Supplier Network Pushing Slavery out of the Supply Chain

Maybe you’ve heard of Ariba before. Maybe you know them from their work with Kroger, Staples, or Dole. Maybe you know them as the largest e-commerce network in the world. Maybe you’ve never hear of them at all, but it’s time to start paying attention to them. Ariba has partnered with Made In A Free World to build a tool for companies to determine how likely their suppliers source from slave labor. It is a dashboard that takes a company’s spending data and supplier information and runs it against a database of over 52,000 products to determine if slavery is anywhere in the supply chain. In some cases, this tool is able to identify suppliers that are known to be offenders of using slave labor. In other cases, it is able to identify regions that a company sources materials from that have a high risk for slave labor.

Here is an excerpt from the Wall Street Journal providing examples of how this tool can be used:

Based on an analysis of suppliers in Ariba’s system, and where those suppliers tend to source their components or raw materials, a construction company might discover it is using iron from China, where the industry is poorly regulated and there is a high probability of forced labor. A search for women’s shirts in Malaysia may reveal cotton from Mali, another potentially problematic region in terms of labor practices.

Ariba encourages all of its customers to use this new freedom tool in their own practices and will continue to grow and update the number of products and suppliers. The tool was designed with their customers and other corporations in mind. They went to these companies and asked, “what do you need in order to remove slave labor from your supply chain?” Ariba and Made in a Free World are certainly trying to close the knowledge gap surrounding modern slavery

There are many critics who will argue that this tool is idealistic. While it may be a great resource, what is to incentivize a customer of Ariba or any other company to use it? Being forever the optimist, I think this tool is a huge step in the right direction. While it may not be able to pull exact information, it at least gives companies a place to start looking for where they might find slavery in their supply chain, which is better than we can say right now. In order for this tool to be effectively utilized, it will take some urging and pressure from both consumers and the government. Each type of actor hold a piece of the puzzle that is the solution. Any missing piece, and the picture is incomplete. We can continue to be pessimists or realists and say this tool merely offers up incomplete information. Or we can commit to seeing slavery end in our lifetime so that when we are the leaders running these massive companies and have real power to impact supply chains, we are committed to making changes that will eradicate slavery from the supply chain once and for all.

3 Responses to "Supplier Network Pushing Slavery out of the Supply Chain"

Ian Muir says:

March 1, 2016 at 3:15 pm

I would say that Ariba is definitely a step in the right direction. Perhaps the biggest hurdle in moving towards a global economic system free of slave labor is informing customers about the likelihood of the products they buy being produced with slave labor. Consumer perceptions of corporations, regardless of their size, do have an effect on the how that company is perceived and how their products are perceived in that if an educated public begins to discover that specific products are being manufactured with slave labor, that product will probably face a loss in sales. I think that knowledge gaps in many global issues, especially the problem of modern slave labor and the many forms it takes, is a seriously undervalued part of why such problems seem to chronic issues and have never been fully addressed.

Looking around on the Ariba and Made In A Free World websites, however, I couldn’t find a way to quickly set up the demo that you did in your post. One way in which knowledge gaps are closed is when information is freely available and easily accessible but the Ariba/Made In A Free World supplier demo isn’t easily useable as one would have to submit requests to run it and get useful information. If the two companies managed to make the demo more easily usable I honestly believe that this tool will be an extremely powerful one because consumers and business owners would be able to quickly identify regions or materials that have a high risk of having involved slave labor. At the very least, someone interested in the subject would be able to quickly look up whatever products they wanted and if it did appear to have a high risk of involving slave labor, that individual could then make the decision to continue buying that product or not. But by having to register, I think it eliminates private individuals from quickly being able to assess how they themselves factor into the issue of slave labor.
Julia Rivara says:

March 10, 2016 at 11:53 am

I fall in the category of never hearing of Ariba before, but I find what they are doing fascinating. I became interested in supply chains and how they affect every aspect after my SSIR: Eating Locally, Thinking Globally. Tobe honest, I never thought or knew much of slave labor. I knew of sweat shops and unlivable wages for workers in many countries that are at the raw materials or manufacturing step of the chain; though, the use of slavery and the extremity of the working conditions is new knowledge for me.
The issue of Modern Slavery, for some reason, seems to always be ignored or “swept under the rug.” Maybe it is because consumers would prefer to not know or it seems far away and out of their reach. This is why Ariba is an extremely important and beneficial tool for not only companies, but consumers. Suppliers will now be able to understand the use of slavery in their supply chain, which at times they may be unaware of in the past. This allows for a more conscious and responsible business, both of which are needed in modern day corporations. As Casey points out, the real power to end slavery lies with these larger companies who have slavery in their supply chain. The MNC’s of the world have to lead in the fight against slavery by refusing to use slave labor in their supply chain as they have the most reach and thus can have the greatest impact.
I also like what you said Casey about how we have to commit to ending slavery, as we are the next leaders. Call me an optimist, but I have hope in our generation. We see all the bad happening in the world and simply cannot understand the causes. This could cause a generation to be disheartened and say “what is the point” if all the bad in the world is just going to ruin any progress. However, it could also lead to a generation that sees all this bad and wants to combat it. That is my hope, that our generation strives to understand why people are killing one another senselessly around the world, or people are indifferent to slavery as it is out of sight, out of mind. More so, that we see this indifference and strive to be better, to not turn away and say it is not our problem. Again, I try to be an optimist, yet I do believe our generation, after seeing so much bad, will push and work for a better and safer future for all, free of slavery.
antone says:

April 13, 2016 at 4:20 pm

Casey, this is such a cool tool! I think Ariba could be an incredible tool to help free supply chains of slavery, but I am suspicious of where they are getting the base data. How can they be so certain that some countries are freer of slaves than others and not just manipulating the data.

I also agree with Ian, that the software could be more powerful if it allowed for individuals to look up specific products. An app that people could use on the goal would be a powerful tool towards helping end slavery.

I think emerging technologies hold a lot of promise, and could be very impactful in ending slavery in the next 30 years.

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