In an industry with complex global supply chains that create both opportunities and risks, Amer Sports remains focused on upholding human rights throughout our supply chain and ensuring safe and fair working conditions for all employees.
In a candid conversation with two of our leaders from our Global Sourcing organization — led by Pascal Covatta, Vice President Global Sourcing — Manfred Mittler, Director Sustainability, Sourcing and Manufacturing, and Terry Hung, Senior Manager Vendor Sustainability, we delve into our journey towards improving working conditions of our factory workers over the years.
How our journey started: from reactive to proactive
Terry reflects on the early days of our Vendor Monitoring and Improvement Program, tracing back fourteen years when he joined the team.
“Initially, we had a basic framework rooted in our Ethical Policy, reacting to issues as they arose. Today, we are proactive. We conduct country risks assessments, pre-sourcing vendor approvals, and regular audits to monitor vendors closely. In addition, we invest in long-term partnerships and promote consistent good ethical practices,” says Terry.
Our central focus has been the reduction of critical incidents, anomalies that have been uncovered in audits.
“Critical issues span a range of challenges, but the most prevalent hurdles we have encountered include excessive overtime and inaccuracies in record-keeping. These inaccuracies often stem from some vendors altering records to conceal excessive overtime,” Manfred explains.
Accountability matters: working with our vendors
If we encounter critical issues, we work closely with our partners to help fix them.
“Our vendor has 14 days to come up with a plan and 60 days to fix the issue,” explains Terry. “We help them and follow up on their progress to ensure the issue and its root causes are resolved. We have a two-level warning system for partners who are not able to act according to our standards, which can lead to business reviews and even potential termination of the contract.”
Manfred proudly shares our progress:
“When we initiated the Vendor Monitoring and Improvement Program our audits revealed a considerable amount of critical findings. By focusing on the most severe impacts, we’ve managed to continuously reduce the number of critical findings. By end of 2020, we achieved a significant milestone, reaching zero critical issues for the first time.”
Key actions that brought change
Besides the Vendor Monitoring and Improvement Program, two key milestones stand out. Five years ago, we restructured our vendor approval process, making it mandatory for vendors to pass a social compliance audit before working with us.
“Through these pre-audits, we set clear expectations from the outset, demanding strict adherence to our defined standards. In case we find anything critical, the vendor needs to first solve the problem before moving forward with us. In essence, we simply do not let vendors who perform badly into our supply chain,” says Manfred.
In 2020, we took another important step and became a member of Fair Labor Association (FLA), a multi-stakeholder initiative promoting human rights at work.
“Our FLA membership has not only unlocked access to best practices, but it has also facilitated better training opportunities for our partners. It has empowered us to implement a more stringent audit tool, thereby raising the bar for transparency and accountability within our supply chain,” says Manfred.
Unified commitment and dedication to improvement from all
Working better together has powerfully driven the improvement. Importantly, the reduction of critical incidents was made possible thanks to unified commitment and dedication to improvement from everyone involved.
“Collaboration between our brand sourcing leaders and the vendor sustainability team has grown significantly. We’ve taken our diverse expertise to new heights and teamed up to grow stronger. Sustainability is not just a sideline consideration. It’s an integral part of our business reviews, both internally and with our vendors,” explains Manfred.
Support from leadership and strategic alignment of our goals with individual objectives have been instrumental catalysts in driving our improvement.
“We’ve transformed our goals into reality, thanks to strong support and strategy direction from Pascal Covatta and an unwavering commitment from all stakeholders. To stay focused and maintain our commitment, we tied the number of critical incidents to the personal objectives of our sourcing leaders, ensuring accountability at every level of the organization,” says Manfred.
Adapting to a changing world
Not only internal efforts have pushed us forward—the world around us changed, too.
“External stakeholders have higher expectations—they demand greater transparency and ethical practices. In response, we have been steadfast in pushing for improvements. Stricter regulatory requirements have also made it easier for us to justify our vendor requirements, which helps ensure that ethical standards are upheld,” says Manfred.
As we look into the future, one thing is clear: we don’t stop here.
“Each time we reach a goal, we aim higher,” says Manfred. “Our journey is one of continuous improvement, as we are driven to excellence. We are not perfect; we have a lot of work still to do. However, each day we try to think bigger, go further, and be better. Our journey to a fairer and more ethical sourcing goes on, and we are committed to making a positive impact.”
Our sustainability ambition
The wellbeing of people and the planet are at the heart of our business. We want to be a positive force in the world and build a sustainability culture that will enable us to think bigger, go further, be better.
