Context: The CEO of a sourcing office based in Hong Kong wanted to further integrate sustainability actions into its purchasing culture and practices. The challenge was to turn this ambition into practical initiatives that could create tangible value for internal teams, suppliers and customers over time.

Our approach: We engaged leadership and key teams, assessed material sustainability priorities and current business practices, then co-built a pragmatic 5-year roadmap aligned with company culture, supplier maturity and business priorities. We continue supporting its implementation today.

Outcomes

• Materiality assessment prioritizing key sustainability issues.
• Practical review of governance & business practices
• Bespoke 5-year roadmap sequencing realistic actions and ownership.
• Ongoing support across supplier performance, purchasing culture and quality capabilities.

Why it matters: Building sustainable business practices requires more than ambitious commitments. It requires a shared vision, practical ownership and solutions aligned with the realities of the business.

Context: Supplier selection criteria are often built over time and used differently across teams. The challenge was to create a clearer, more meaningful framework supporting consistent sourcing decisions and the long-term robustness of the supplier portfolio.

Our approach: We reviewed and restructured sourcing criteria around four complementary dimensions, creating a practical framework aligned with business priorities and supplier realities.

Outcomes

• Shared supplier sourcing framework
• Clearer and more consistent supplier evaluation.
• Better cross-functional alignment on sourcing decisions.
• Stronger basis for supplier portfolio development.

Why it matters: Tomorrow's supplier portfolio is shaped by today's sourcing criteria & decisions.

Context: A French textile manufacturer and retailer needed a clearer view of supplier risks and strategic priorities across its portfolio. The objective was to go beyond compliance and focus resources where deeper assessment and support would create the most value.

Our approach: We co-built a supplier risk and segmentation matrix with purchasing and quality teams, combining strategic criteria, business risks and supplier maturity. Priority suppliers were then assessed through both purchasing and human lenses, while internal factories were reviewed against the same expectations.

Outcomes:

• Supplier risk & segmentation matrix supporting sourcing priorities
• Bespoke assessment framework for strategic suppliers.
• 3-year improvement roadmap aligned with supplier maturity and available resources.

Why it matters: Risk management creates value when it helps teams decide where to focus, not simply what to monitor.

Context: Defining supplier performance can be like defining happiness: everyone has their own view of what “good” looks like. An industrial company wanted to align performance criteria with supplier realities, available data and its own purchasing culture: moving beyond quantitative KPIs to include qualitative performance and the quality of the supplier relationship.

Our approach: We co-built a practical performance framework with purchasing, quality and sustainability teams, selecting criteria that were meaningful, consistently understood and easy to retrieve. The methodology made it possible to quickly distinguish strong performance from areas requiring improvement. We also developed supplier performance review frameworks and governance routines to support constructive dialogue and continuous improvement.

Outcomes

• Supplier performance framework & evaluation methodology.
• Balanced evaluation combining quantitative and qualitative indicators.
• Practical supplier segmentation to support sourcing priorities
• Governance framework for continuous supplier performance reviews

Why it matters: A shared definition of performance creates consistency across the supplier base and leads to better-informed purchasing decisions.

Context: Social audits provide a valuable compliance snapshot, but strategic suppliers often require a deeper understanding of working conditions, management practices and underlying risks. The objective is to move from assessment to practical, continuous improvement and genuinely listen to what workers have to say!

Our approach: We conduct field-based assessments combining management interviews, worker discussions, factory observation and review of working practices. Findings are contextualised against each supplier’s business constraints, maturity and local realities, then translated into realistic improvement priorities and capacity-building support.

Outcomes:

• Deeper understanding of management practices and human rights risks at strategic suppliers.
• Practical, co-owned improvement plans aligned with supplier maturity and constraints.
• Empowered suppliers, who are given the opportunity to improve over time.
• Better supplier knowledge to support more informed purchasing decisions.

Why it matters: Products are made by people. Respecting workers' dignity and improving working conditions contribute to stronger suppliers, better products quality, lower risks and more robust supply chains.

Context: Purchasing, quality and operational teams regularly visit factories, but are not always equipped to identify EHS risks or assess working conditions beyond obvious compliance issues. The objective is to sharpen observation skills and make EHS part of routine supplier dialogue.

Our approach: We design blended training combining online awareness, real factory cases and on-site coaching. Teams learn what to observe, which questions to ask and how to identify early EHS warning signs during supplier visits. We also explore how purchasing and quality practices can influence working conditions and supplier behaviour.

Outcomes:

• Sharper EHS observation skills during supplier visits.
• Earlier identification of health & safety risks.
• More confident supplier dialogue and escalation.
• Better understanding of how business practices affect working conditions.

Why it matters: Responsible supply chains are not built by one person — they require everyone’s involvement.

Context: A French cashmere retailer needed to trace fibre back to origin to secure raw-material quality, understand supply risks and improve visibility on social, environmental and animal-welfare practices.

Our approach: We traced the value chain beyond Tier 1, discovering intermediaries, visiting goat farms and engaging directly with herders, processors and suppliers. We combined field investigation, quality analysis and human-rights assessment to understand material flows, production practices and upstream risks.

Outcomes:

• Improved understanding of the cashmere value chain in China.
• Bespoke charter and framework covering quality, social, environmental & animal welfare expectations.
• Stronger Tier 1 partnership to improve upstream visibility and raw-material control.

Why it matters: Raw-material quality is only as strong as the supply chain behind it.

Context: Purchasing teams have access to global news, but often lack visibility into the local business, regulatory and societal developments shaping their key sourcing countries.

Our approach: We monitor local business, regulatory, economic and societal developments across China, India and South-East Asia, combining sourcing experience and local knowledge to identify the signals that matter for purchasing teams.

Outcomes:

• Quarterly or bi-annual 90-minute news briefings
• Practical insights from key sourcing countries.
• Increased awareness of emerging local developments.
• Better understanding of sourcing environments across Asia

Why it matters: Understanding a sourcing country requires looking beyond global headlines.