Better Buying Institute

BETTER BUYING'S VISION IS THAT BUYERS AND SUPPLIERS WORK TOGETHER WITH RESPONSIBLE PURCHASING PRACTIES TO ACHIEVE SHARED GOALS OF PROFITABILITY AND SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY. OUR TWO-PRONG MISSION IS TO SUPPORT BUYERS IN TREATING THEIR SUPPLIERS AS TRUSTED AND RESPECTED PARTNERS WHOSE INSIGHTS ARE CRITICAL TO BUILDING RESILIENT SUPPLY CHAINS, USING FEEDBACK DATA TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF THEIR ACTIONS, AND MAKING CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENTS TO THEIR PURCHASING PRACTICES, AND TO SUPPORT SUPPLIERS IN FEELING SAFE AND CONFIDENT ENGAGING WITH BUYERS, PROVIDING FEEDBACK, AND CO-CREATING SOLUTIONS TO SHARED BUSINESS CHALLENGES.

CORE RESEARCHTHE MAJORITY OF BETTER BUYINGS WORK IS FOCUSED ON INDEPENDENTLY GATHERING DATA AND PROVIDING INSIGHTS TO COMPANIES AND THE INDUSTRY ON POTENTIAL RISKS THAT PURCHASING PRACTICES ARE PUTTING ON SUPPLY CHAINS AND HOW TO ADDRESS THOSE. COMPANIES THAT SUBSCRIBE TO OUR BETTER BUYING PURCHASING PRACTICES INDEXTM (BBPPI) AND BETTER BUYING PARTNERSHIP INDEXTM (BBPI) CAN DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY ARE CARRYING OUT NEEDED DUE DILIGENCE AND WORKING TO LESSEN THEIR IMPACTS ON SUPPLIERS, WORKERS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT. IN 2022 RECORD NUMBERS OF SUPPLIERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD SUBMITTED RATINGS OF THEIR CUSTOMERS. THERE WERE 1,747 SUBMISSIONS IN OUR BBPPI RATINGS CYCLE THAT TOOK PLACE IN APRIL AND MAY 2022, AN INCREASE OF 43% OVER 2021. WE LEARNED THAT PAYMENT AND COSTING PRACTICES CONTINUE TO PRESSURE SUPPLIES FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND LOW VISIBILITY INTO ORDERS THAT THE BUYER INTENDS TO PLACE AND HUGE VARIABILITY IN THE VOLUME OF PRODUCTION THEY ARE SHIPPING EACH MONTH AT THE SPECIFICATION OF THEIR CUSTOMERS MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO PLAN PRODUCTION IN COMPLIANCE TO BUYERS CODES OF CONDUCT FOR WORKPLACE CONDITIONS. THE BBPI, THAT WAS CARRIED OUT IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER OF 2022 AND COMPLETED BY 1,162 SUPPLIERS (AN INCREASE OF 71% OVER 2021) CONFIRMED MANY OF THESE SAME PRESSURES. BECAUSE OUR RESEARCH ALWAYS ASKS SUPPLIERS FOR POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS AND EXAMPLES OF BEST PRACTICES, RICH INSIGHTS HAVE BEEN GATHERED ABOUT HOW BUYERS CAN IMPROVE THEIR PURCHASING PRACTICES. AS A RESULT, OUR REPEAT SUBSCRIBERS CONTINUE TO MAKE PROGRESS AND ARE IMPROVING THEIR PURCHASING PRACTICES. THEIR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENTS ARE TRACKED YEAR-OVER-YEAR WITH THE DATA THAT WE GATHER.

TRAINING WE BEGAN OFFERING BETTER BUYINGS FIVE PRINCIPLES OF RESPONSIBLE PURCHASINGTM E-LEARNING COURSE WITH THREE OF OUR SUBSCRIBERS ROLLING THAT OUT TO THOUSANDS OF EMPLOYEES ACROSS THEIR COMPANIES. THE CONTENT OF THE COURSE HELPS THEM BECOME AWARE OF HOW THEIR DAY-TO-DAY PRACTICES IMPACT SUPPLIERS, WORKERS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT, AND SUPPORTS THEM IN THINKING ABOUT HOW TO INTERNALLY COLLABORATE AND COLLABORATE WITH THEIR SUPPLIERS TO IDENTIFY AND MAKE NEEDED CHANGES IN THEIR PRACTICES. FEEDBACK FROM LEARNERS WAS VERY POSITIVE AND MORE COMPANIES HAVE BEGUN TO ACCESS THE COURSE FOR THEIR OWN EMPLOYEES.

INNOVATIVE PROJECTSWE CARRIED OUT SOME EARLY INVESTIGATION NEEDED FOR DEVELOPING A NEW TOOL THAT WILL MEASURE HOW PURCHASING PRACTICES IMPACT FURTHER UPSTREAM IN SUPPLY CHAINS. WE ALSO COLLABORATED WITH THE SUSTAINABLE TERMS OF TRADE INITIATIVE TO STREAMLINE THE BETTER BUYING COMMERCIAL COMPLIANCE TRACKERTM THAT MEASURES BUYER PERFORMANCE AGAINST MINIMUM STANDARDS SUPPLIERS EXPECT TO BE MET IN THEIR BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS.