Supplier engagement for risk management

Your suppliers’ involvement is crucial to managing risks

A supplier facing resource constraints, biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, climate hazards, labor or community-related difficulties, or increasing regulatory requirements may experience higher costs, production disruptions, or difficulties fulfilling orders.

For your business, this can mean reduced availability of goods and materials, higher purchasing prices, delivery delays, and challenges meeting customer expectations.

Getting suppliers on board is essential for understanding these supply-chain risks and putting mitigation measures into practice. But suppliers may not collaborate when they do not see the value for their own businesses or do not receive appropriate support.

We help you encourage supplier participation through clear communication, practical training for suppliers, and continued dialogue.

Focus your efforts where they matter most

We can facilitate supplier engagement by first identifying and prioritizing suppliers based on purchasing volume, spend, importance to your operations, and exposure to environmental, social, and regulatory risks.

This gives you a clearer basis for deciding where to begin and how much support each supplier may need.

How we engage suppliers

• Identifying priorities and information needs

For the selected suppliers, we work with you to identify priority risks and determine the information needed to assess them. This may include supplier site locations and dependencies on materials, energy, and ecosystem services, as well as information on emissions, biodiversity impacts, relevant regulatory developments, existing management practices, and reported difficulties.  

We review the information already available so that supplier engagement focuses on filling important gaps.

• Starting a constructive dialogue

Through online discussions and, where appropriate, supplier site visits, we exchange views with suppliers, explain your objectives, and explore their concerns.

We raise awareness of how participation in your risk mitigation efforts can help suppliers understand their own risk exposure, respond to customer requirements, and identify improvements that benefit their businesses.

• Building the capabilities to respond

Suppliers may need support to collect reliable data, understand expectations, or develop suitable actions. We provide suppliers with training and guidance on specific aspects of your risk mitigation objectives, adapted to their circumstances and available resources.

Where needed, members of our team visit selected supplier sites to assist directly with data collection and agreed actions, under experienced supervision. We agree on the scope with you and the supplier beforehand. This hands-on support can ease suppliers’ workload, improve data quality, and help reduce supplier fatigue.

• Maintaining contact and reviewing progress

We build upon the supplier outreach to establish two-way communication that allows suppliers to raise difficulties, receive feedback, and share updated information, encouraging their continued participation in your risk mitigation efforts.

What you receive

Depending on the agreed scope, our support can include:

• A prioritized supplier group, with a clear rationale based on business importance and preliminary risk screening.
• A supplier engagement plan with defined objectives for gathering information and supporting risk mitigation.
• Supplier dialogues, training, and follow-up support to understand supplier challenges and implement agreed actions.
• A review of collected information, highlighting potential risks, evidence gaps, and uncertainties.
• Recommendations for supplier support and initial action pertaining to risk mitigation.

The information gathered can also support our financial risk assessment service, which assesses how identified risks could affect your business financially, quantifying potential effects where sufficient data are available.

How your company can benefit from supplier engagement 

Better understanding of your risk exposure

Supplier engagement helps you obtain supplier site locations and information about operating conditions, giving you a clearer picture of where risk factors could affect your supply chain. This information can support further analysis of potential disruptions, additional costs, and other financial effects.

Improved management of Scope 3 emissions

We help suppliers understand your data requests and improve data collection practices through training and continued support. This helps your company obtain more reliable Scope 3 emissions information, identify where action is needed, and support suppliers in addressing difficulties.

Stronger supplier relationships and supply continuity

Regular dialogue can help build trust, make your expectations clear, and give suppliers a channel to raise concerns. By understanding difficulties earlier, you can work with suppliers on suitable responses and strengthen the continuity of your supplies.

New opportunities for your business

Supplier engagement can reveal opportunities to reduce costs, improve sourcing practices, and develop products or processes that meet changing customer requirements. Reliable supplier data can help you respond to customer questions and support your bids for new contracts.

Begin with a focused supplier group

You do not need to engage every supplier at once.

We can begin with a group selected around a priority risk, sourcing category, or business objective. Together, we agree on the scope, expected outputs, and how progress will be assessed before considering wider implementation.

Let’s discuss your supplier engagement priorities

Talk to us about your needs. In an initial conversation, we will clarify your priorities, discuss how our team could help, and identify practical next steps.