We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Building an ethical supply chain
big picture

Building an ethical supply chain

February 10, 2014
Peter Bradley
No Comments

The news out of Bangladesh was bad enough to begin with. A fire in a factory that was a supplier to many of the world's largest retailers killed 110 workers. Sometime later, a shoddy building that housed several factories—once again suppliers to Western retailers—collapsed. The death toll was more than 1,100. The tragedies—both preventable—raised anew a vital question for managers of global supply chains: What responsibility do businesses have for the practices of their suppliers—suppliers selected in large part because they are low-cost operations, with all that implies for wages, benefits, and working conditions?

It is not a new question. Three years ago, consumer electronics giant Apple found its reputation sullied by reports of abysmal working conditions at Foxconn, the Chinese company that produced its iconic iPhone. A decade earlier, sporting goods marketer Nike faced a similar crisis as a result of news about working conditions in its suppliers' plants. Both were forced to make changes to their supply chain practices.

It might seem unfair to hold companies accountable for the practices of their suppliers, but I would disagree. The company you keep matters. Yet holding suppliers in diverse cultures to Western social and ethical standards is not simple in practice. In many places, concepts like workplace safety, fair pay, and sustainable operations are at best in their infancy, and keeping tabs on far-flung operations not directly under the company's control is not easy.

I was reminded of that again while reading an excellent article by Ernst & Young's Craig Coulter and Niul Burton that will appear in the Quarter 1 edition of our sister publication, CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly. The consultants address what it will take for public companies to implement the conflict minerals reporting requirements included in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The goal is to ensure U.S. companies do not use metals produced from minerals mined in areas controlled by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and surrounding states. Here's the rub: While the reporting rules will apply to some 6,000 public companies in the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission estimates the rules could affect as many as 100,000 companies worldwide when supply chains are taken into account.

But complexity is no excuse. While building a global supply chain can have enormous financial benefits, it also brings with it enormous ethical responsibility. We've seen some steps in response to the Bangladesh tragedies—the Accord on Fire and Building Safety and the weaker Bangladesh Worker Safety Initiative. Those are a start. But businesses must step up and make supplier ethics, along with costs and competitiveness, a core element of their supply chains rather than be driven there by bad news.

Supply Chain Services Global Logistics
  • Related Articles

    DHL Supply Chain and Mills Fleet Farm develop an end-to-end supply chain in Wisconsin

    Building resilience into the supply chain: interview with Yossi Sheffi

    DHL Supply Chain research reveals most companies have yet to fully implement an e-commerce strategy

  • Related Events

    Digital Transformation in Supply Chain & Logistics

Peterbradley
Peter Bradley is an award-winning career journalist with more than three decades of experience in both newspapers and national business magazines. His credentials include seven years as the transportation and supply chain editor at Purchasing Magazine and six years as the chief editor of Logistics Management.

Recent Articles by Peter Bradley

From temp to management: interview with Diane Garforth

Watching over intermodal's interests: interview with Joni Casey

Building resilience into the supply chain: interview with Yossi Sheffi

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Cold chain giant Lineage Logistics buys its own rail operator

  • For container lines and ports, what a difference a year makes

  • Outlook 2021: What’s in store for logistics supply chain?

  • Cushman & Wakefield Brokers Sale of 170 Acres plus Lease for 1MSF Build-to-Suit for Home Improvement Retailer in Commerce City, CO.

  • Capacity challenges will continue in 2021

Now Playing on DCV-TV

2mw 01 11 21 thumb

Ocean Sector Shaping the Next Shipageddon

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
If you're a shipper, it's never good when a rep for an ocean carrier tells you, "You better sit down before you read this." We've been seeing astoundingly high increases in the ocean sector and they seem to have staying power. While the ocean carriers used blank sailings last year to tip the balance of supply and...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Proven Benefits: A Compendium of Slotting Optimization Success Snapshots

  • Bridging Information Gaps in Dock and Yard Operations

  • How Intelligent Sensor Solutions Turn Data Into Action

  • Order picking Solutions: Understanding Your Options

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing