13 ways sustainable sourcing and procurement drive ESG efforts
The strategic sourcing process is a cycle, so it cannot be done once and forgotten about. A cycle approach to […]
Procurement 101
Reading time:
5 minute read
Written by
Logan Price
"Dearest Wolf Fur Coat SuppliesTM, what high prices you have!""All the better to deliver you a quality product, my sweet CPO."
"But My Dear WFCS, what a lack of documentation you have!""All the better to draft a customized contract just for you, my lil' darling."
"BUT WFCS, look at how you've failed to operate with transparent business practices!! I'm looking right now and I still can't even see your ethics behind all the fur cloaks!! No no noooo!!"
The end of this fairy tale can be left to the imagination, but it's safe to say that professionals in the procurement industry have been seeing red due to increasing encounters with unethical suppliers from all sides of the goody basket (so to speak).
The reasons for this are varied, situation-specific, and sometimes simply a matter of perception - what can appear to be suspicious may be entirely innocent in reality. Fluctuating amounts of authority, capability, incentives, sanctions, and more all come into play. But it can't be denied that supplier corruption in the procurement process is difficult to detect, and complicated further when a high volume of purchases is involved. Without an organized system for ordering supplies, the risk of potentially unethical transactions reaches a level of danger that even Red would find frightening.
Keep an eye out for The 6 Big Bad Signs of Unethical Suppliers when negotiating and your odds of staying alive increase greatly.
If any of these 6 signs of unethical suppliers seemed uncomfortably familiar to you, remember that you're not alone in the woods. There are many organizations that can rescue companies from supplier corruption, and education is the first step to prevention: the OECD, Transparency International, the UN, the World Bank, and many others have resources to address these challenges. There's no need to be afraid of the Big Bad Wolf...as long as you know it's there.
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