A “Friends of ZDHC - Brand” is a company that is responsible for product creation, which includes design & development, sourcing, and distribution (e.g. of their own/private label brands). The definition thereby includes brands, retailers and online-retailers.
A “Friend of ZDHC - Vendor” is an intermediary company such as buying agents, trading companies, importers, wholesale companies, but also converters, who operate on behalf of Brands or Retailers. The ZDHC approach on “Vendors” also includes Licensees working with Brands.
No, this is not the case.
It depends on the Vendor Transparency Level the Vendor selects, what degree of detail the Brand will see from the Vendor report. Only on Vendor Transparency Level 3, the Brand can see which Suppliers were assigned to their report by the Vendor. Brands will have options for directly connecting with the Supplier for accessing detailed performance data. Please look into the respective Knowledge Base article.
The vendor approach is facilitating the process. Since the ZDHC Gateway will not indicate via which Vendor the Brand reached out to the Supplier, we recommend Brands collaborate with their Vendors to encourage Suppliers to confirm the connection request.
In any case, it is upon the Suppliers’ discretion to confirm connections with Brands.
Brands need visibility of their vendors from the Gateway directly. This will be
- “Vendor Transparency Level 1”: The high-level Vendor Management Summary Report reflects the general supply chain performance of the Vendor. Brands can download the Management Summaries also in an excel table for each Vendor they are linked with.
- “Vendor Transparency Level 2”: Brand specific, but high-level Vendor Management Summary Report. The Brand will have access to the Vendor’s Management Summaries of the Vendor to Zero Report, which is specific to the Brand’s supply chain with the vendor
- “Vendor Transparency Level 3”: Detailed and Brand specific Vendor Report. The Brand will have access to a Brand specific Management Summary and the visibility of Supplier the Vendor selected as “active” for the Brand. The Brand will have options for directly connecting with the Supplier for accessing detailed performance data.
The auto-default Transparency Level in a Vendor-Brand-relationship is Level 1.
First of it all: Your company should keep your Supplier Account in the ZDHC Gateway, especially if you operate chemical-intensive processes or wet-processes.
You can decide to also join as a Friend of ZDHC - Vendor, and the respective ZDHC Gateway access will be added to your account. You will be able to operate both from your user account.
Thereby, you can perform ZDHC InCheck, Supplier to Zero and ZDHC ClearStream solutions as a Supplier and work with your sub-suppliers and other supply chain partners as Friend of ZDHC - Vendor. Both accounts can be managed by one (or several) person(s) from one personal user profile (your login) to the Gateway.
This depends on the set-up of the Vendor’s organisation.
Vendors without own manufacturing site:
This type of set-up is supposed to use the specific Vendor Module only. Other Supplier Platform Modules, e.g. the REM or MMCF are not applicable.
Vendors with own manufacturing AND wet-processes or chemical-intensive processes:
This type of set-up is supposed to use the specific Vendor Module in addition to Supplier to Zero. Depending on the Vendor’s setting in the ZDHC Gateway Supplier Profile, the specific challenges of the respective manufacturing site type (e.g. assembly, dye-house) will be addressed. Other Supplier Platform Modules may be applicable as well, depending on the Gateway Supplier Profile
The Vendor Module provides a self-evaluation based on the ZDHC Chemical Management Framework. The Vendors progress can be verified, which creates value for the Vendor when discussing with clients and other stakeholders. Leading Brands are demanding for verification.
ZDHC strongly recommends that all manufacturing sites undergo the Supplier to Zero Programme, as it addresses the challenges of sustainable chemical management and provides guidance based on the ZDHC Chemical Management System Technical Industry Guide (ZDHC CMS TIG). Supplier to Zero is the ZDHC continuous improvement solution and is required and recommended by leading Brands.