PUMA to help emerging market suppliers

Financial assistance is available for some suppliers who improve a number of standards.

PUMA has signed an agreement with World Bank Group member International Finance Corporation (IFC) to provide financial assistance to its suppliers which are located in emerging markets, provided they improve their health and safety, environmental and social standards.

Suppliers who apply for such help will be audited to assess their adherence to the German sportswear producer's standards in these areas. Companies that perform well will be rewarded with varying levels of short-term working capital. At the outset, this new scheme will be available to suppliers in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam.

"This financing programme enables our suppliers to leverage their relationship with us and benefit from PUMA's strong reputation and financial position," said Lars Sorensen, PUMA's chief operating officer. "This is the first programme in our company that rewards a supplier's rating within PUMA's environmental and sustainability programme through related fees."

According to IFC director Sergio Pimenta, the agreement with PUMA advances his company's efforts to encourage small and medium operations, such as PUMA’s suppliers, to improve environmental and social sustainability while achieving strong financial results.

The new initiative involves a third-party-owned cloud-based business network and platform for global trade and supply chain management. This provides suppliers with up-to-the-minute trade information and is said to optimise the flow of goods and funds.

The general manager of the first supplier to sign up – a medium-sized company in China – stated that he is keen to start, since access to affordable financing is always a challenge. He added that the programme will help improve cash flow and, by improving standards, ultimately enhance performance while reducing operating costs.

Photograph above shows Lars Sorensen, who explained how the financial incentive scheme will work.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 2 of the June 2016 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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