SUPPLY CHAIN
Ethical Sourcing : Do We Have A Choice ?
By Michael Nzule
Being right or wrong in most cases is as a result of choices made . Do we remember , the all popular saying that “ Choices have Consequences ?”. This is applicable to supply chains , and have an impact on what the marketers have to do in ensuring that the products they bring to market are acceptable and compliant in the eyes of the consumers .
As consumers continue to expand their demands on what influences their decision to “ vote ” for a particular product or service , so does the requirements for additional considerations for ethical compliance grow in supply chains .
Consumers and customers now , more than ever , do not just question the quality of the final product , but how the product got to the state upon which they can buy it . They question the “ hows ” from the sourcing of the raw materials , the production , the advertising / promotion , the distribution , actual selling process and all services that support after-sale processes .
Consumers and customers are adding on the pressure for not just legal compliance but ethical practices - the choices to be made are now moving to ethical behaviours not just what is considered as minimum legal compliance for the products .
Generally , ethics is concerned with what is considered as right or wrong . What is legal is not necessarily ethical . An example of what is legal but may not be considered ethical in some communities is scientific trials and tests of products on animals - while this may be allowed by law , communities may not approve it as ethical , and actually would be taken to be cruelty against animals . Ethical practices and norms are what communities hold as accepted ways of doing things . These may not be standard across different markets and consumer eco systems .
What then is ethical sourcing ? According to Sedex ( Suppliers Ethical Data Exchange ), ethical sourcing means that products and services from each point of a business ’ s supply chain are obtained in an ethical way , which includes upholding human rights , decent working conditions , health and safety , good business ethics and more . ( Sedex is an online system that allows suppliers to maintain data on ethical and responsible practices and allows them to share this information with their customers ).
When adopted in sourcing , this means
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Consumers and customers are adding on the pressure for not just legal compliance but ethical practices - the choices to be made are now moving to ethical behaviours not just what is considered as minimum legal compliance for the products . that when businesses purchase products from suppliers , they consider the impacts those products have on the people and communities who create them .
When talking about ethical sourcing , there are common terminologies , which are used interchangeably , though they are different . These are responsible sourcing , ethical sourcing and sustainable sourcing . The general implication though is that products and services from a supply chain are sourced through socially acceptable manner , with ethical considerations and in environmentally sustainable ways .
Ethical sourcing however , focuses more on the social and human impact within supply chains . This includes the working conditions of people involved in the entire supply chain . This has less focus on the environmental . Sustainable sourcing puts emphasis on the impact of supply chains to the environment . Responsible sourcing is the overall term that refers to all aspects of both ethical and sustainable sourcing .
Looking at ethical considerations becomes a challenge , especially given the fact that not all considerations can be enforced by law or standardized through recognized standardization organizations . Just like in the choices where forces of demand apply , the consumer requirements for compliance are what we see supply chains leaning to align to . This , though largely voluntary , is expected to evolve overtime into organized compliance . We therefore expected ethical sourcing standards to be adopted as accepted standards or legal requirements in many countries and markets .
Multiple ethical compliance requirements in different target markets where marketers must push their products is now an emerging challenge . This may mean
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