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Naïve questions about the supply chain and its transparency.

How much do you know about what you buy? Supply chain managers are struggling to ensure that customers can answer this question without a guilty conscience. 

Naïve questions about the supply chain and its transparency.

Does transparency in the supply chain have ethical issues? Look at this story, once at the market I saw a mother with her daughter who was about 7 or 8 years old. We were side by side in front of the refrigerator with the eggs. It was a big market so there were many different types of eggs in many different packages. The girl looks up and asks her mother: “Mommy, where do the eggs come from? 

At that moment, I am happy to see a demonstration of such ingenuity, but then a question came to me: “How far does this little girl’s question go? 

Okay, I know that the eggs came from a chicken on some farm, but do I know where the food that I consume and bring to my family really comes from? 

The transparency of the supply chain has bothered many different consumers, not only those of eggs. The need for companies to disclose the steps in their supply chains has shaped the way we shop in recent years. 

Ethic questions

Not only are health and food safety problems concerning, but ethical arguments also play an essential role. Cosmetics firms, for example, that do not test on animals (and can prove it) are more likely to gain client loyalty.

Would anyone feel at ease wearing garments that are suspected of being created with child slave labor? Or will you feel comfortable sitting in a chair made from unlawful deforestation?

Customers’ ethical concerns are merely the first of several requirements for a transparent supply chain. Regulators are strengthening the enforcement of laws that have evolved throughout most of the world. Investors will also avoid companies that lack mapping and insight into their operations.

Reach transparency

However, transparency is a consequence of a series of actions that need to be taken to achieve it. First, you need visibility into the entire supply chain. From supplier to customer. Then conference audits must be carried out, and many large companies have devised new methods of practicing them. 

From partnerships with NGOs and unions to unannounced inspections are effective techniques. Including the working class in the whistleblowing and observation process is also essential to achieving success. 

Information storage and cargo tracking need to be linked and done by a powerful system. Yet, the functions of this system need to be easy to understand for all kinds of people.  

The Grydd operating system meets all these requirements and many more. Implementing a tool like Grydd in your supply chain is the quickest way to achieve transparency.