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26,000 companies using iPoint Conflict Minerals Platform

The iPoint Conflict Minerals Platform (iPCMP) is the global cross-industry standard for Conflict Minerals compliance: The software and service provider iPoint-systems recently recorded the 26,000th company registered on the platform, with customers coming from 80 countries and various sectors, including the automotive, electronics, aerospace, mechanical engineering, textile and clothing, and shipbuilding industries. “With this, iPoint continues to consolidate their leading position as software and service provider in the field of Conflict Minerals compliance”, Joerg Walden, CEO of iPoint, emphasizes. The web-based software solution enables companies to efficiently collect, manage, aggregate, and report Conflict Minerals data across their entire supply chain, and thus meet the requirements of their customers and the regulatory authorities.

The US Conflict Minerals legislation requires companies to disclose annually the origin of certain raw materials such as gold, tin, tungsten, and tantalum in their products. The aim is to put to an end to armed conflicts and human rights violations in Central Africa financed by the extraction and the trade of these materials. Since the affected US companies pass on the reporting requirement through their entire supply chain, the law has an international impact. “Our experience shows that without automated data collection and analysis, companies involved in complex global supply networks struggle to meet the disclosure obligation in a time- and cost-efficient manner”, states Joerg Walden.

The EU is currently preparing its own Conflict Minerals legislation. iPoint’s impact assessment on behalf of the European Commission's Directorate General for Trade was published in March 2014, together with the Commission’s draft proposal of the planned EU regulation. The European Council’s und Parliament’s votes on the draft proposal are expected to take place in April and May 2015. The iPoint Conflict Minerals Platform, currently designed for compliance with the US Conflict Minerals legislation, can be tailored to support companies affected by the EU regulation as soon as it is finally adopted.

Companies can choose between four iPCMP licenses with varying features and functionalities geared to meet their specific needs. In addition, iPoint’s consulting experts offer assistance with every step of the Conflict Minerals compliance process – from building a successful program, to collecting data, reaching out to suppliers, conducting smelter analysis, to preparing companies for an independent private sector audit (IPSA).