage to our clients. Visit www.luxresearchinc.com for more information.