We recognize our suppliers as our partners. They play a crucial role in our ability to deliver high quality products and services.
Our suppliers are key partners that we engage actively with to improve the quality of our product and improve our sustainability performance. We ask our suppliers to live up to strict requirements, preferably having certifications on their quality, environmental and work environment management systems in place.
Suppliers of core materials or components undergo thorough scrutiny when we engage in a cooperation and they are asked to sign our Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct among other things specifies the requirement to follow all applicable laws and regulations, conduct business with integrity, promote fair employment practices, safe workplaces and protection of the environment and avoid conflicts of interests between personal and work affairs. All significant suppliers (i.e. the primary providers of a given good or service) undergo review and random audits in accordance with the Code of Conduct.
Quality teamwork
We actively engage with our suppliers on improvements to safety, quality and processes that will result in a better and more sustainable product. One example is a project where our Supplier Quality Development team worked with a supplier on balsa to control the process for getting the balsa from the plantation to our factories. Balsa is an extremely sensitive material that needs to be handled and stored in certain ways to avoid deterioration. For one, it is highly important that the material stays dry at all times to not develop funghi. The project resulted in improved workflows and efficiency at the supplier and a better quality product delivered.