Finding suppliers that share your values

Finding sellers that share your values may prove hard. Seller's "About" pages may be unhelpful. You may get on the phone with a seller's representative and they may not be able to tell you if the company actively manages ethical and sustainability standards in their supply chain, or whether they have zero tolerance for modern slavery and human trafficking.

It suddenly makes sense why so many companies do not have alternative suppliers, much less have a supplier diversity strategy in place.

Diversifying one's supplier base takes concerted effort.

Permanent changes to global supply chains

For decades, we took for granted globalization and low trade barriers and that we could run very efficient supply chains. The name of the game was cutting costs and moving production to locations running on the lowest wages and saving money in inventory by focusing in just-in-time production.

For that reason, factories and ships and ports and lorries operate in tightly interlocking schedule so that stock appears just in time in for an order to be completed for a purchase made. This has proven to save time, material and crucially, costs. It is a super efficient system, but highly vulnerable in times of instability. If there is a disruption, supply production grinds to a halt as there is no spare capacity.

Global supply chains are going through permanent changes. Companies now no longer only think about efficiency and costs. Securing the resilience of their supply chain is high on the agenda. Trade barriers have for years pushed companies towards concerns around resilience of their supply chain. Global health crises, like COVID-19, have moved those concerns into action. Rethinking the supply chain will entail having suppliers in multiple locations and being able to have the spare capacity necessary to overcome challenges.

Intensifying stakeholders' focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG)

Many companies continue to intensify their efforts to improve their management approaches and communications in relation to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, as investors and other key stakeholders increasingly consider a company’s environmental, social and governance performance alongside traditional financial metrics.

You, as a buyer, are aware that obscurity of supply chain networks has continuously made the management of ESG related risks, the application of preventative guidelines/actions, and the response to manifested supplier-related risks a very complicated process.

Unsurprisingly, a substantial part of the average company’s environment, social, and governance footprint lies with suppliers. Buyers who take bold action can make a decisive difference in sustainability. As companies seek to reduce the negative environmental and social impact of their activities, they are discovering that many of the biggest risks and opportunities are found in the upstream supply chain. This puts the procurement function at the front line of the transition to sustainable business models.

Find sellers that share your values

Restimuli – the only business directory that allows buyers/investors to find suppliers based on their shared commitment to ethical / environmental / social / governance / philanthropic values – is the place for organizations to tell us about their culture and standards and how their values translate into daily practices. Because we should know what type of suppliers are aligned with our values before all the phone calls, emails, and meetings.

Restimuli is for the buyers that want clarity about who they'd actually be doing business with and what the seller's ethical standards are.

If you are interested in getting new seller profiles in your inbox, join our newsletter dedicated to ESG, CSR, sustainability and company values.

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And if you want to create a Restimuli profile for your company, check this out. You may want to read our suppliers memo.

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