Procurement Magazine March 2024 | Page 73

ETHICAL SOURCING
WATCH
NOW
Adding to her earlier point , Thompson emphasises the need to effectively align culture , communication and collaboration to avoid poor ethical sourcing execution :
“ Organisational culture needs to have buy-in at all levels , starting with the vision and commitment established at an executive level . This buy-in should cascade down and across the business , and reach externally with the supply base , making your organisation ethical stance and values known . Communication of the purpose and goals of the ethical sourcing initiatives within your organisation must be clear , consistent , and continuous .”

88 % of global consumers would choose to buy from companies with ethical sourcing structures in place over ones that don ’ t

She continues : “ Collaboration is also a key element of successful ethical sourcing , particularly the strategic and trust-based relationships you must develop within your supply base . When you are calling upon suppliers for ethical requirements , you must consider what investment you are prepared to provide in return to collaborate and achieve a mutual objective . ‘ The whole is greater than the sum of the parts ’.”
How can technology help ? A game changer for developing effective ethical sourcing strategies , technology can offer many benefits across the
procurementmag . com 73