8 replies to this topic

[Rosemary4]

Hi all, we get several questionnaires a year asking if we are members of Sedex. No we are not, but I wonder whether there are any benefits to becoming a member. I wondered if any fellow IFSQN members have any experience of joining - is it worth it, benefits of membership costs etc, etc.

I have drafted up an Ethical Policy which has been sent to customers/potential customers and there hasn't been any negative responses. Is that sufficient?

Looking through the list of members on their page shows many of our customers/potential customers are not members themselves.

[Irishlass105]

Hiya,

 

We currently are a member of Sedex which at the moment means very little. We only joined as it seems to be becoming a customer demand/requirement for some reason but have not really seen any benefit from it really. However, we were made aware that things are changing with Sedex and once you are a member you will then receive unannounced audits to ensure it is followed through where as at the moment you gain membership and nothing else is really done. 

 

I defiantly can see FMCG customers wanting it more but it is going to end up a big deal in the next 3 years as it will have to be held as high as an actual customer audit as without one, you wont have the other.

[Simon]

Not much benefit to SEDEX apart form it ticks a box for your customers; it's not expensive for basic annual membership.  I'd just do it and move on with your life.   If you are a UK company you are bound by a myriad of UK/EU employment, company and Health & Safety Laws to make sure you do the right things in respect of your employees.  The SEDEX / SMETA audit is a two day drains up to see if you are paying minimum wage and not forcing people to work long hours, without overtime pay, whipping them etc.  They would be far better spending their time cracking down on the real abusers in the supply chain...but I guess if they focused only on them it would be politically incorrect.

[Swanmeister]

We also, have joined in order to tick boxes.   Cost is insignificant.   I can see issues for smaller companies attempting to comply with audits.

[ombewamaurice]

Hi Rosemary4,

 

Revelations of unfair or unsafe labour practices, corruption, or environmental negligence in the supply chain can damage a company’s reputation and lead to a loss of revenue.

 

Suppliers are under pressure to provide ethical data to various customers, undergo multiple audits and comply with different codes and standards.

 

Duplicating all of this information can be counter-productive, often leading to a loss of productivity and preventing suppliers from concentrating resources on improving standards.

 

Sedex also offers a simple and effective way of managing ethical and responsible practices in your supply chain.

By allowing suppliers to share the same data with many customers, Sedex helps reduce the need for multiple audits, allowing both parties to concentrate on making improvements.

Business benefits Joining Sedex can help you to:

• drive improvements in ethical and responsible business practices
• increase efficiency
• save time and resources
• improve supplier engagement
• boost productivity
• reduce reputational risk
• gain competitive advantage
• help drive collaboration and reduce duplication

Find the attached Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) Best Practice Guidance.

 

Regards,

 

Maurice.

[dgt39]

'B' membership £60 per year. Straightforward and as Simon says it ticks the boxes.

[BrummyJim]

We are SEDEX members and request (not require) that our suppliers are also members. Most of them are, especially the Raw Materials suppliers. We are bound by the UK Modern Slavery Act, and see SEDEX as part of our toolkit in identifying slavery in our supply chain. We also undergo an annual EcoVadis audit.

 

Look at it not just as demonstrating to your customers that you do the right thing, but also as a way of checking that your suppliers do too!

[DE Tech]

As mentioned above SEDEX membership is a relatively inexpensive cost. From memory there are differing levels of membership but may be wrong on this specific point. Essentially you fill in their tick box SAQ and you can attach certain applicable policies and procedures. You can then selectively share this by linking to your customers. On the plus side where your suppliers are SEDEX registered you can link to them and it provides transparity through the chain.

 

This being said were were members for years at my previous company and were never audited on SEDEX's behalf to verify content. Any ethical audit we had was conducted on behalf of specific customers.

 

We found mainly the value in it as being a tick in the box for our customers and little else. It does have good potential however and was a useful tool for holding this type of information in one place for dissemination rather than having to complete mutliple SAQs for individual customers, also as a good prompt for monitoring and improving our own standards.

[Charles.C]

Hi Rosemary4,

 

Revelations of unfair or unsafe labour practices, corruption, or environmental negligence in the supply chain can damage a company’s reputation and lead to a loss of revenue.

 

Suppliers are under pressure to provide ethical data to various customers, undergo multiple audits and comply with different codes and standards.

 

Duplicating all of this information can be counter-productive, often leading to a loss of productivity and preventing suppliers from concentrating resources on improving standards.

 

Sedex also offers a simple and effective way of managing ethical and responsible practices in your supply chain.

By allowing suppliers to share the same data with many customers, Sedex helps reduce the need for multiple audits, allowing both parties to concentrate on making improvements.

Business benefits Joining Sedex can help you to:

• drive improvements in ethical and responsible business practices
• increase efficiency
• save time and resources
• improve supplier engagement
• boost productivity
• reduce reputational risk
• gain competitive advantage
• help drive collaboration and reduce duplication

Find the attached Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) Best Practice Guidance.

 

Regards,

 

Maurice.

 

Hi Maurice,

 

thanks but yr attach seems to have failed.