Supplier engagement
Managing and partnerships with our suppliers
Kuehne+Nagel requires our suppliers to adhere to compliance obligations, relevant regulations, rules, work instructions and safety measures at all times. We ensure to work only with authorised and reliable business partners that comply with global, regional and local legal regulations.
As a global company, standardised processes are in place to manage our suppliers. We manage the risk of supplier non-compliance with the Supplier Code of Conduct, and evaluation of every supplier carried out with the help of the Supplier Management System (SMT). SMT is a web-based application of suppliers across Kuehne+Nagel‘s business units covering operational, legal, and compliance criteria.
Target and progress
With the vendor management systems in place, Kuehne+Nagel has identified 46,800 approved suppliers.
Kuehne+Nagel is in the process of developing new supplier questionnaires to obtain responses for environmental aspects. An additional task is to review existing questions for social aspects to improve the selection of the suppliers and safeguard our customers’ trust.
Evaluation of high risk third parties
Suppliers significantly contribute to the business activities delivered to our customers. Evaluating and assessing supplier risks is the basis for safeguarding our customers and, eventually, ourselves and our stakeholders. Those suppliers rated high risk are mandatorily expected to be approved through our Integrity Due Diligence process, including professional business intelligence activities and mandatory supplier requirements to complete online anti-bribery & corruption training. The Integrity Due Diligence process specifically focuses on suppliers who interact with government officials on behalf of our business, such as customs brokerage services. We establish reasonable and adequate safeguards to mitigate any such exposure. Integrity Due Diligence is first applied in onboarding suppliers assessed as high risk and continuously updated throughout the business relationship. Global monitoring and suspension procedures are in place for ensuring the operational effectiveness of the process at all times.
Integrity Due Diligence
Total number of approved high-risk suppliers at year-end
Progress 2021
In 2021, we have updated the supplier Integrity Due Diligence questionnaire to increase process efficiency and added a mandatory supplier requirement for completing provided anti-bribery & corruption online training.
