During a SMART assessment, we consider not only the procedures at the farm or company’s premises, but also the entire area of influence and responsibility of the respective farm or agricultural company within the supply chain. This area depends, among others, on the specific stage of the farm or company within the supply chain as well as on its size and market power, and is identified and defined in advance of the analysis.

Example visualisation of the area of influence of a food processing company..
The area of influence can contain prior steps within the supply chain – up to the primary producers – as well as later stages all the way through to the consumer. For products, the complete life cycle is taken into consideration, starting with the production of raw materials through to the disposal/recycling.
Thereby, areas of direct and indirect influence are differentiated. The area of direct influence concerns all processes taking place on the business premises as well as all processes connected to suppliers or buyers on which a direct influence is involved; for example in very close business relations or even interdependencies. The area of indirect influence includes all areas that are only affected by activities in an indirect way, as for example when procuring agricultural raw materials through intermediaries.
The highest ecological and social impacts of the company activity often emerge within the prior stages of the supply chain, therefore significant importance is placed on considering the indirect area of influence. The attached visualisation shows the area of influence of a food processing company as an example.