Goals for financial gain have always been more important than ethical and social responsibility in business. Companies must find ways to reduce costs and reduce uncertainty in the business world as it continues to fall in an ever-changing competitive world. Supply chains can be the low-hanging fruit to find new buckets of savings.
The trend of developing low-cost countries for labor savings has been a main issue in the United States for the past 20 years. Technology and globalization have made it possible to make parts in one nation then put them together in another, and then market them in a third. While it is not without controversy at times outsourcing has proven to be efficient and profitable.
Outsourcing can have negative consequences when you don’t make sure you do your research. Businesses like Nike as well as Apple have been impacted by numerous public relations nightmares over the years regarding child labor violations in Asian factories as well as poor working conditions. The manufacturing process in China can pose an extreme risk to the brand image if it’s not managed effectively. Businesses that ignore or shrug away from the social aspects of global manufacturing may suffer devastating results. In a world that’s outsourcing more than ever, the idea of social responsibility has become indissolubly associated with a company’s image.
Consumers and the businesses that serve them via the B2B framework cannot simply assume that products are produced safely by highly-skilled, mature workers who work in safe conditions. It is not possible to assume that foreign workers enjoy the same rights working in the United States or Europe. With the advent of social media and the level of transparency, the internet provides the world’s most informed consumers are holding businesses to a higher standard when it comes to manufacturing responsibly.
Outsourcing offers small and medium-sized companies the chance to compete with their larger counterparts on the exact same market. You should approach socially responsible outsourcing with care and choose a reliable partner. Having a reliable overseas partner that can provide your business with a social audit of the factory helps your business reduce the chance of losing the trust and goodwill that your company or product has earned over the decades. Companies that are looking to increase their manufacturing capabilities overseas must consider ways they can produce in other countries without harming their brand’s reputation.
Ethical businesses are able to transform their supply chains as well as their organizations to sustainable methods that people trust. Instead of focusing on suppliers as networks they manage, they view them as collaborators in a solid brand that creates shareholder worth and long-term goodwill. Transparency, long-term relationships, as well as respect for human rights, are essential to ethical companies. A reliable business makes sure that the products are made in factories with technically competent and legally licensed workers who comply with international and domestic safety and working conditions standards.
With operations spread across the globe, the modern business is a fundamentally different creature from its predecessors. The days of making money regardless of the means required are over. As more and more companies jump on the social responsibility bandwagon but there’s still an assumption that overseas manufacturing companies prefer profit overvalue. Businesses with an international perspective who are interested in manufacturing abroad must be careful in choosing an overseas partner. It will guarantee that the integrity of the product and social value is maintained, as well as allow customers to benefit by outsourcing global.