What's really happening in your supply chain?

When it comes to supply chain management, understanding the full picture at each transactional stage is difficult and almost impossible. So how do you know if your business is operating sustainably and ethically?

Supply chain nightmares

From time to time we come across businesses who have been operating for several years. And then one day they discover a major ethical issue in their supply chain. And in the worst of these cases they discover these issues through their customers or through a controversial press release.

This kind of event could severely damage your brand, and in some cases, wipe you out altogether.

Lifting the veil on your supply chain

As a business owner or manager it's your responsibility (and right) to know and understand your supply chain, inside and out.

To lift the veil on your supply chain you can either dedicate a few days, weeks or even months of your time to investigate the supply chain and follow the process all the way back to it's beginning. Or you can hire a 3rd party specialist to do it for you. Either option will work just fine. The most important thing is that you are thorough and rigorous in your investigation.

Many manufacturers, suppliers and agents (especially when working with interstate or off-shore) don't share your values and are incentivised to hide information. This is understandable since many of the manufacturing communities around the world are based in impoverished nations. However, this only presses the importance of maintaining a level of pragmatism in your approach and not leaving until you have turned over every stone.

If you are needing assistance in this process, you can contact us and we can organise to audit your supply chain on your behalf using our network of trained professionals. Or we can share best practices for doing so yourself.

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